Twice-Baked Potatoes with Basil and Sour Cream (Page 570)

• Date: Tuesday, February 6, 2007 -- 8:30pm
• Location: Somerville, MA
• Kitchen: Matty's Apartment
• Dining Companion: Matty
• Recipe Rating: B-

This recipe came off the list from the random number generator. These potatoes were ok... I mean really, it's practically impossible for twice-baked potatoes to be bad. You take a potato, bake it, add some fat, bake it some more. You can't go wrong! But this was not one of my favorite twice baked potato renditions. They were pretty, and they tasted fine, but they didn't have a lot of flavor to them. Basically, it was unclear what the benefit of the extra work was -- mashed potatoes with some basil mixed in would have been equally good (although perhaps not equally stylish). I suppose it was nice that the shells were crisped a bit in the oven, giving the dish some textural contrast. Nonetheless, I won't be making this one again.

I did it! Today I officially accepted a job for the next three years. Starting in the fall I will be in the math department at Indiana University in Bloomington! I am really excited. There are really good people there working on the sort of math that I do, so I will have people to talk to and work with. And although I have never visited there, rumor has it that the department is really friendly and Bloomington is wonderful.

I did have a little meltdown on Saturday though about the idea of moving to Indiana. Don't get me wrong, I love the midwest. I grew up in Madison and I adore it there. But I discovered on Saturday that not only does Bloomington not have a Whole Foods, but there isn't one in the entire state of Indiana. I cried.

I will miss Whole Foods. And Christina's spice store. And fresh seafood. But while it's true that I will probably have to do a lot of ordering online to get the crazy ingredients I need for my project, it's a small price to pay for what I think will be a very happy mathematical home for me. Further, I can't even explain what a relief it is to finally know where I will be living next year. Yay!!!