Re-fill the potatoes through the hole and replace the piece you removed.Return the potatoes to the oven for 30 minutes and they'll be ready to go. If you're taking them with you somewhere, just wrap them in foil and transport in a cool box, which works in reverse keeping food hot.. By Mark Hix Home-made baked beans can be fun and it's reassuring to know exactly what's going into them. You can use any kind of bean for this, like flageolet, cannellini, borlotti, black eye, or to make it even more interesting use a mixture. The bacon can be replaced with diced-up chorizo so the beans take on a spicier, smoky flavour.
You can use your favourite filling, but if you really want to surprise guests add a couple of spoonfuls of chilli con carne and seal the pototoes. By Mark Hix 4 large jacket potatoes 80g butter 100-120g good quality smoked ham, diced 120g farmhouse Cheddar, grated 3-4tbsp single cream 2tbsp chopped chives Salt and freshly ground black pepperPre-heat the 190C/gas mark 5 Bake the potatoes for 11/2 hours, or until soft. You can wrap them in foil, but I prefer the baked skin flavour. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for about 10 minutes.Cut a slice off the side of each potato (reserving the slice) large enough to fit a dessert spoon in to scoop the potato out.Scoop out as much of the insides of each potato as you can, keeping it as intact as possible. Place them on a baking tray and bake for 45 minutes, or until the pastry is golden.Serve with thick custard or double cream.Mark Hix is Guild of Food Writers Cookery Journalist of the Year. I'd almost forgotten what a great meal a jacket potato makes And cheap, too.
I've been put off them by all those pub and canteen fillings for leathery jacketed, luke-warm spuds, such as tuna and sweetcorn, frozen prawns and any other left-over sandwich-bar filling. Heat the water, lard and butter in a saucepan to boiling point, then pour on to the flour and stir in with a wooden spoon to form a smooth dough. Leave the dough covered for about 15 minutes or so until it can be handled.Divide the dough into 4 balls and roll each of them on a lightly floured table to about 14-16 cm in diameter and cut into circles.Cut the top off the apple (the stalk end) and remove the core with an apple corer, or a small sharp knife, making a hole about 11/2cm wide - enough to pour some filling into. By Mark Hix These are a grown-up version of baked apples. The booze is cleverly contained in the tin foil, which also makes them easier to transport. 4 medium sized dessert apples, such as Cox's, Pink Lady or BraeburnFor the pastry 100ml water 600g lard 25g unsalted butter 250g plain flour Pinch salt 1/2tbsp caster sugar 1 small egg, beatenFor the filling30g walnuts, chopped 10 whole almonds, chopped 1tbsp ground almonds 6 dates chopped 1tbsp raisins 2tbsp brown sugar 1tbsp whisky 1tbsp rum 1tbsp medium sherry A good pinch of mixed spicePre-heat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6.First make the pastry: mix the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl and make a well in the centre. He is buried in the Calvaire Cemetery on Hiva Oa.WHAT'S THE EASIEST ESCAPE FROM THE URBAN JUNGLE?Twelve miles from Tahiti, and often visited because it is easy to reach from Papeete, is the lush, green island of Moorea. The museum and the gardens both open 9am-5pm daily and admission to each costs 600CFP (£3.40).Gauguin moved from Tahiti to the island of Hiva Oa in the Marquesas, where he died in 1903.