Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy - General Discussion

[CheshireCat]

My mom can't eat pork, so we never ate it at home (I usually only ate it in Austria when on vacation or once or twice during a vacation in the US when I had ribs) but I do like it as long as it's "organically"/farm raised. (My granddad buys the other stuff for bar-be-que's and I can't eat more than half a slice). So, I'm sure I would have liked the ones they features on the episode, although I would stick to the traditional parts of the pig. Still, I appreciate that they use all of it. (There's a project in Germany where you can buy a part of a pig or cow online and the animal will be killed only once every part is sold!)

I love the Italian and Spanish raw ham and this one looked mouth-watering delicious even on the screen. I would have loved to taste that!

I didn't catch it: was that really donkey salami or did they just call it donkey testicle because of it's shape?

That was an interesting piece of history with the doves. Poultry meat is usually lighter in color, so I was surprised it was a darker red.

The farm which they featured at the end of the episode sounds like it deserves its own episode.

One thing I noticed is that I don't recall an episode that has not features wine in some form. Italian is, of course, known for wine but I think every episode had a vineyard in at least one of the frames and I didn't know that it's grown so broadly.

 

[aghst]

Yeah I'm the same about pork.  I've eaten plenty of ham and salumi though.

And those charcuterie plates are popular all over.

But they're loaded with preservatives or with salt or both.

I once booked a stay at an agriturismo without realizing it.  It was outside Arezzo and it required driving up a hill in these narrow dirt roads.  After driving up, I dreaded going back down and up again.  I didn't even get to visit Arezzo the two days I was there.

Well their featured dish for dinner was pigeon.  Still didn't try it.  I understand it was a good way to improvise and get proteins but it's not the Middle Ages any more and it's not my tradition.

They grow plenty of cattle in Tuscany and other parts of Italy.

 

I've been watching Nomad.  Carlton is pretty good considering he's new at this, though maybe he's done some TV before.  I guess these producers set up these visits of the places where they shoot.  He's not pretending like Bourdain to already know every one of the people he visits on the show.

So he doesn't have the easy rapport that Bourdain seems to be able to have.  Tucci doesn't quite have it either, probably the same story, the producers do most of the work to set up these meet ups that they can film.

Carlton was most natural re-connecting with relatives and old friends in the DC episode which just aired.

Maybe these producers just want to rely on a formula that's worked for a long time for Bourdain.  So even if the hosts wanted to carve out their own style, they may discourage experimentation.

Curious if he writes the copy for the narration, like Bourdain did.  He can certainly express himself well enough.

The selection of places so far is more eclectic and maybe meant to convey that they're up and coming places, kind of like the host.  So if nothing else, they haven't been places that you would have necessarily have seen Bourdain visit.  

Here are the places he visits in the 6-episode season 1.

https://cnncreativemarketing.com/project/nomad/

If they renew, it will be interesting to see if they choose more popular or better-known destinations.  I can see viewers who watched Bourdain and now Searching for Italy maybe balk at watching Nomad because some of these places are not those they're interested in discovering or possibly visiting.

[MartyQui]

9 hours ago, aghst said:

Well their featured dish for dinner was pigeon.  Still didn't try it.  I understand it was a good way to improvise and get proteins but it's not the Middle Ages any more and it's not my tradition.

I have Italian friends who rave about horsemeat.  They've eaten it in front of me, even (horse risotto).  They just don't see why I won't try it.  There is just absolutely no way.  I'm guessing pigeon/dove would be kind of like quail?  Tried that, not my thing.

[DanaK]

This Futon Critic article on CNN's upcoming projects says the second season will continue with 4 more episodes in the Fall http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2022/05/18/cnn-unveils-highlights-of-2022-2023-original-series-and-films-programming-933314/20220518cnn03/

Edited May 18, 2022 by DanaK

[annzeepark914]

Well,..the London episode was ok. Whatever he, his wife and the restaurateur were eating in the Tuccis' kitchen looked good. I'll be glad when the series starts up again in Italy.

[Crashcourse]

Yes, London was ok, but I missed Italy.

I did laugh when one of the Mamma Mia chefs made a humorous pass at Stanley, then gave him a big hug when he was leaving.

[aghst]

No doubt the food is good.  But the same dishes in Italy would be a lot cheaper than in Central London.

Interesting that a lot of the restauranteurs featured didn't have restaurants back in Italy.  Seems like a more risky undertaking given the much higher rents.

