The Tucci Table

November 17, 2014
Fans of The Tucci Cookbook hoping for another helping of Tucci’s rich trove of family recipes may not find this book very satisfying. The married coauthors pay homage to their respective Italian and British heritages in an attempt to “express the new culinary traditions we are in the process of creating for the next generation.” The book emphasizes the importance of the “family table,” and indeed the whole family shows up, with recipes from Tucci’s children, parents, in-laws, and friends. What could be a charmingly eclectic collection of favorite dishes comes across as disjointed and arbitrary. A chapter on salads includes puntarella salad with anchovy dressing (a very Roman dish inspired by a dinner in London) alongside Ryan’s Kale and Amino Acid Salad (credited to a friend’s personal chef). A section on side dishes features vegetable parmigiana as well as Yorkshire pudding. Desserts jump from tarte tatin to blondies to a Sbagliato granita. That said, the celebrity-obsessed may get a thrill from inclusions like Emily’s Chicken Noodle Soup (from Blunt’s sister, actress Emily Blunt) or a recipe for pissaladière from the late Natasha Richardson. Tucci and Blunt’s passion for cooking (and each other—their love story is described in the introduction and in anecdotes throughout) is evident, but it doesn’t shine through in every recipe.