Actor and director Stanley Tucci, creator of the acclaimed foodie film Big Night, teams up with his parents and chef Gianni Scappin in The Tucci Cookbook. Like many of the best cookbooks, this is more than just recipes, as Tucci gives the reader a glimpse of the Italian-American experience seen through the filter of food traditions. The family anecdotes are engaging; the photographs are beautiful. The recipes, drawn from three families and two regional culinary traditions, are clearly written, enticing and diverse--including three recipes for basic tomato sauce, each using different techniques to obtain different results! The best adjective for The Tucci Cookbook is generous: from portion sizes to the constant theme of hospitality to Tucci's decision to donate a portion of the profits to the Food Bank of New York City. The Tucci Cookbook will appeal both to serious home cooks and to film buffs. --Pamela Toler, blogging at History in the Margins