Also interesting to know how many Italians live in London.  Money is going to attract a lot of people.  Didn't know about internment of Italian men during the war.

So this episode was filmed at the end of July because Stanley complains about it raining.

Here's what's on the menu in the episode.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/stanley-tucci-searching-for-italy-london-itinerary-origseriesfilms/index.html

I would like to try the scallops dish with the 'nduja sausage but I don't see it in the Sartoria menu, which seems like an overpriced, average place.

Edited May 23, 2022 by aghst

[Rickster]

On 10/5/2021 at 7:26 PM, aghst said:

Stanley is flogging a book on his passion for food:

https://www.npr.org/2021/10/05/1043295823/stanley-tucci-food-cancer-memoir-taste

He talks about his career and life.

Way more articulate than on Searching for Italy -- he really needs to step up his game when reacting to foods he tastes on the show.

Hope he found time to film some of season 2, not just write the book.

So I’ve read the book this week. I recommend it, but there is close to zero tie in to the series, although there is a discussion and recipe for the zucchini and spaghetti dish shown in Season 1 (as well as recipes for several other dishes and cocktails). A lot about him growing up in Westchester County, NY and his life with Felicity now through the lens of food, as well as his eating on various film shoots (the middle and least interesting part of the book, to me). Also, a small section on his oral cancer and treatment towards the end. Interesting that he was lactose and gluten intolerant (!) for much of his life, but the process of treating his cancer cured him of it.

[DonnaMae]

Where can I see this series?  

[aghst]

https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/stanley-tucci-searching-for-italy

[annzeepark914]

I'm reading Taste right now and can't stop raving about it. Before I began reading the book, I moseyed through some pages, looking at the occasional recipe. And then I came to the part where someone orders andouille. I did the same thing while in Nice, years ago...same reaction 🧐. Stanley is a great writer.

Edited June 18, 2022 by annzeepark914

[Rickster]

2 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

I'm reading Taste right now and can't stop raving about it. Before I began reading the book, I moseyed through some pages, looking at the occasional recipe. And then I came to the part where someone orders andouille. I did the same thing while in Nice, years ago...same reaction 🧐. Stanley is a great writer.

Not to get too inquisitive about an author’s personal life, but……I thought the odd thing in this book, which is very personal about his life growing up to his early twenties and his life now, is that there is almost no portrait of his life with his first wife. Those years are the ones in which he mainly discusses eating during movie shoots. I know, for example, that for several years in the early 2000’s, Stanley owned a restaurant in Westchester County, NY, near where he grew up (I live not too far away and it was written up in the papers). I would have thought that would have generated a couple of anecdotes, but not in this book.

Maybe that period was too painful to reminisce about because of his wife’s illness, but I found it a bit strange.

[DanaK]

[annzeepark914]

🎉 Congratulations, Stanley!!🥳 I'm ready for the new episodes *right now*. 

Re: "Taste" not featuring a portrait of his late wife, I don't think this is the type of book where he could comfortably present life with Kate. He does write about parties they had...light touch stuff. It's a breezy, humorous book, references to nutty things going on in his life. Only funny bits about the kids. He did describe his brush with cancer & treatment, but kept it light.

[aghst]

Are the nominations for the first season or the second season?

Or both?

Because second season was 4 episodes.  They seemed to have just mailed it in.

[ProudMary]

2 hours ago, aghst said:

Are the nominations for the first season or the second season?

Or both?

Because second season was 4 episodes.  They seemed to have just mailed it in.

The nominations announced yesterday are for season two. Season 1 of the show actually won for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special at last year's Emmys.

[CheshireCat]

Tucci posted a CNN trailer that says "returns this fall". I haven't found a specific date yet. 

[ProudMary]

Creative Arts Emmys being awarded tonight.

[DanaK]

Part 2 of Season 2 premieres Sunday October 9 at 9pm with 4 new episodes

http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2022/09/14/two-time-emmy-award-winning-cnn-original-series-stanley-tucci-searching-for-italy-continues-its-second-season-sunday-october-9-at-9pm-et-pt-312413/20220914cnn01/

[annzeepark914]

I wonder where he'll be going in Liguria. We went to Santa Margherita, with a day visit to Portofino (which was nice but glad we stayed in SM). We had that pasta with pesto, potatoes & green beans dish one day, & fritto misto the next. Wow!! So delicious 😊. No wonder Italian cuisine is the universal favorite. 

