BARBERINO-TAVARNELLE, TUSCANY— Things are different over here. It’s not just the language. Spaces are smaller. Roads are tighter. Bathrooms are tinier. But there's a reason for all of that. The roads are tighter because many were built over one thousand years ago and were meant to accommodate horses, carriages, wagons, and people traveling by foot. The bathrooms in the historic city centers are smaller because those buildings were built 700 years ago before in and plumbing was a thing.
I tell my guests to embrace the differences. Sure, we could travel to Cleveland and have larger hotel rooms, bigger restaurants, and English speaking servers. But we'd be in Cleveland. As it is, we are in Tuscany, one of the most beautiful and amazing places on earth.
Traditions are different in every country. That's why we travel to them. We go there, we embrace the differences, appreciate the culture and heritage, and we learn that everyone is unique, yet at the same time, alike in so many ways.
One thing that has surprised me over the years— especially in this part of Italy— is the reverence for potato chips. Simple potato chips are almost always served during cocktails. I first noticed this as a guest in people's homes, when they would bring out a small bowl of basic potato chips to nibble on. Occasionally they would add pistachios or something to the before-dinner-antipasti mix, but always potato chips. If there was a buffet dinner the table will be set with various local cheeses, meats, fruits, assorted crostini, several bruschetti, and potato chips.
Restaurants serve basic potato chips as well, and not just the casual trattorias and osterias. I knew it must be a thing when visiting Villa San Michelle a five-star hotel in Fiesole high above Florence. My group ordered cocktails and the formally dressed servers brought out a bowl of potato chips.
I'm not complaining. I love potato chips. I think I might start serving them at the bar of our Italian restaurants. The problem is no one in America would think that's an authentic and legitimate Italian thing. Potato chips are pretty workmanlike in America. Had I not spent so much time over here I would think so too.
I have had a lifelong love affair with potato chips. As a kid we ate Rice’s brand potato chips. They were made locally. I wonder if all potato chips were made locally back then? Either way, mine were, and I don’t think I truly appreciated that until this moment. It’s just another reason to love Hattiesburg, the town where I grew up, and still live today.
The greatest treat in all in kiddom was getting to visit the Rice’s potato chip factory. I'm not sure what would impress 10-year-old Robert more than a potato chip factory. My grandparents lived in New York and took me to all the sites and museums there. My uncle lived in Washington DC and took me to the Smithsonian and all of the monuments. But I would imagine— in 1971— if you would have asked me, “Robert, what's the most impressive thing you have ever seen?” I would have said the Rice’s potato chip factory in Hattiesburg Ms. I was lucky to have been able to visit the plant twice. Once on a school field trip and another time with my Cub Scout troop. We ate them fresh out of the hot oil.
Crawfish Stuffed Baked Potatoes
8 large Baking potatoes, scrubbed clean
2 Tbl Olive oil
2 Tbl Kosher salt
8 sheets Aluminum foil
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Oil potatoes, sprinkle with salt and wrap in foil. Bake 50 minutes. Allow potatoes to cool slightly.
Filling
1 lb Bacon, thick-sliced and diced
1 Tbl Garlic, minced
1 lb Crawfish tails, cooked, peeled, drained, and roughly chopped
2 tsp Creole Seasoning
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 tsp Salt
1 1 /2 tsp Black pepper
Potato pulp from eight baked potatoes
1 /2 cup Butter
3 /4 cup Sour cream
1 Egg, slightly beaten
1 cup Green onions, sliced
8 oz Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Render bacon in a large skillet until crisp, drain half of the fat. Stir in garlic, seasonings and crawfish meat and cook three minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside. Cut tops off of baked potatoes and, using a spoon, remove as much of the cooked-potato pulp as you can (Leave enough to keep the shells sturdy).
Using a potato masher, combine cooked potato, butter, egg, and sour cream. Fold in bacon mixture, cheese and green onions. Overstuff the potatoes and place in a large buttered baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes and serve. Yield: eight large potatoes
