Sopranos Star (Vito Spatafore) Joseph R. Gannascoli: Book Signing

Dec. 5, 2009 - PRLog -- Synopsis:

Benny Lacoco is a "food fence". A load of frozen shrimp falls off of a truck, or perhaps a few cases of olive oil or some nice expensive wine with an unpronounceable name comes into your possession, Benny is the guy who can move it for you. No questions asked. He's well connected and a man of respect.
But there is another side to Benny. He's a gourmet cook who once aspired to be a renowned restaurateur…but business (and other matters equally unsavory) got in the way.
Now Benny has been summoned to cook a special meal for some of his associates on the occasion of the big man being sent up the river. This gives Benny the chance to prepare the meal of his life, A MEAL TO DIE FOR, because word has it that someone in their midst is a rat, and some things just can't be forgiven.
From the abundant antipasto of chicken liver mousse, prosciutto wrapped asparagus, grilled sardines, and other delicacies to the creamy delight of crayfish bisque, three types of pasta, and main entrees of roasted lamb, baked snapper, and chicken with artichokes and sausage, we are treated to flashbacks of Benny's life in a novel that blends the best of Big Night with Goodfellas .

Actor Gannascoli, best known for his role as Vito Spatafore on The Sopranos, with an assist from Kupfer (The Journal of Professor Abraham Van Helsing), serves up a solid debut filled with mouth-watering recipes. Mobbed-up Brooklyn chef Benny Lacoco prepares the dinner of a lifetime, knowing that someone stands to get whacked when the last course is served. The rat who set up the reigning capo for 10 to 20 is one of the made men at the table, but Benny realizes suspicion could fall anywhere: "I'll be cooking all night and my reward could be a piece of lead in the head." Benny ruminates on how he fell into his life of crime, acting as a food fence to move stolen stock out to select restaurants, "transfusing" inferior olive oil or wine into higher-ticket containers. The mix of haute cuisine and Mafiosi is a natural-obviously Julia Child and Tony Soprano both like to eat, right? And how often do you see a mobster getting disrespect for "revealing his limited knowledge of food and even more limited food choice experience"? (Jan.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.


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