[Inquisitionist]

On 9/14/2022 at 11:04 AM, DanaK said:

Part 2 of Season 2 premieres Sunday October 9 at 9pm with 4 new episodes

From the link above: "Tucci Ventures to Calabria, Sardinia, Puglia, and Liguria Across Four New Episodes"

Four regions I haven't yet visited that I definitely want to!  Some of my Trentino cousins have been to Puglia -- they said the food was terrific and very cheap!

[ProudMary]

Just a heads up that a new episode of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy is airing at 9:00 Eastern tonight on CNN. Here's the episode description:

Tucci discovers the history of beautiful and troubled Calabria, Italy, as well as the history of his own family; joined by his parents and Italian relatives, he reflects on the inspiration people draw from Calabria and why those who leave return.

[annzeepark914]

56 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

Just a heads up that a new episode of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy is airing at 9:00 Eastern tonight on CNN. Here's the episode description:

This should be good--especially with his parents & other relatives making it more interesting. 

[annzeepark914]

P.S. CNN is repeating the very first episode at 8 PM. This is my favorite so far as it includes Tucci & his wife at that seaside restaurant, watching the chef prepare their favorite: spaghetti with zucchini. Loved seeing the storm move toward shore.

[aghst]

Calabria is beautiful.

Would be great to dine at those places overlooking the ocean.

But the cipolla rosso place in Tropea doesn't seem to have outdoor seating overlooking the ocean, at least going by the Google Maps pics.

Maybe they set it up for TV, just like they did with the pizzeria place in the Naples episode.

Want to see their What on the Menu page for this episode.

[Inquisitionist]

I had forgotten this was coming back so soon.  Fortunately my series recording setting on my DCR caught it -- whew!  I look forward to watching it later this week!

[Crashcourse]

Since I can't go to Italy, I'm so happy that Stanley is bringing it to me.  Calabria is beautiful.

It was nice seeing his parents, and even though the dad had a cane, they both look pretty active.  Also, that was a great family feast at the end!

[aghst]

What's on the menu for Calabria episode.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/stanley-tucci-searching-for-italy-restaurants-season-2/index.html

Calabria is a huge region.

Two coasts, interior national parks and towns.  Gerace in particular looks interesting, with distant see views and an old cathedral.

Tropea and Scilla seem to be popular coastal towns but Stanley's ancestral home town of Marzi doesn't seem to be much of a tourist draw.

[CheshireCat]

What an interesting episode. I enjoyed both, the food and the towns. A couple looked like they were still using the homes that were built when the town was founded which I'm sure was centuries ago.

I'm not sure I need to try the charcoal dessert but the food he cooks certainly intrigued me. I love local dishes, especially when it's done with local food as well.
I also thought that it was interesting that this was the second off-the-beaten path restaurant they featured that offers high-end cuisine and seems to be doing pretty well. I believe the other one had a Michelin Star as well, didn't it?

I really would have loved to taste the bread. Not sure about what was inside but the bread itself, definitely. Also, the lamb. It's my favorite meat anyway and it looked delicious. As did the sword fish (and all the other fish they sold at the market). Yum!

I liked the bits of family history as well and I've never heard Tucci speak so much Italian. (Although you did notice his limits and that English comes much easier to him than Italian).

I think this is one of my favorite episodes if not my favorite. So well-rounded.

[aghst]

Yeah I'm starting to think the he either speaks gibberish sometimes to the Italians or they overdub it later to correct it.

Or they tell them he isn't really fluent but for TV, he's going to try to sound like he could speak a bit.

I wonder how they choose the restaurants.  Maybe they contact some of these places and have them audition for the show, see how well they plate it, how scenic the places are.

Based only on photos in Google Maps, the Tropea place doesn't have tables with sea views, whereas the one in Scilla does -- it's part of a hotel and it's over a very shallow lagoon.

[andromeda331]

Great episode. Calabria is beautiful.

[aghst]

Sardinia episode places visited.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/stanley-tucci-searching-for-italy-restaurants-season-2/index.html

I thought the way they caught the tuna was interesting, also starving the tuna before harvesting it so that they don't taste of any other fish.

The one that didn't seem interesting was going with those sheep herders to make the types of cheese, including the one with parasites, that's formally illegal now.

The women who baked the bread, interesting how they dressed for that segment.  You wouldn't think they'd normally bake in dresses?

