March 10th is National Ranch Dressing Day, which rose out of nowhere (it used to be old-fashioned buttermilk dressing) to become America’s favorite salad dressing and dip. On an earlier National Ranch Dressing Day, we published a yummy article on the history of ranch, a recipe to make it from scratch, and different ways to use it.

One of those ways was a sauce for baked potatoes, and thanks to the Idaho Potato Commission, today we celebrate with Buffalo-Ranch Loaded Idaho Baked Potatoes.

In this recipe, the potato is a full meal: all of the components of Buffalo wings, but with shredded chicken breasts instead of wings.

The classic Buffalo wings recipe serves fried wings (or a baked option) with hot sauce, ranch dressing, carrots, and celery. While the Idaho Potato Commission recipe left out the sticks of raw carrots and celery, we added them back in.

And while they added Cheddar cheese, we preferred Gruyère with ours.

> There are more loaded potato recipes below.

> The year’s 30 potato holidays.

> The history of potatoes.

> The different types of potatoes: a photo glossary.
 
 
DIG IN: IT’S FUN FOOD

This recipe gives chicken wings a run for their money, says the Commission. Shredded chicken is smothered in a creamy combination of buffalo hot sauce, Cheddar cheese, and ranch dressing, then stuffed into a hearty baked potato.

More cheddar cheese is sprinkled on top of each potato, and the spuds are put back into the oven for an additional ten minutes, creating an ooey-gooey tater.

The finished potatoes are topped with sliced scallions and crumbled bacon for extra pizzazz.

> The history of potatoes.

> The different types of potatoes.

> The history of ranch dressing.

> Homemade ranch dressing recipe.
 
 
RECIPE: BUFFALO-RANCH LOADED IDAHO POTATOES

 
Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
For The Crudités

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set a wire rack into the baking sheet.

2. WASH the potatoes and dry them completely. Prick the potatoes all over with a fork and coat them in olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Space the potatoes evenly on the wire rack and bake the potatoes for 50 to 60 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile…

3. SEASON the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and place them in a baking dish. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes alongside the potatoes, until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Remove from the oven, let the chicken cool slightly, then shred it with two forks.

4. TRANSFER the chicken to a mixing bowl. Pour the Buffalo hot sauce and ranch dressing over the chicken and toss to combine. Add more hot sauce, to taste.

5. ADD 1 cup of Cheddar cheese and stir to combine.

6. REMOVE the potatoes from the oven and carefully cut a slice down the middle of each, keeping the bottoms attached. Carefully split the potatoes partially open and use forks to fluff the interior.

7. TOP the potatoes with the chicken mixture and the remaining cheese. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until cheese is melted.

8. TOP the potatoes with additional ranch dressing and garnish with bacon and scallions. Serve.
 
 
MORE LOADED POTATO RECIPES

[1] This Buffalo-Ranch Loaded Baked Potato recipe is a meal in itself (photo © Idaho Potato Commission).

[2] Here are 4 techniques to shred chicken (photo © Ambitious Kitchen).

[3] You might want to cook extra bacon. There’s always a “taker” for more (photo © iGourmet).

[4] The recipe uses Cheddar (in photo), but we substituted Gruyère, in the photo below (photo © Dairy Farmers Of Wisconsin).

[5] We do like Cheddar cheese, but we like Gruyère and Emmental (the original “Swiss cheese” with holes) even more (photo of Gruyere © Murray’s Cheese).

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[1] Spicy crab linguine with crab and Calabrian chiles (photos #1, #3, and #4 © DeLallo).

[2] Jumbo lump crabmeat is the best-looking crab type, but also the most expensive. You can save money with other types (photo © Phillips Foods).

[3] Calabrian chiles in oil. The oil is also a delicious ingredientYou can buy them online from DeLallo.

[4] Calabrian chiles are also great on pizza .

March 9th is National Crab Meat Day, whether you spell crabmeat as two words or one. If you ask most people to name a favorite crab recipe, crab cakes might top the list, followed by crab salad, crab sushi, she-crab soup (a Southern specialty), and maybe the ignominious* Crab Rangoon. Only your grandmother might remember Crab Louie†.

