Silver Travel Cook Club

February 2025 – The Tucci Cookbook

This month, the Silver Travel Cook Club invites you to discover the rich culinary heritage of The Tucci Cookbook: Family, Friends, and Food. Written by the beloved Stanley Tucci, this cookbook is a heartfelt tribute to the Italian way of life, filled with recipes that bring people together.

From comforting bowls of pasta to flavourful mains like chicken cacciatore and hearty soups, The Tucci Cookbook is a celebration of home-cooked Italian meals. Packed with family stories and timeless recipes, it offers a glimpse into the traditions that make Italian cuisine so special.

And for those who love a touch of sweetness, don’t miss the opportunity to try Stanley Tucci’s signature Tiramisu recipe. This classic dessert, with its creamy mascarpone, coffee-soaked biscuits, and indulgent cocoa topping, is the perfect way to round off any meal. It’s elegant, simple, and utterly irresistible—scroll down for the full recipe!

Let The Tucci Cookbook inspire you to recreate the warmth and flavour of Italian kitchens in your own home.


Recipe: Tiramisu

Ingredients:

  • 4 large eggs, separated
  • 1/2 cup sugar, divided
  • 1 pound mascarpone
  • 1 cup crushed amaretti cookies (optional)
  • 2 cups brewed espresso
  • 1 tablespoon dark rum (such as Myer’s) or orange-flavoured liqueur (such as Grand Marnier or Cointreau)
  • One 7-ounce package ladyfingers
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Method:

  1. In a medium-sized bowl, beat the egg yolks with 6 tablespoons of sugar until foamy and pale. Beat in the mascarpone until smooth. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whip the egg whites with an electric mixer. When they are frothy, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Continue beating until they hold stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture, then fold in the crushed amaretti cookies, if using. Set aside.
  3. Mix the espresso with the rum in a shallow bowl. Soak each ladyfinger, one at a time, in this mixture until it has softened slightly and absorbed some of the liquid (The cookies should not be mushy, but your fingers should be able to make a light indentation in them.) Arrange the cookies in an 11x7x2-inch baking dish to form a tightly packed single layer. Use pieces of broken cookies to fill in any gaps. (If the cookies seem dry, a small amount of the coffee mixture may be spooned on top.)
  4. Spread the mascarpone cream mixture evenly over the cookies. Shake the cocoa through a fine-mesh sieve to evenly coat the top. Refrigerate to set for at least 2 hours before serving.

How to win a copy of The Tucci Cookbook

Comment below and tell us what’s your favourite Italian dish, and is it one you’ve tried making at home or would love to learn?

A winner will be chosen at random in early March 2025.
The competition closes on 28 February 2025.

  1. The Cook Club is open to residents of the UK, aged 18 years or over, except employees of Silver Travel Advisor and their close relatives, partners or friends and anyone otherwise connected with the organisation of the prize draw.
  2. There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter.
  3. By entering, an entrant is indicating his/her/their agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.
  4. This competition is not in any affiliation with any other company.
  5. The prize is as stated, and no cash or other alternatives will be offered. The prize is non-transferable and is subject to availability.
  6. If a winner does not claim their prize within one week, the prize will be forfeited, and another winner will be selected.
  7. By entering each entrant accepts that the winner’s name and city of residence may be used for promotional purposes by Silver Travel Advisor.
  8. No responsibility is accepted for entries, notices, acceptances, tickets, goods or other documentation lost or delayed in the post.
  9. Winners will be solely responsible for any tax liability incurred as a result of this offer. The organisers’ decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered.
  10. Entries will be accepted until the closing date as stated.

See all of our Silver Travel Cook Club recipes.

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54 Responses

  1. A simple bruschetta,often made but never tastes the same as eaten in Italy due to the quality of their fresh tomatoes.

  2. It just has to be crab linguine. Not only my favourite but my 9 years old grandson all time favourite as well.

  3. I love to make a spag bol but I would genuinely love to learn how to make a proper cannelloni. It’s so delicious and to be able to make a proper full on Italian version of that would be yummy (although I’d probably end up weighing about 50 stone if I could lol)

  4. Chicken cacciatore – and yes I make it frequently, just eyeballing the ingredients as I go for a slightly different taste every time.

  5. I make a Spag Bol that hits the spot for me and my entourage so I would be interested to see Stanley’s take on something similar. I have to say that we really enjoyed his recent televised gastronomic tour of Italy so the book should be a good one.

  6. Not a recipe as such but a lovely bit of Italy we like to recreate with a measure of Vin Santo and some lovely cantuccini to dunk in.

  7. Our favourite was (don’t have it now as I am diabetic and it is carb central) pasta, beans and potato which we found in a Carluccio cookbook. The ultimate comfort food!

  8. I love spaghetti carbonara and quite often make it myself, but it’s never as rich or tasty as in a good Italian restaurant

  9. I had Italian grandparents who came to the UK in 1914, and although my mother had Italian food growing up, my father only ever wanted British food. I have been reconnecting with my roots since the 1970s and Italian cookery has been a big part of that journey.
    I invested in a pasta machine years ago but, for simplicity, I love a Caprese Salad as that was my intro into the food of my ancestors.

  10. A four cheese risotto! On arriving at a small hotel in Pordenone, Italy at 1 a.m. in the morning the hotel staff went across the road to wake up the man who owned a small restaurant there. He looked out of his upstairs window, shouted a lot of abuse for being woken up but on hearing I had not eaten for 8 hrs he rushed downstairs and within half an hour served me this FANTASTIC meal with a big smile. I did offer to wash up but was shooed back across the road to sleep. Nothing has ever tasted so good!

  11. A simple spaghetti with lots of splendid olive oil, olives, lean ham, green beans, tender corn and garlic!

  12. As cliched as it might sound, I’d like to make a proper pasta sauce, I had a home made one once in New York and nothing has ever come close

  13. I can make a lovely lasagne but using courgette or marrow puree instead of the beef ( but lots of cheese also) . The topping includes plain yoghurt and is an old recipe I’ve had for 40 years

  14. Tiramisu all the way, which I would have for both a main course and a dessert.
    I will have a go at the recipe included in this newsletter.

  15. If you can call this a dish, my favourite Italian food is Panettone. I eat it at Christmas when it’s in the supermarkets but I’ve never made it. Perhaps it’s just as well that’s it’s a Winter treat.

  16. I love all Italian food but I will choose a Spaghetti Carbonara as my favourite dish, particularly the time when I ordered it at a restaurant in the Trastevere district in Rome. I have often made this dish at home and it’s nice but will never be as amazing as that one was!

  17. Lasagne, lasagne and lasagne – I cook it regularly and choose it frequently when eating out. In fact it would be my death row meal, served with chips, salad and garlic bread!

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