[andromeda331]

I liked Sardinia and the different places. Especially how the bread part and the tuna. I like how they only keep a certain amount to protect the tuna population.

[3 is enough]

My husband was born in Italy, came to Canada as a child.  When he saw the episode was about Sardinia he said to me, "I bet he shows the worm cheese."

My mother-in-law went back to visit her mother in the early 80's and brought some back. She did not go to Sardinia, but back then it was available on the mainland.  Obviously this was pre-TSA and baggage checks so she was able to get it back to Canada.  My husband and my brother tried it.  I could not bring myself to do it. I still remember those little white squirmy larvae when they cut open the cheese.  🤢

[annzeepark914]

10 hours ago, aghst said:

Sardinia episode places visited.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/stanley-tucci-searching-for-italy-restaurants-season-2/index.html

I thought the way they caught the tuna was interesting, also starving the tuna before harvesting it so that they don't taste of any other fish.

Somehow I didn't hear this...starving the tuna so they wouldn't taste like other fish. That really bothers me. It reminds me of the Japanese fishermen who cut the fins off sharks (for shark fin soup), then toss the sharks back into the ocean, where they drown. 

[meep.meep]

5 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

My husband was born in Italy, came to Canada as a child.  When he saw the episode was about Sardinia he said to me, "I bet he shows the worm cheese."

My mother-in-law went back to visit her mother in the early 80's and brought some back. She did not go to Sardinia, but back then it was available on the mainland.  Obviously this was pre-TSA and baggage checks so she was able to get it back to Canada.  My husband and my brother tried it.  I could not bring myself to do it. I still remember those little white squirmy larvae when they cut open the cheese.  🤢

It was used in a challenge on the last season of The Amazing Race.  I'd have trouble with that.

[CheshireCat]

On 10/11/2022 at 7:19 PM, aghst said:

Yeah I'm starting to think the he either speaks gibberish sometimes to the Italians or they overdub it later to correct it.

Or they tell them he isn't really fluent but for TV, he's going to try to sound like he could speak a bit.

I'm pretty sure it's not gibberish what he speaks. He lived in Italy for a bit as a kid and while he probably didn't have a lot of practice once back in the US, the language would come back. I only ever had French in school but once I lived in France, it took me about a year to be really comfortable with conversations. Since he's learned the language as a child, the language would return to him much quicker than that. He does seem to understand a lot and while many phrases seem to be simple ones, I would imagine that staying in Italy while filming is helping the language's return along.

Sardinia was another interesting episode. A lot of interesting food and cultural tidbits. I don't think I'd try the cheese with the larvae but to the other cheese they featured, I'd say yes, please!

I also don't need to see how the sausage with the blood is made but once it's made, I'd definitely try it.

I never knew how much lamb they cook in Italy. I thought it became more popular further east. For some reason, I always associate Italy with pork when it comes to meat but that's probably because of the Prosciutto etc.
As a lamb-lover, I approve ;-)

The bread looked delicious and I love the idea of reviving the village. I hope she succeeds.

[Crashcourse]

16 hours ago, aghst said:

The women who baked the bread, interesting how they dressed for that segment.  You wouldn't think they'd normally bake in dresses?

Stanley looked like he thought those dresses were "interesting." 😅

[annzeepark914]

The other night, some station showed an excerpt from The Devil Loves Prada. It was focused on Anne Hathaway but it was a scene in which she was being chastised by the art dept director played by Tucci. I remember that scene from the movie--that's how good he was, portraying a gay, artistic, in-the-know, fashionista (I threw that word in there cause I couldn't think of the right word 🥴). But he stole every scene he was in, and Tucci *was* that art director. 

[aghst]

2 hours ago, meep.meep said:

It was used in a challenge on the last season of The Amazing Race.  I'd have trouble with that.

That was in Corsica and it's in the current season airing now.

Corsica is just north of Sardinia.

But no doubt Ligurians went to both places.

A lot of the place names in Corsica sound Italian, not French.

[CheshireCat]

26 minutes ago, aghst said:

That was in Corsica and it's in the current season airing now.

Corsica is just north of Sardinia.

But no doubt Ligurians went to both places.

A lot of the place names in Corsica sound Italian, not French.

Since they're next to each other it would make no sense if only Sardinia was occupied as often as it was. I could look it up but I'm too lazy but I wouldn't be surprised if Corsica simply stayed in French hands while Sardinia became Italy (again).

