1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Wrap potatoes in foil. Bake potatoes in oven for 1 hour. After hour, remove from oven and open foil to vent. Once cool to touch, slice potatoes in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out the center leaving about 1/4" skin and potato.
2. Turn up oven to 450 degrees F. Brush inside and outside of potatoes with oil. Place potatoes scoop side down in a baking pan or baking sheet with a wire rack so the potatoes have a place to drip the oil. Bake for 10 minutes.
3. While baking, fry the bacon until crisp. Flip the potatoes over so the skin side is down. Bake for 10 more minutes. Remove potatoes from oven and top each with bacon and cheese. Broil until cheese has melted.
4. Mix the sour cream with the majority of the chives. Reserve about 1 tablespoon to top later. Top potatoes with sour cream mixture, the remaining chives, salt, and pepper.
For the scooped potato remains, one could make mashed potatoes. Check out my recipe here: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=36519.0 [1]
Source of recipe: I wrote the recipe. For more information, please see my blog here: http://veganmiss.blogspot.com/2011/02/potato-skins.html [2]