As opposed to losing Skins….that being the Redskins….oh, okay, never mind.
My sincere apologies to all the Redskins fans out there. And my sincere apology to mice everywhere — although this picture doesn’t match the recipe below, it amused me so much that I just had to use it.
What better way to drown the sorrow of your team’s failure (as a Denver fan, you can trust that I am familiar with that feeling) than with a plate of cheesy, fattening potato skins?
Potato skins are one of those appetizers I could probably make up as I go along. But since I’ve had some problems in the past with that game plan, why not actually follow a recipe this time?
Look for it after the jump. And tell me this: Do you ever make homemade potato skins? If so, what is your favorite topping, besides the cheese?

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It’s time to give away this month’s free cookbook, folks! So many of you wrote in for a chance to win “Great Bar Food at Home” by Kate Heyhoe. I appreciate all of the wonderful responses to my question, “What is the best bar food you ever ate, and why?”
It was difficult to choose a winner because there were so many mouthwatering responses: bacon-wrapped dates, popcorn, raw bar fare such as cherrystone clams and stone crab legs, spinach-artichoke dip and seafood potato skins. YUM!
But the book goes to blog reader RICH, who wrote in with this response:

“My favorite barfood is any that deviates from the chicken (tender or wing)/ cheesestick/ riblet variety. On business in Denver once, I had an amazing rumaki marinated in a great soy/bourbon mixture. I liked that so much that I returned the following night and tried the Ovos de Cordona (quail eggs) and some roasted chicken hearts. Just as good as the rumaki.
I enjoyed these and chose them because I KNEW I’d rarely get the chance to dine on them at a bar ever again.”

Rich wins not because he was the first to respond, although I do appreciate that. I liked his answer because it showed he has a sense of adventure about food and a desire to try bar snacks that don’t fall into the typical categories. That willingness to experiment, I think, makes him a good match for Heyhoe’s book of eclectic bar foods.
Rich, e-mail me your address at lindsey.nair@roanoke.com and I’ll put this book in the mail for you.
Everyone else, do not despair! I have plenty more free cookbooks where that one came from (in fact, I just got one in the mail called “I’m Dreaming of a Chocolate Christmas” by Marcel Desaulniers) and the same person is not allowed to win twice in one year, so I’m keeping track.
Y’all keep reading!
Before I mail out Rich’s book, I will share one recipe from the book. Maybe we can all whip this up this weekend while we’re relaxing the work stress away.

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