Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Robert St. John: Harrison in Florence

 For the good part of the past decade I have hosted groups of American travelers— mostly Southerners— in this part of the world. I have always believed that Tuscany is a lot like the American South. It’s an agrarian society, but instead of soybeans and cotton they grow olives and grapes. The Tuscans are friendly and hospitable. They love food, and love sharing a meal with family and friends. They love having fun and they know how to party.  That’s why Southerners connect with the people over here. 




I have just finished leading a group of fellow travelers through Spain. We covered a lot of ground in 10 days— Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Mallorca, Seville, Gibraltar, and Malaga. When that tour ended my wife and I flew immediately to Florence to set up for three tour groups— and later a group of friends from back home— to lead through thus Chianti region. I’ve spent so much time over here over the past 11 years that I feel like I could almost call this area a second home. 

I always feel like I’m coming home to this area. It connected with me the first time I ever set foot on this ancient Etruscan soil. I don’t believe in reincarnation. But if I did, I would suspect several of my past lives were spent here in this area. It’s been familiar since the start. 

I felt even more like coming home this time because my 20-year old son is living and working here. 

When my family first came to Tuscany in 2011 we all felt a familial connection, my son maybe more than me. He’s got his father’s wanderlust and has returned often with us and on his own. He’s currently in the early stages of an eight-year plan that I have set for him moving into his professional career. He wants to go into the restaurant business and I told him if he’s going to go into the family business he’s going to have to go about it in the right way, and with a plan. 

The plan is basically what I wish I would have done, and what I should have done at the beginning of my career. I approached this industry in one of the most backwards ways imaginable. I am lucky enough to have gotten to a point to where I can look back and say, if I were to go about entering this industry in a smart, methodical way, how would I do it? That’s what he’s doing— getting a business degree, a chefs degree, and working for friends of mine in other restaurants for over two years. 

That’s what brings him to living in a third-floor walk-up in Florence and riding the bus for two hours every day to the small Tuscan town of Barberino-Tavernelle to work in the kitchen of a friend of mine. A place he’s eaten in since he was 10-years old. 

The first thing on my list whenever I come to town here is to have lunch at one of my favorite restaurants in the area Caffe Degli Amici. I’ve been eating there for over a decade and have often said of my friend Paolo‘s restaurant, if I could take his mama, Guiliana, to America to cook in our Italian restaurant, I would be able to retire within months. She is that good.

This visit I was excited to go to Caffe Degli Amici because my son was in the kitchen that day. I’ve always dreamed of going to a restaurant where my son was working. I’ve thought often of what it might be like— me sitting in the dining room as a customer with him in the kitchen preparing my meal. 

He’s worked on a couple of my restaurants over the past several years, but that’s different. It’s hard to describe the sense of pride I had as a peaked my head into that tiny kitchen and saw him cooking with Giuliana and a couple of other Italian ladies.

My wife and I arrived late for lunch so we could just sit and wait until he got off and then eat with him. I don’t know what other fathers feel like when their sons join them in their law practice, their plumbing business, or their accounting firm, and granted, my son has a join my business yet. Nothing is guaranteed, and even if he does one day, he’ll start at the bottom and will have to work his way up. But I do know the feeling of sitting down with him in another restaurant, a restaurant 5,232 miles from home, and sharing a meal that he prepared. It is wonderful. It was a very proud moment for me father.

He spent the night in the villa with us that night and I drove him to work the next day. Before he went to work we stopped for breakfast at my favorite little bakery in town. It’s a place he and I went to every morning for weeks when we were first year and he was 10 years old. It’s a place he now goes to before work after he gets off of the bus. 

As we ate our pastries we sat in silence for a minute and I just looked at him and remembered that 10-year-old boy who was so enthusiastic about life and everything that came his way. I was now looking at a 20-year-old man who was living independently, and on his own, in a major European city. The city that he and I had both have fallen in love with years ago. The pride in the swole again.

I grew up without a father, and as a consequence, I always wanted to be a father. Even at an early age I looked forward to being a father. It wasn’t until I was 36 years old that my daughter was born, an amazing young lady in her own right. My son was born when I was 40. I always knew I would love being a parent. I always knew I would love my children. Though I had no idea when I dreamed of being a father all those years that Would have the capacity to love another human being like I lovethose two children. I also never knew that sense of pride that naturally comes from watching your children become adults.

We are here for four weeks and I plan to spend a good bit of time with my son, dining in different restaurants, and going to certain food sites that we both love. Sometimes, even when you’re in the middle of it, you know you are experiencing a time period that you will remember for the rest of your life. It’s the feeling I had the entire time we traveled through Europe for six months and 2011. It’s the feeling I have today.

Onward. 
 
 
 
 Rosanna’s Tiramisu 

Ingredients

4 each Large egg yolks
6 TB Sugar
1 cup Heavy whipping cream, cold
1 TB Marsala wine
1 lb. Mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
2 each 8 oz. boxes highest quality lady fingers, preferably Pavesini brand
2 cups Strong brewed coffee, cooled
¼ lb Bittersweet chocolate, chopped, divided into thirds
Unsweetened cocoa powder as needed.

Directions

Combine the egg yolks and sugar in the chilled bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment. Beat on high until pale yellow and doubled in size. 
 
Add the whipping cream and continue beating on high until soft peaks begin to form, about 3-4 minutes. Add the softened mascarpone and Marsala and continue whipping on high speed until stiff peaks are formed, about 5-6 minutes. 
 
