Two-Tone Baked Potatoes

Ten days to move-in. I am keeping lists — things to pack, things to buy, things to not forget, things to remember about Amber when she is gone. The last one is not useful. I am keeping it anyway.

Drove a Lincoln run Monday, a Colorado Springs run Wednesday through Friday. The Colorado Springs trip was a big one — three days, two nights, a hotel in North Platte on the way out and a hotel in Limon Colorado on the way back. I ate in the hotel restaurants. I wrote in the hotel rooms. I worked on an outline for the second book. I have started interviewing women truckers through phone calls (Sarah helped me set up a proper process with consent forms and recording disclosures). I have five interviews so far. Each one has been powerful. Women on the road are a seam in America that has not been written about honestly. I am going to try.

Amber's belongings are in the hallway in four boxes and two laundry baskets. She and I packed them Saturday. She did the folding. I did the list-checking. We spent two hours on it with the radio on and did not say much. She said, once, "Mom, did you ever think about college?" I said, "I did. Gayle and Larry couldn't swing it. I didn't push." She said, "I'm glad I'm going." I said, "I'm glad you're going." She said, "I'm glad you're the one who's taking me." I did not answer. I was packing a laundry basket. I kept packing. She saw.

Sunday I turned 45. Dave made me breakfast. The kids made me a card. Amber gave me a framed photograph of the two of us from 2015 when she was 11 and we had been on a run together (against regulations, but nobody knew) and I had taken her to a truck stop in Lincoln where we shared a pancake. I have kept the photograph in my wallet for seven years. Amber found it. She made a print. She framed it. It is now on my desk. I do not know how she found it. She said, "I went through your wallet, Mom." She said it matter-of-factly, like a detective reporting. I laughed. I could not be mad. The framed print is perfect.

Sunday dinner: a big steak Dave bought, grilled, and twice-baked potatoes. And the chocolate sheet cake. My 45th birthday at the table with my family. Gayle ate one piece of cake. She said, "I have eaten this cake every year of my life except three." Those three years: 2012, 2018, 2022 — the years of bad Novembers, bad Marches, and this year, on my 45th birthday in August she decided to eat it. Gayle spoke less than three sentences to me at the table. Her eyes were bright. The cake said what needed saying. Gayle and I know how to have conversations without words.

Dave grilled those steaks perfectly, but it was the twice-baked potatoes that anchored the whole table — sturdy, warm, the kind of dish that says sit down, stay awhile, this matters. I’ve been making a version of these two-tone baked potatoes for years, half russet, half sweet, because nobody in this family can agree on one kind. On my 45th birthday, with Gayle’s bright eyes across the table and Amber’s framed photograph on my desk, they were exactly right.

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

3 large russet potatoes
3 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 cup sour cream, divided
1/4 cup butter, softened, divided
1/4 cup whole milk, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Instructions

Bake the potatoes. Preheat oven to 400°F. Scrub all potatoes and pierce several times with a fork. Bake directly on the oven rack for 55–65 minutes, until tender when pierced. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Prepare the russet filling. Cut russet potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop the flesh into a bowl, leaving a thin shell. Mash the flesh with 1/4 cup sour cream, 2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons milk, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper until smooth.
Prepare the sweet potato filling. Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop the flesh into a separate bowl. Mash with the remaining 1/4 cup sour cream, 2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons milk, 1/4 teaspoon salt, cinnamon, and brown sugar until smooth.
Fill the shells. Spoon a layer of russet filling into each potato shell, then top with a layer of sweet potato filling, or pipe them side by side for a two-tone effect. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the tops.
Bake until golden. Place filled potatoes on a baking sheet. Bake at 375°F for 15–20 minutes, until cheese is melted and tops are lightly golden.
Garnish and serve. Top with chopped chives and serve warm alongside grilled steak.

Nutrition (per serving)

Two-Tone Baked Potatoes — The Side Dish That Sat Beside Us at Forty-Five