ETA: Unrelated but I kind of wish they'd go back and redo the regions he's visited so far with the added history that the past two episodes have had.

 @Crashcourse he definitely did. Although, I had a similar thought - those were interesting dresses for baking. 😅

[aghst]

From the Puglia episode.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/stanley-tucci-searching-for-italy-restaurants-season-2/index.html

When I visited Puglia before the pandemic, I saw a lot about Lecce, Monopoli, Ostuni.

They didn't go to any of these places.  They did show some shots of Monopoli, the houses hugging the cliffs above the water.

Matera is great though, I'm sure Stanley knew about the town, how dramatic the views were.  But it's in another province, though it's close to Puglia.

[3 is enough]

So does this mean there will be no episode devoted to Basilicata?  I think he also made short stops in Friuli and Valle D’Aosta when he went to Veneto and Piedmont.

He has visited 13 of the 20 regions, plus the 3 that had short segments.  That leaves either 4 or 7 more episodes, depending on whether he revisits those other regions.

Edited October 24, 2022 by 3 is enough

[CheshireCat]

I feel like some of the things covered in the latter half of the episode when there are more commercial breaks don't get the attention they deserve. I would have loved to know more about the many cheeses the siblings produce, for example, and I would have loved to see him try more.

And was it Foggia that was known for its bread? That got only a mentioning but we didn't actually get to see any of the breads or see him taste the bread and I would have loved to see more about that, too. (Especially the bread that they showed as he talked about it. That looked interesting).

Also, if this is the only time they cover Matera and the town's known for its pastry then they should have covered that instead of the restaurant. It was interesting but it didn't seem like something special compared to the rest that they've covered (as in, it was another inventive meat dish which, while interesting, we've seen in other episodes) whereas the pastry looked and sounded like it would have been.

Matera in general looked like it deserved far more than the last segment of an episode.

I didn't know that about the olive trees. It's crazy to think that one infected plant can do so much damage but it's a relief for every olive tree farmer that there's a tree that's resistant. Imagine if there hadn't been!
I'd really love to talk to an olive oil producer and learn from him about olive oil. I know there are different kinds but I'd love to know how to taste if an olive oil is good or not.

As a sushi and fish fan, the fish they showed (and tasted) at the beginning looked absolutely mouth-watering.
I'm not surprised that he didn't understand a word if they speak a heavy dialect in that area. If Bavarians or Northern Germans speak in their dialect, I don't understand a word either and German is my mother-tongue 😂 (I'm not even sure how much I'd understand of the original Berlin dialect).

[chitowngirl]

With CNN cutting back on original programming, I wonder if we’ll ever get the last of Italy’s regions?

[annzeepark914]

I think tonight's episode is the last. At the end, Stanley talked about the wonderful people he'd met touring Italy. It sounded like a farewell wrap up. I loved tonight's episode on Liguria. We were in Santa Margherita for a couple of days, visiting Portofino for an afternoon via a boat taxi. Great seafood and pesto pasta, and beautiful scenery. So for me, the very first & last episodes of this entire series were perfecto!! ❤️🤍💚 

Edited October 31, 2022 by annzeepark914

[3 is enough]

It did sound like a series finale.  I wonder if they added that bit at the end after CNN made the announcement about programming last week. 
My husband is from Molise, which was not covered, and I guess it may never be now.

[aghst]

Could be CNN, could be Stanley, could be both.

16 episodes total.

[buttersister]

LOL! Stanley licking the Genovese pesto off his spoon was the moment I identified with most. The nonna at the B&B we stayed at in Levanto served it every night, on pastas, on gnocchi, I would have eaten it from a bowl--so every meal was memorable. 

I think he needs to do one more episode--about the olive oils of Italy, how each region's is different from the others, whether milder, fruitier, pepperier, lighter, darker, and how the affect the flavors of Italy. 

[annzeepark914]

7 hours ago, buttersister said:

LOL! Stanley licking the Genovese pesto off his spoon was the moment I identified with most. The nonna at the B&B we stayed at in Levanto served it every night, on pastas, on gnocchi, I would have eaten it from a bowl--so every meal was memorable. 

I think he needs to do one more episode--about the olive oils of Italy, how each region's is different from the others, whether milder, fruitier, pepperier, lighter, darker, and how the affect the flavors of Italy. 

You should read his latest book. You'll find yourself again & again. He's a piece of work!