The dinner is delicious, but I pick at my food because at court there is always someone watching you, and I don't want to seem greedy. Our table faces the front of the hall, so it is natural that I look up to see the king at his dinner. In his rich clothes and great collar of gold you might mistake him for one of the old pictures over an altar; I mean, a picture of God. He is so grand and so broad and so weighted with gold and jewels, he sparkles like an old treasure mountain. There is a cloth of gold spread over his great chair, with embroidered curtains hanging down on either side, and every dish is served to him by a servant on his knees. Even the server who offers him a golden bowl to dip his fingers and wipe his hands does so on bended knee. There is another server altogether to hand him the linen cloth. They bow their heads as well when they kneel to him, as if he were of such unearthly importance that they cannot meet his eyes.

-The Boleyn Inheritance [1] by Philippa Gregory

Reading a novel by Philippa Gregory is like eating chocolate. It's so smooth, rich, and delicious that I find myself disappointed every time I finish one of her books. My only consolation is that I still have yet to read all of them - and hopefully she'll never stop writing.

Historical novels need to be written well for me, and hers meet my expectations. This one centers around Henry VIII and three ladies in his court - you know, the one who had multiple wives and killed nearly every one of them. You can almost taste the fear of the women who surrounded him, and wonder how any of them wound up surviving.

I love potatoes. If I had to choose my favorite vegetable potatoes would probably have to be it. I have a lot of close seconds and thirds, but this root vegetable is so versatile and can take on so many flavors that I can't imagine what else could top it. I mean, you can fry, boil, bake, roast, etc., etc. - what's not to love?

One dish that I rarely make, just because it requires a little more effort than I am willing to give, is twice baked potatoes. They are worth the trouble if I do decide to make them. It's like eating both mashed potatoes and baked potatoes at the same time...well, that's probably because that's pretty much what they are.

Twice Baked Potatoes

• 6 medium to large potatoes
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. mustard powder
• 2 cups water
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. dried dill

Bake your potatoes whole in the oven for about an hour at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. At about 10 or 15 minutes until you take the potatoes out of the oven start preparing your other ingredients.

Now what you are going to do is create a cheese-like sauce. It doesn't taste exactly like cheese, but it has a nice smoky, rich flavor which is a wonderful substitute. For someone who admittedly misses real cheese occasionally this is a good stand in for when I want something cheese-esque.

In a small pot put your nutritional yeast (this is what imparts the "cheesy" flavor), flour, salt, garlic powder, mustard powder, and water. Mix the ingredients together thoroughly, then add your butter. Now turn on the stove to medium heat. Stir the mixture at a pretty continuous amount. When you start to notice it thickening you can either stop now (it should still be fairly runny), but for the purposes of this recipe let it go for another 10-15 seconds while still stirring. Immediately turn off the stove, and if you're really good take the pot away from the heat.

Sauté your onions and garlic in vegetable oil (or olive oil) for about five minutes. Don't do too much longer if you still want a little crunch and stronger flavor when the twice baked potatoes are done.

Take the potatoes out of the oven and let them cool for a few minutes.

Cut each potato lengthwise, then scoop the meat out into a medium sized mixing bowl. Place all the potato shells back on the baking tray.

Mash the potato meat with a potato masher, then add 1-2 cups of the cheese sauce (use the rest in burritos or as a dip), the powdered dill, and the sautéed onions and garlic. Mix it all together well, taste a small amount, and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Now take a scoop of potato mixture and put it into one of the potato shells. Continue to do this until you have all of the shells filled and when you no longer have mixture left.

Put the potatoes back into the oven and cook for another 20 minutes or until the top is turning a little brown.

I know - it's an event, and they're gone so fast it almost (almost!) seems like it wasn't worth it. But really, when you're biting into them you (or rather I) keep hoping that there's more than there really are.

Twice baked potatoes are so flexible. I found recipes that used mushrooms - that would have been great. I think you could do peppers (hot or sweet), chives, or broccoli. The spices could also be really flexible - paprika maybe, black pepper, rosemary, savory, etc. A good way to figure out what would work well is to think of what you like to eat with your potatoes. Those same spices and ingredients can jump into this recipe as well. So go experiment!