Weekend Cooking: What I Ate in One Year (and Related Thoughts) by Stanley Tucci

 

At the beginning of 2022 I became completely obsessed with Stanley Tucci. I listened to the audiobook of his memoir Taste, watched movies and I watched the first series of Searching for Italy more than once. Confession - if I see Searching for Italy on the TV schedule then it is highly likely that I will switch over to it even if I have seen the episode multiple times before. It therefore wasn't a surprise to me that as soon as I heard about this new book I pre-ordered the audiobook.

Why the audiobook? Because it feels like Stanley Tucci is talking just to you. Sometimes he is sharing a secret, other times a joke, and other times just chatting away. It's a great audio experience!

I must confess I did wonder about the whole concept. I mean, how interesting would it be if I was to write a book where I just talked about what I ate for a whole year. Let's give it a go shall we. I am writing this post on Wednesday, so here's my day

Wednesday 23 October

I tried a new collagen protein shake this morning. It is a banana flavour which I wouldn't normally have picked, but I chose it because it was said that it tasted like lolly bananas (candy). I'm not sure that it tasted exactly like that, but it wasn't unpleasant and it was pretty filling. Definitely doable.

After going for a walk for the third day in a row (some kind of record surely), I came back and made swiss meringue kisses, the first step in making a layered celebration cake. I tried to make these kisses a few weeks ago but thought it hadn't worked so threw it out and decided to try again when I had a bit more time. They looked exactly the same today so I thought I would try piping them and they were fine. Whoops.

However...it turns out that my brain is still very fried. The instructions said either 90C for a fan oven or 110C for a normal oven and to cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes. I set the normal oven for 90C. I turned the oven up after an hour. Alas, needless to say, they aren't quite right so I will be trying again tomorrow. These ones aren't a complete loss. We will be having Eaton Mess for dessert this weekend.

I also made raspberry compote. Tomorrow, swiss meringue buttercream. Or that's the plan anyway.

Last night we had steak, salad and crunchy potatoes. For lunch today, I refried the potatoes and had more salad and a fried egg on top. Simple, quick and delicious.

In the evening, I went to an author talk featuring chef Annie Smithers and baker Nadine Ingram. It was such a fun night, listening to the both of them talk about their passion for food, and I was very very tempted to buy their books, in particular Love Crumbs by Nadine. It's a gorgeous book. For now, I am requesting their books from the library. Notice that doesn't say I might not buy it at some point.

Anyway, back to Stanley.

Over the course of 2023, Tucci diarised what he ate as he lived his every day life. Now to be fair, his every day life is a lot more interesting than mine is so we do get to ride along as he has dinner at various restaurants with his celebrity pals and appears at various events, including some of the charities that he is involved in.

But it isn't all about jetsetting and privileged lifestyle although we do get plenty of that. We also get the minutiae of daily life as he navigates life with a young family. For example, we see as his young son's tastes expand but also he laments that his daughter's preferred choice of pasta which is basically pasta with butter and cheese.

There's no doubt that Tucci loves food, loves spending time feeding friends and family, and he has very strong opinions on various subjects. There were definitely times when I got grumpy old man vibes, particularly when talking about air travel and inconsiderate people.

There were also some incredibly touching passages where he talks about his children, about hating being away from his family, grief and the passage of time. And, it was funny. He talks about trying to find a home for the new version of Searching for Italy,which is part of a running joke throughout the book  - what will that show be called. I don't really mind what it is called. I just can't wait to watch it!

One of the highlights for me was a poem about cooking pigeon in the style of EE Cumming. I am sure that this would have been good to read in the print version, but as an audio experience  - phenomenal. Worth the audio just for that alone. We got to hear the odd syncopation, the emphasis on words like 

sizzle

The very first part of the book talks about staying in Italy for a couple of months while filming the movie Conclave. My husband and I had already been talking about going to see that movie, which I want to do even more!

Once again this was an enjoyable experience. Bring on the next TV series and book. I will be watching and listening again for sure!

I will be sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews and with Foodies Read hosted at Based on a True Story.

Weekly meals

Saturday - Peri Peri Chicken Pizza
Sunday -  Pressure Cooker Spaghetti Bolognaise
Monday - Zucchini and Eggplant Lasagne
Tuesday - Steak, salad, roasted potatoes
Wednesday - Finger food
Thursday - Sticky chicken with mash (new)
Friday -

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page