Taste by Stanley Tucci served with many things!

 Taste by Stanley Tucci served with a holiday cocktail and Spaghetti con Zucchine alla Nerano. 

I picked this up because i kept seeing it on Bookstagram and I have a little crush on Stanley Tucci.  I also started watching his show on the BBC,  Stanley Tucci Searching for Italy.  He starts at the beginning with his childhood in NY and tied all of the stories to the recipes that  influenced his life.   I ended up listening to this on audibles because the author reads it but i also got the book so that i'd have the recipes.  I thought he did a nice job of bringing us, the reader, along with him on this adventure of food.  We hear about what he ate when he was a struggling young actor, what he ate with his parents and what he ate on sets and with his family.   My favorite parts were when he talked about his movies.  The Big Night is such a great food movie and Julie and Julia is one of my favorites with him.   And yes I loved the name dropping!  He sounds just as charming in real life as I would imagine! 

I was surprised when he shared his cancer and the treatment that followed.  Somehow i was unaware he had been through this journey.  I thought this showed real vulnerability and trust with us the reader.    I knew of his first wife passing but knew very little about his new wife.  Overall I finished this book feeling like I had an intimate view of his life and loves.  It is an easy read/listen to and one that will leave you hungry!  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

there were so many recipes to try!  I marked up the book with post-its marking each one that I thought would be great for this post.  In the end, i have made 2 of them and have plans for at least 1 more. 

Let's start with the Christmas Cocktail .  I love a cosmopolitan so this was perfect!  Just the right amount of sweet 

I decided to make the Spaghetti con Zucchine alla Nerano because the way he describes it in the book makes it sound so easy and delicious.  I have no idea if I did it correctly.  I tried to find tiny zucchini but didn't have a lot of choices.  And i tried to cut the recipe in half since i am just 1 person so I'm worried I got some some of the proportions wrong.  I fried the zucchine as called for but when i mixed it in with the  pasta, pasta water and parmigiano, it seemed to disappear.  The taste was yummy but I might need to try again and fry the zucchini in advance.   

Either way, it was a delicious read and one i highly recommend.  

Enjoy!