the tucci cookbook

I heard that the actor Stanley Tucci had written a cookbook — not a surprise from the star and moving force behind the cinematic delightful ode to Italian food, Big Night. But until I picked up The Tucci Cookbook I had no idea how deeply his love of food and cooking went. Readers of this cookbook will be happy to find included his step-by-step directions for the movie's signature dish, timpano, and its many variations.


This is not just a book of recipes, but a collection of stories, as Tucci records variations on dishes from both sides of his family, dishes he has learned from professionals (most notably chef and co-author Gianni Scappin, who is the executive chef at Castellano in New York), and basic Italian recipes he has perfected on his own. The book is beautifully designed and illustrated, with photos that are apt to make one's mouth water. To be perfectly honest, however, there are many dishes that tend to be either fried or deep-fried, or center around starches, that in my new way of eating I am not likely to try. But there are still enough to tempt me:

Eggplant antipasto (his take on the classic Sicilian dish caponata), p. 10

Vegetable tart, p. 17 and Stuffed Pizza, p. 104 - which both sound a bit like my family's special dish, sfincioni


Basic Vinaigrette, p.48 and Sherry Shallot Vinaigrette, p. 49

Chicken Soup with Tiny Chicken Meatballs, p. 52 and Grace's Chicken Soup with Mozzerella, p. 64


Walnut Bread, p. 91 - I haven't done a lot of baking, but this bread makes me want to try

Rice with Sage, p. 192

Ponticello's Orange Cookies, p. 328

Tucci is a respected actor who has had success on stage, television (Murder One, ER), and screen (The Devil Wears Prada, Julie & Julia, Easy A, Burlesque, Muppets Most Wanted). The busy actor seems to be in every movie these days, from his Academy award-nominated role in The Lovely Bones, to his colorful character in The Hunger Games films.

It is clear after reading The Tucci Cookbook that Tucci is not only comfortable in the kitchen, but spends most of his free time there, preparing food for himself and his family. Whether one is up to a multi-staged and prepped dish like timpano, or just looking for a nice twist on a pasta or other favorite Italian dish, the basic lesson one can learn from Tucci and his friends and family is that good food, prepared with fresh ingredients and love is the way to go. Bravo.

percy jackson: sea of monsters

Just in time for the holidays and any tween or teen gift-giving ideas comes the Blu-ray (+DVD and DigitalHD) of Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. The film is a sequel to 2010's Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Akin to the Harry Potter series, the Percy Jackson books by author Rick Riordan follow a trio of intrepid teenagers who have special powers — they are the sons and daughters of the Greek Gods, or "half-bloods."

In the first film Percy (Logan Lerman) discovered that he was the son of Poseidon, god of the sea. This gives him some pretty nifty advantages — being able to stay under water for a really long time, having an ability to communicate with horses, and even being able to control water — a lot of water, if necessary. He also gained a nifty friend and protector of sorts, named Grover (Brandon T. Jackson), who happens to be a satyr. Grover brought him to Camp Half-Blood, which is a training ground for young demigods like Percy, where he met and befriended daughter of Athena, Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario).

The gang grabs the Golden Fleece: L-R: Tyson, Clarisse, Grover, Annabeth, and Percy

In Sea of Monsters Camp Half-Blood's safety is threatened by the trio's old nemesis Luke, a disgruntled son of Hermes who has decided to cast his lot with the Titan Cronus and overthrow the Greek gods. If this background sounds like a lot to take in, never fear. It is not really necessary to have read the books or seen the previous film to enjoy Sea of Monsters. The film does move quickly, but anyone with even a smattering of Greek mythology can enjoy the CGI renderings of a dangerous mechanical bull, a beautiful hippocampus (part horse, part fish) and a modern-day quest to recover the Golden Fleece, which happens to be held in the Sea of Monsters, which, amusingly, is smack-dab in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle along with the monsters Scylla and Charybdis.

The three young leads have a great rapport, and are helped this time out by some new and familiar faces. Leven Rambin joins the cast as Clarisse, a daughter of Ares, and Percy's main competitor at camp. Another new face is Douglas Smith as Tyson, Percy's newly-discovered half-brother, who also happens to be a Cyclops. Smith is quite touching and funny, and sure to become a fan favorite. Two of the disk's extras center on his character, a "Tyson Motion Comic," which shows how Tyson came to Camp Half-blood, and "It’s All in the Eye," a behind-the-scenes look at how make-up and CGI helped create his character's one-eyed look.

Tyson introduces Percy and Annabeth to a hippocampus

The Blu-ray is in widescreen (2.40:1) format and looks great on a large-scale, high-definition television screen. Colors and shadows are sharp. The sound quality  is also good, with subtitles available in English (DTS-HD-MA), French (5.1 DTS), and Spanish (5.1 DD), as well as closed captioning. The film has a running time of 107 minutes.

Some of the best set pieces, which combine teen angst with mythological creatures, include Percy's visit with the Oracle to discover his quest, a watery ride on a hippocampus, and a fun visit to Hermes (Nathan Fillion), who runs an Olympian message and package deliver service that may seem familiar to regular non-demigod folks. Fillion even manages to get in a joke that references his canceled cult series Firefly.

