This recipe is from a book called American Regional Cookery, authored in 1932 by Sheila Hibben, a food writer for The New Yorker. Russet potatoes are the best for this dish because their cooked flesh is dry and fluffy when mashed and their sturdy skin crisps when baked.

6 potatoes
4 thin bacon strips, fried
2 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. finely chopped chives
2 tsp. chopped parsley
1⁄2 cup heavy cream, scalded
Salt and pepper
Melted butter

1. Select smooth, moderately large potatoes of uniform size. Wash with a vegetable brush and place in shallow pan in a hot oven (425°). Bake for 50–60 minutes or until soft. (Test by taking up with a cloth and squeezing; if soft, the potato is done.)

2. Cut a 1⁄2" slice off top; scoop out insides and mash with crumbled bacon, butter, chives, parsley, and cream. Season mixture to taste with salt and pepper, and stuff into shells. Brush with melted butter and arrange close together, stuffed ends up, in shallow baking dish. Bake in hot oven (400°) just long enough to brown tops.