 To build the tiramisu, spread a very thin layer of the cream mixture across the bottom of a 9” x 11” clear casserole dish, just to help keep the first layer of lady fingers still. Divide the remaining cream mixture into thirds. Briefly dip each lady finger in the coffee and cover the bottom of the casserole dish. 
 
Follow with a layer of the cream mixture and the chopped chocolate. Repeat this process until you finish the cream mixture. Sprinkle the top with the cocoa powder and the remaining chocolate. 
 
Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.
 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cool.

Anonymous said...

Summary of this article:

I...I...I...me...me...me...I...me...I....me...I...a couple paragraphs about my son....I...me...I...I...I...I...I...

Anonymous said...

5:19 jealous it's about his his his column about his his his trip to Italy and not you you you?


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Trollfest '07 was such a success that Jackson Jambalaya will once again host Trollfest '09. Catch this great event which will leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Othor Cain and his band, The Black Power Structure headline the night while Sonjay Poontang returns for an encore performance. Former Frank Melton bodyguard Marcus Wright makes his premier appearance at Trollfest singing "I'm a Sweet Transvestite" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Kamikaze will sing his new hit, “How I sold out to da Man.” Robbie Bell again performs: “Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Bells” and “Any friend of Ed Peters is a friend of mine”. After the show, Ms. Bell will autograph copies of her mug shot photos. In a salute to “Dancing with the Stars”, Ms. Bell and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith will dance the Wango Tango.

Wrestling returns, except this time it will be a Battle Royal with Othor Cain, Ben Allen, Kim Wade, Haley Fisackerly, Alan Lange, and “Big Cat” Donna Ladd all in the ring at the same time. The Battle Royal will be in a steel cage, no time limit, no referee, and the losers must leave town. Marshand Crisler will be the honorary referee (as it gives him a title without actually having to do anything).


Meet KIM Waaaaaade at the Entergy Tent. For five pesos, Kim will sell you a chance to win a deed to a crack house on Ridgeway Street stuffed in the Howard Industries pinata. Don't worry if the pinata is beaten to shreds, as Mr. Wade has Jose, Emmanuel, and Carlos, all illegal immigrants, available as replacements for the it. Upon leaving the Entergy tent, fig leaves will be available in case Entergy literally takes everything you have as part of its Trollfest ticket price adjustment charge.

Donna Ladd of The Jackson Free Press will give several classes on learning how to write. Smearing, writing without factchecking, and reporting only one side of a story will be covered. A donation to pay their taxes will be accepted and she will be signing copies of their former federal tax liens. Ms. Ladd will give a dramatic reading of her two award-winning essays (They received The Jackson Free Press "Best Of" awards.) "Why everything is always about me" and "Why I cover murders better than anyone else in Jackson".

In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The “Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless” booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word “jackass” was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.


In order to help clean up the legal profession, Adam Kilgore of the Mississippi Bar will be giving away free, round-trip plane tickets to the North Pole where they keep their bar complaint forms (which are NOT available online). If you don't want to go to the North Pole, you can enjoy Brant Brantley's (of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance) free guided tours of the quicksand field over by High Street where all complaints against judges disappear. If for some reason you are unable to control yourself, never fear; Judge Houston Patton will operate his jail where no lawyers are needed or allowed as you just sit there for minutes... hours.... months...years until he decides he is tired of you sitting in his jail. Do not think Judge Patton is a bad judge however as he plans to serve free Mad Dog 20/20 to all inmates.

Trollfest '09 is a pet-friendly event as well. Feel free to bring your dog with you and do not worry if your pet gets hungry, as employees of the Jackson Zoo will be on hand to provide some of their animals as food when it gets to be feeding time for your little loved one.

Relax at the Fox News Tent. Since there are only three blonde reporters in Jackson (being blonde is a requirement for working at Fox News), Megan and Kathryn from WAPT and Wendy from WLBT will be on loan to Fox. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both and a torn-up Obama yard sign will entitle you to free drinks served by Megan, Wendy, and Kathryn. Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required. Just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '09 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.


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Trollfest '07

Jackson Jambalaya is the home of Trollfest '07. Catch this great event which promises to leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Sonjay Poontang and his band headline the night with a special steel cage, no time limit "loser must leave town" bout between Alan Lange and "Big Cat"Donna Ladd following afterwards. Kamikaze will perform his new song F*** Bush, he's still a _____. Did I mention there was no referee? Dr. Heddy Matthias and Lori Gregory will face off in the undercard dueling with dangling participles and other um, devices. Robbie Bell will perform Her two latest songs: My Best Friends are in the Media and Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be George Bell. Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger will host "Pin the Tail on the Trial Lawyer", sponsored by State Farm.

There will be a hugging booth where in exchange for your young son, Frank Melton will give you a loooong hug. Trollfest will have a dunking booth where Muhammed the terrorist will curse you to Allah as you try to hit a target that will drop him into a vat of pig grease. However, in the true spirit of Separate But Equal, Don Imus and someone from NE Jackson will also sit in the dunking booth for an equal amount of time. Tom Head will give a reading for two hours on why he can't figure out who the hell he is. Cliff Cargill will give lessons with his .80 caliber desert eagle, using Frank Melton photos as targets. Tackleberry will be on hand for an autograph session. KIM Waaaaaade will be passing out free titles and deeds to crackhouses formerly owned by The Wood Street Players.

If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

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