Hermes hands Percy a thermos which contains the four winds, a gift that is sure to come in handy on their quest, "Here, you'll need this." 

Percy reads the label on the thermos, confused, "What's this? 'Hercules Beat 'Em?'" 

Hermes, "Yeah, it's based on a TV show. Pretty much the greatest TV show of all time. So of course they cancelled it after one season."

Hermes offers the kids some helpful advice

Other familiar faces that round out the cast include Stanley Tucci (The Hunger Games, Big Night) as Dionysus, who as a punishment from Zeus has been made the head of Camp Half-Blood; Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Merlin) as Chiron, Percy's wise and kind centaur mentor (played by Pierce Brosnan in the first film); and as a trio of witches called the Graeae, who share one eye and drive a New York City cab — Missi Pyle (Galaxy Quest , Bringing Down the House), Yvette Nicole Brown, and Mary Birdsong.

Annabeth, "It's a Chariot of Damnation." 

Grover, "Looks like a New York City cab." 

Annabeth, "Same difference."

Apart from its teen appeal, what really makes this second installment in the Percy Jackson series so enjoyable is its sense of humor. Combined with all of the monsters, bravery, and mayhem, the film is fun and moves quickly. 20th Century Fox is rumored to have a third film in the works, to be set for a 2015 release, based on the third book in the series, The Titan's Curse. It is not yet confirmed whether Sea Of Monsters director Thor Freudenthal (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Hotel for Dogs) will also helm the project, but Sea of Monsters did well at the box-office, grossing more than $200 million worldwide, so it looks like fans can get set to enjoy more danger and adventure to befall Percy and his friends in the future.

ewan mcgregor and jack the giant slayer

Ewan McGregor is not the star of Jack the Giant Slayer, but he is what I remember most about the movie. It was actually kind of a schizophrenic viewing experience. The live action, with the charming McGregor, the always fun-to-watch Ian McShane as the king, the dastardly evil king's advisor Roderick, played by Stanley Tucci, and Jack, played by the all-grown-up and handsome Nicholas Hoult (can you believe this is the same kid from About A Boy?), are undeniably the best parts of the movie.

The CGI giants that Jack and his pals are up against, however, are unremittingly ugly, unpleasant, and un-involving to watch. So much hard work for such a poor return. I would have much preferred to see Bill Nighy, who plays the main giant, General Fallon, as himself, blown up with the aid of computers to a giant size, than what we were given — his horribly animated counterpart. It's hard to believe that director Bryan Singer, who has ably balanced live action and special effects/animation in the three previous X-Men movies (X-Men, X2, X-Men First Class) would let such miserable-looking giants get past the drawing board stage.

Fee, fi, fo, fum — Yuk, yukky, yukkier, and yukkiest

But back to Ewan McGregor. As the king's top knight, Elmont, McGregor has a blast, whether twirling his waxed moustache or being captured and rolled up in a giant's pastry. As I watched him in Jack the Giant Slayer I realized that McGregor truly has the best shit-eating grin in movies. His larger-than-life enthusiasm, which he carries from role to role, is just infectious.

I'm no fan of the more recent Star Wars flicks, but McGregor's young Obi Wan Kenobi was easily the least embarrassing performance of the trilogy. I prefer watching McGregor in the more enjoyable, but incredibly cheesy science-fiction flick The Island, where he and Scarlett Johansson discover that their perfect world may not really be that wonderful after all — they are clones whose owners want them to exist solely for use as "spare parts." Whether playing a junkie in Trainspotting or a smarmy suitor in Emma, McGregor is always irresistible. His 500-watt smile and winning performance in Moulin Rouge, whether he is speaking or singing, steals the movie away from his co-star Nicole Kidman. All of the other actors, sets and trappings in the over-the-top production just can't compare.

I dare you to name an actor with a better smile

McGregor can dial down his grin when necessary. In Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream he plays Colin Farrell's smarter (?) brother, trying desperately to change his circumstances for the better, even if the way out of his current situation includes murder. In Roman Polanski's excellent Ghost Writer he is a more diffident sort — quiet, lurking around the edges of the movie until he realizes that the book he is ghost writing may not only put him in the spotlight, but in actual danger.

One of Hollywood's most hardworking actors, McGregor is in many movies that are worth checking out: The Impossible, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Beginners, Miss Potter, Big Fish, Young Adam, Down with Love, Little Voice, Velvet Goldmine. Is his latest, Jack the Giant Slayer, worth checking out? If you can focus on the actors and are not too put off by the video-game-reject-looking giants, it can be a fun diversion. And Ewan McGregor's grin helps a lot.

Smiles all around — Ewan McGregor, Eleanor Tomlinson, and Nicholas Hoult bid adieu to some pesky giants

catching up with ... burlesque

A movie I missed in theaters but was intrigued to see was Burlesque. Seeing it now after watching Christina Aguilera weekly on The Voice was a bit surreal. Chistina's "persona" on The Voice is very similar to the character Cher plays in Burlesque, a mamma-hen to young performers. But Christina's styling on The Voice is so over-the-top burlesque glam. There seems to be some life/art crossover happening that Aguilera hasn't completely reconciled.

