December 2024

I love it when authors who write memoirs or share their thoughts narrate their own work. So when I saw that Stanley Tucci narrated WHAT I ATE IN ONE YEAR, I was all in for a listen. What a fun idea to chronicle what one ate/cooked/dined out on over the course of a year. As I am writing this, I just devoured a Trader Joe’s Green Chile Macaroni and Cheese. I realize that instead I should have zeroed in on one of the recipes in the book’s pages and whipped up something that was much more of a culinary delight.

This journey through meals that were enjoyed and savored each day --- as well as those that were more mediocre but still enjoyed with family and friends --- also included a delightful sprinkling of famous actors and performers who happened to stop by. Hello, Harry Styles. It is a diary of Tucci’s life as much as it is a food diary. Readers are swept to Aspen, New York and on family vacations. At one point, he is approving a cookware line for Williams Sonoma. In another, the family has gathered with others on a beach trip where he chronicles the food and liquor that was packed. Yes, cocktails and wine are part of the story here, as well as the food.

Food does not just appear; it is shopped for in places like farmers markets and specialty stores, as well as local markets. Fabulous items in season are treasured, and there is a hunt for other things that will ensure a meal hits all its notes. His young children, Matteo and Millie, have child-like palates. I loved when he would coax them into trying something special, but I appreciated that he did not push them to embrace everything that he and his wife, Felicity, were dining on.

Cooking in groups happens as much as solo cooking adventures, and you get the sense of what a dash here or a dash there can mean. When I heard the narration about December meals, I grew a bit sad realizing that our adventure together was coming to an end. I actually expected that a postcard might arrive to say how much fun the 365-day journey had been.

Confession here: I have never watched Tucci’s CNN show, “Searching for Italy.” But after finishing WHAT I ATE IN ONE YEAR, I am adding it to my watchlist. And yes, I earmarked some recipes in the book that I want to try. Note, though, that I do not share his love of anchovies.