AT THE TABLE WITH RICHARD NIXON

The perfect baked potato

Name: The perfect baked potato
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 4 large floury potatoes, about 250 g each; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 tsp salt; 40 g butter; 4 tbsp sour cream, optional; 2 tbsp chopped chives; Black pepper

Skip the foil if you want a crisp skin.

Sides1 hr 10 minServes 4

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The perfect baked potato — a little vintage colour — A little vintage colour · Serving illustration

THE STORY ON YOUR PLATE

A famous plain lunch, and a family meatloaf

More about Richard Nixon →

The thirty-seventh president was a Californian.

Historical reconstruction

A baked potato completes the meatloaf dinner as a home accompaniment. Crisp skin and a fluffy centre need little more than a hot oven and enough time.

The president & the table

Nixon’s cottage cheese and pineapple was more than a food anecdote: photographs preserve that lunch at the White House on 8 August 1974. His family’s other well-known contribution is Pat Nixon’s White House meatloaf, whose recipe survives in the National Archives.

Behind this story

Nixon Library photographs and recollections; National Archives, Pat Nixon’s White House meatloaf.

APRON ON. HISTORY CAN WAIT.

Make it at home.

Our home adaptation · Serves 4 · Not yet kitchen-tested

Let’s make it

Heat the oven to 220°C / 425°F. Scrub potatoes, dry and prick with a fork.
Rub with oil and salt. Bake directly on a rack with a tray below for 50–70 minutes, until the centres are completely soft.
Split, gently squeeze the sides to open and fluff with a fork.
Add butter, optional sour cream, chives and pepper.

About this home version

A modern home recipe with practical ingredients and measured quantities.

Metric and US measures are approximate equivalents. For baking, use weights when you can.

The perfect baked potato

A famous plain lunch, and a family meatloaf

Make it at home.

What you’ll need

Let’s make it

More from this table.

Glazed family meatloaf