Big Night

I just finished Stanley Tucci’s wonderful memoir, Taste: My Life Through Food. The second season of his award-winning show, Searching for Italy, just premiered this month on CNN. I wrote this piece dedicated to Mr. Tucci in September of 2021 on my old blog.

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Did I ever tell you about the time I met Stanley Tucci?

When his indie opus, Big Night, premiered in 1996, he did a tour of arthouse theaters to personally introduce his labor of love.  

He happened to stop in Cleveland to show the film at the Centrum Theater in Coventry. I happened to belong to the Cleveland Film Society.  It was kismet.  

As a member, I got free passes to see movies before they were released to theaters, discounts, and I volunteered at the Cleveland International Film Festival where I saw special screenings like Psycho on the big screen with Janet Leigh.  Once in a while, the film society sent out invitations to special events like Stanley Tucci and Big Night. 

Mr. Tucci took questions after the film and then we all drove to a local Italian restaurant and had dinner together.

I was still so shy then.  I think all I said was thank you, I loved your film. I smiled and nodded at everything he said.  And prayed I didn't have sauce on my chin.

All the things I could’ve said.  Where in Italy should I visit first? What are your favorite restaurants? What’s been your most challenging acting role so far?  And the deep dive questions…What was it like to grow up around George C. Scott and Colleen Dewhurst?  Can you believe years from now Jim from The Office will be your brother-in-law?

In 1996, my culinary journey was still in its infancy.  Besides my life long love affair with pizza, I’d only just started to learn about real Italian food.  I’d grown up with the usuals:  spaghetti and meatballs; frozen cheese ravioli; good old fashioned lasagna. 

I suppose now is the time I tell you about my friend, Mary.  I met her on the first day of the first job I had after college.  She’s 100% Italian.  A cook beyond measure.  My idol in so many ways.  And she’s been a lot better friend to me than Stanley.  No offense, Stanley, but I haven’t heard from you since that big night in 1996.

Mary was the one who took me to Gallucci’s on the East Side of Cleveland where we tasted buffalo mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, and a multitude of olive oils.  She introduced me to this tiny authentic Italian restaurant called Stino da Napoli, near our Rocky River office.  I ordered something called gnocchi and was never the same again.

I’ve always wanted to write about my Big Night with Stanley Tucci.  He and his love of Italian food have been back in the news with a new show, Stanley Tucci:  Searching for Italy.  He just won an Emmy for it this month.  And it happens to be, mama mia, the twenty-fifth anniversary of Big Night.

Have you ever seen the film?  It’s a gem.  Tucci and Tony Shalhoub play Italian immigrant brothers who own a struggling restaurant in the 1950’s.  

The centerpiece of the film is the making of the timpano, a massive molded casserole of pasta and cheese and meat wrapped in sheets of pasta and baked.  I’ve always wanted to attempt to make one.

Now seemed the perfect time.

I borrowed The Tucci Cookbook from the library.  I searched the internet for other versions of the timpano and studied recipes.

First hurdle?  The mold.  What the heck do you make it in?  A special mold devoted to timpanos?  I live in an apartment and don’t have a lot of space for items with one use. A le Creuset pot?  I didn’t want to make a full size timpano when it was just me and G who were going to eat it. A stainless steel bowl?   I wasn’t sure if the stainless steel bowl I have was oven proof.  I searched my cupboards high and low (and this isn't easy for me.  I'm barely 5'1" tall.)

I wanted to make most of the ingredients myself.  I circled a day on the calendar for the assembly and the feasting of the timpano.  A few days ahead of time, I started the process.  I made the red sauce.  I made the meatballs.  I boiled the eggs.  I grated the pecorino Romano cheese.  I made the pasta for lining the mold.  I drew the line on making the pasta that goes on the inside.  A bag of penne from the store was perfectly fine for that part of the recipe.  I was ambitious, but not crazy.

I assembled all of my ingredients and went to work.  I make fresh pasta once every five years or so?  So it's like doing it for the first time each time.  It sure is satisfying though.

The chosen casserole dish, liberally greased with butter and olive oil.

The first layer of goodness, penne pasta in marinara sauce.  

Then it was time for Genoa salami, cubes of provolone cheese, hard boiled eggs, meatballs, and pecorino Romano cheese.

I sealed the top the best I could and placed it in the oven and crossed my fingers.

After an hour and a half in the oven, thirty minutes more of sitting on the cooling rack, it was time to unveil the timpano.

Here's the beauty resting again before it was time to slice open.

And drum roll, please...

Could I be any more proud?  A triumphant way to honor the film, my evening with Mr. Tucci, and my personal culinary journey.

Thanks again for reading! I care about you, please don’t forget to eat your greens.