Today, we have something much more contemporary: spicy linguine with crab and Calabrian chiles. (You can use any shape of pasta that you like.)

Inspired by the bold and spicy flavors of Southern Italian cuisine, this garlicky chile and crab pasta is easy to make. Thanks to DeLallo for the recipe.

> The different types of pasta.

> The different types of crab.

> The different types of chiles.

> Pasta history.

> Crab history.

> Chile history.
 
 
RECIPE: SPICY LINGUINE WITH CRAB & CHILES

If you can’t find Calabrian chiles, substitute red pepper flakes.

While jumbo lump crabmeat is the best looking, it is also the most expensive.

If you’re making this recipe for a family dinner, you can save money by purchasing a less expensive grade of crabmeat—lump/backfin, white, or claw crabmeat.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. BRING 5 quarts of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of hot pasta water. Meanwhile…

2. HEAT the extra light olive oil and Calabrian pepper oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the chiles and garlic and cook until soft and the garlic is a pale golden color, about 5 minutes. Remove the garlic and discard.

3. ADD the wine and lemon juice and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the crab and cook until just heated through, about 1 minute.

4. ADD the pasta and some of the reserved pasta water to the pan and cook for another minute. Stir in the parsley, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

5. DIVIDE onto plates or serve family style.

*Crab rangoon is on our “ignominious list” because it’s a faux Polynesian dish invented at a bar in San Francisco. It consists of dumplings stuffed with crabmeat, garlic, scallions, and cream cheese. Then, the dumplings are deep-fried! It’s often served with sweet chili sauce. It was on the menu at Trader Vic’s in California since 1956 [source]. In our opinion, this dish should have gone out with the 1960s.

The goal of XO Marshmallow is to give nostalgic marshmallows a modern twist, creating handmade, gourmet marshmallows in great flavors. One of them is a limited-edition specialty, Irish Coffee Marshmallows for St. Patrick’s Day. Treat for yourself, give them as a gift, or plan for an upcoming Easter basket.

XO Marshmallow’s Irish Coffee Marshmallows (photo #1) are flavored with a delightful trio of coffee, cocoa, and Irish cream liqueur (rest assured, there’s no alcohol in the final creation, only the Irish cream flavor).

We loved the subtle Irish cream flavor, and after gobbling up the box of 12, we realized we needed more for the uses below, including tossing them into cups of regular and Irish coffee.

> Get your Irish Coffee Marshmallows here.

> The history of marshmallows.
 
 
MARSHMALLOW FLAVORS & SPECIALTIES

XO Marshmallows are all egg-free and gluten-free. No high fructose corn syrup or preservatives are used. All of the marshmallows are made with premium ingredients.

Some flavors are standard, others rotate in limited editions. The team is always creating new flavors. In addition to limited-edition Irish Coffee, currently available flavors include:

 
We’re also excited about:

 
And how about a Cocoa Dusted MarsHalo (photo #3)?

These are donut- (halo)-shaped marshmallows that sit on the rim of a cup of hot chocolate, coffee, or tea, and the heat of the drink lets them melt perfectly into the cup.

They make a great gift with a tin of gourmet hot cocoa.

There’s even a special thank-you gift package (photo #2), and a Happy Birthday set.

And there’s more to discover on the website.
 
 
USES FOR MARSHMALLOWS

 
Ready to create with marshmallows?

Head to XOMaarshmallow.com.
 
 
________________

*As a pie topper, you can melt the marshmallow to create a semblance of meringue. Bake the pie or slices at 400°F for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the marshmallows are toasted and melty.

[1] Irish Coffee marshmallows with an iced latte (photos #1, #2, #3, and #4 © XO Marshmallow).

[2] There are gift packages for birthdays and thank-you’s (above).

[3] These MarsHalo donut-shaped marshmallows sit on the rim of hot chocolate or coffee, and melt right in.

[5] Ooh la-la: pink marshmallows with gold glitter. These are the Rose Gold Rosé marshmallows.

[5] Add a fun factor to a milkshake with a marshmallow on top (photo © Honey And Birch).