Tea at Trianon: Stanley Tucci's "Incredibly Easy" Summer Soup

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Stanley Tucci's "Incredibly Easy" Summer Soup

From Eating Well:

Here are the main ingredients you will need for the string bean minestra: garlic, onion, potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes and, of course, string beans. Tucci includes marinara in his soup, but that's an optional add-in. You will also need staples like salt, olive oil and water—things we all have in our kitchens!

Before the video started, Tucci loosely chopped the zucchini, tomatoes and potatoes and added them to a pot of simmering water on the stove. He also tossed in his other ingredients, throwing in halved string beans and just a little bit of garlic and onion to the soup. Tucci says there's no need to sauté anything beforehand—the fresh, seasonal veggies themselves impart plenty of delicious flavor without that step.

Tucci also suggested adding a "splotch" of marinara to the pot, but that's optional. We love the idea of using marinara sauce as a way to boost the flavor! But if you don't have the sauce on hand, toss in a few teaspoons of your preferred dried seasonings or a dollop of pesto to bring this delicious dish to the next level. (Read more.)