baked potato bar & potato topping with a kick!

Need a fun idea for your next pot luck or party?!  How about a baked potato bar?! 

And the photos were a last minute idea (hello … Keri?  This could be a great post!) and they were taken on my phone, so there are only two and they are via Instagram, ha ha!

I think I’ve mentioned this, but I’m on the Event Planning Committee for my office and we normally have about 40 folks, give or take.  We have had a blast planning Cinco de Mayo fiestas, holiday sweet swaps – hey, that sounds familiar! – tailgate pot lucks … give us a reason and we will celebrate! 

We are always looking for fun ideas that feed a crowd but stay within our budget … so this year for St. Patrick’s Day, we decided to host a baked potato bar and potluck!   

Here are a few tips and pointers so you can {taste this}!

1.  We baked our potatoes at home wrapped in foil and kept them warm in crock pots set to low.  I’ve even found that you can “bake” your potatoes in your crock pot!  The potatoes stayed piping hot and they were easy to transport.  Great for taking home leftovers, too!

2.  If you are the “host”, provide the traditional toppings – butter, sour cream, shredded cheese, bacon bits and chives – and ask your guests to bring in their favorite specialty toppings.  We had a salsa/queso topping and a spicy beef horseradish topping (recipe below!) but homemade chili, a fresh salsa or broccoli cheese soup would be great, too! 

3.  We found that folks wanted to try several toppings and combinations so the smaller baking potatoes were perfect and as a bonus, they took less time to cook.

4.  Sturdy plates and silverware (if you are using disposable) are a must!  These loaded potatoes get heavy so don’t skimp on the paper plates.  And if you leave the skins on your spuds (washed, of course), quality plastic silverware is the only way to go!

And as promised, here is the baked potato topping that gets its kick from horseradish and Beau Monde spice!  We all just had to have the recipe!

Chipped Beef & Horseradish Baked Potato Topping or Dip
This is a family recipe shared by my awesome co-worker, Rob 🙂

2 jars dried beef
2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip.  But I’m mayo all the way!)
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
3 teaspoons Beau Monde spice
2 teaspoons celery salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Rinse the dried beef in warm water and pat with paper towels to remove excess water.  Chop into small pieces and set aside.  Mix the remaining six ingredients and then stir in dried beef.  Add additional horseradish or Beau Monde spice to taste – get spicy if you want!!  Allow to chill several hours prior to serving.

This makes a great dip with crackers or toast points, but we dolloped it on warm baked potatoes and it was SO good!  Cool sour cream, slightly salty beef and a little kick from the spice … for me, it was unexpectedly awesome!

Hope you were inspired to try this for your next potluck, party or get together!

This project or recipe was shared at the blogs on my Link page!