All that aside, she looks and sounds great in Burlesque, which is a also a very fun movie. The glittery eye shadow budget clearly was greater than the one set aside for the scriptwriter (actually writer and  director Steve Antin, who has also acted and is the brother of Pussycat Dolls founder Robin Antin). The plot strings together so many show-biz cliches that anyone in the audience could have written better dialogue for the actors in their sleep. But none of that really matters. Burlesque is about Cher and Aguilera getting to look fab and have fun a in a series of splashy musical numbers.

Christina Aguilera - Show Me How You Burlesque - Official Music Video - Burlesque Vidéo

The supporting cast is amazing. Stanley Tucci plays Cher's gay factotum, and as always, is just wonderful to have around. Kristin Bell plays the resident bad girl rival for Aguilera, and for some reason looks a lot like Parker Posey — was she the original choice for the character? She gets quickly shuttled into the background, as her story and her character is never a real threat to the main plot, which is about Cher maybe losing her burlesque club and Aguilera climbing to the heights of ... singing in Cher's burlesque club.

And that is where Burlesque gets all of its goofy charm and fun. Aguilera's Iowa waitress wants to leave her boring existence and go to L.A. She pounds the big city pavement for about one afternoon and then is attracted to the bright bulbs on the flashing "Burlesque" sign. Once inside, sipping a free drink from a cute bartender (love interest Cam Gigandet), her world is rocked. She turns to look at the girls lip-synching on-stage in their glittery eye make-up and their spangly costumes and watered-down Bob Fosse choreography and she is transported. She is in heaven.

It's this twist from the typical "I'm going to Hollywood and make it big" movies that makes Burlesque a little confusing, yet endearing. This girl doesn't have big career aspirations. She's got this amazing, powerhouse voice, and there are intimations that she could quickly move on to the big-time, but she never gives any indication that she is in the least bit interested in doing so. Its kind of refreshing. She just wants to sing and take her clothes off in front of an audience. It's weird, but it's kind of empowering, too.

Aguilera's character gets to sing and dance and wear a succession of amazing outfits and wonderful wigs. She also frequently daydreams, seeing herself in extravagantly staged burlesque numbers, belting out a song. In some ways the entire movie is one long fevered daydream of a girl from Iowa who can really sing.

The musical numbers are ridiculous and ridiculously entertaining, mining moves from music videos and old movies. The only sore spot was the criminal underuse of Alan Cumming, who could have really added something — at the very least one show-stopping musical number — to the movie. This is the guy (who I was lucky enough to see) who reinvigorated Cabaret on the stage. He could have taught them all to out-Fosse Fosse. The people behind Burlesque clearly are aware of this, as they stage one risqué background number with him and two girls, but it's frankly not enough.

Burlesque - You Haven't Seen the Last of Me. 

Cher gets a mid-movie number, "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me," which is lit beautifully, looking at times like a colorized BW clip. She has a nice rapport with both Aguilera and Tucci. The movie plot requires her to spend most of her time being pissed off about something, so her main expression is to purse her lips and then for scenes when she's really fed up, purse them some more, but she's Cher and she's fabulous and she should make more movies. But Burlesque belongs to Aguilera. Now if she could just start styling herself in her real life (or at least her role on The Voice) as she looks in this movie. One can dream.

i want a frittata ... made by Stanley Tucci

Article first published as DVD Review: Big Night on Blogcritics.


I just rewatched Big Night and it is as wonderful and heartbreaking and inspiring as ever. There is so much to love in this film, from the fabulous soundtrack of songs by Louis Prima, Rosemary Clooney and others, to the great ensemble cast of Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub, Minnie Driver, Ian Hom, Isabella Rosselini, Allison Janney and Campbell Scott—to the amazing food, food, food. I still have yet to attempt the signature dish timpano, but this movie makes me want to try.

The movie was written by Tucci with Joseph Tropiano and directed by Tucci and co-star Campbell Scott. Like the infamous timpano, the film is a labor of love in how it portrays the difficulty two Italian immigrant brothers find in adapting to their new country, while at the same time wanting to hold onto and share the culture of Italy and their family with their new friends. Older brother and chef Primo, played by Shalhoub, is in despair that diners at the brothers' restaurant want Italian-American fare—a side of spaghetti with everything. Rival restaurant owner Ian Holm is more than willing to give the people what they want. Restaurant manager Tucci just wants to succeed in his new country and provide a showcase for his talented brother.

The movie builds and builds its momentum, with the viewer and every character in the movie wanting the brothers to succeed on their big night—a chance to cook a feast for popular Italian-American bandleader Louis Prima and his band. Images like the burning wrappers of the amaretti give the viewer clues along the way, but the final scene, my favorite, says so much without the actors saying a single word. Food, love, life is what matters to these brothers—as Shaloub's character Primo says, "To eat good food is to be close to God."

Related articles

• I'll watch Stanley Tucci do (almost) anything -- Vine Talk debuts in April (atfirstglass.com)
• Timpano (cookingwithanne.blogspot.com)