Sorvino Dee Dee - Pinot, Pasta, and Parties

Dee Dee has the bliss gene.

P AUL S ORVINO

When Paul is around, there is always a reason to celebrate. Paul is a warm, wonderful person, who always has the biggest heart in the room.

D EE D EE S ORVINO

Paul is the ultimate Renaissance man. I have heard that description thrown around a lot, but Paul is the real deal. He loves people, places, art, music, and food. Aside from being a great actor, Paul does so many things remarkably well. He sings opera, creates monumental bronze sculptures, paints, plays the piano and guitar, can do a perfect impression of anyone, is an ace at tennis and archery, and is a genius in the kitchen. I am one lucky girl.D EE D EE S ORVINO

It took me a long time to get it right, but I finally have. The first time I saw Dee Dee she was wearing a periwinkle dress. She had a golden aura around her that was astonishing. I said to myself, Thats the woman for me and she is the most extraordinary woman I have ever met. P AUL S ORVINO

T he odds of us ever meeting were slim, because our worlds do not often intersect.

DEE DEE: I was in politics, originally in the Midwest and then in Washington, DC. Paul lived in Los Angeles, where he had a wonderful acting career. As unlikely as it may seem, our paths crossed on the set for a TV news show in New York. Paul was appearing on the show late in the afternoon of December 11, 2013. I was scheduled to take my chair right after he was done. I was waiting to go onto the set just as he was leaving.

PAUL: I took one look at Dee Dee, and I was smitten. I arranged through the producer for the three of us to have a drink after the show at Del Friscos, a restaurant next door to the studio. I successfully maneuvered to sit in the chair next to Dee Dee and surprised myself by doing something very much out of character. I am old-school and a gentleman and have never been forward with women. But I was so overwhelmed by the beautiful woman sitting beside me, I was compelled to act. Without a moments thought, I put my arm around Dee Dee and then leaned in to kiss her. For me, that was that. After twenty years of being single, I knew I had found a woman with whom I could celebrate life. That evening turned into our first dinner. I had planned to meet friends elsewhere, but we ended up staying at Del Friscos and invited them to join us there.

DEE DEE: I was not expecting anything to come from the meeting. I had lots of friends in town and was enjoying everything New York had to offer. Truth be told, I didnt like actors. I found them demanding. They were like children and divas expecting to have everything revolve around them. Besides, I was not a fan of Los Angeles, and Paul lived there full-time.

PAUL : When I got back to Los Angeles, I called Dee Dee often, unaware of a serious communications glitch: When Dee Dee returned my calls, her caller ID appeared on my phone as Private Caller. All of her calls were blocked. Though I didnt understand why she was not getting back to me, I continued to call. I was a man on a mission.

DEE DEE: When Paul came back to town to New York to shoot Brooklyn Banker, directed by Federico Castelluccio (aka Furio from The Sopranos), he went to see me perform in a political satire called Electoral Dysfunction. We went to Sardis after the show, which was our official first date. We had a great time. Paul got me a walk-on role at the very end of Brooklyn Banker. In the course of the movie, the character Paul was playing went from being a gangster to a boss. The movie ends with all the guys and many extras showing the new capo respect. I was in that scene looking with deference at the boss like everyone else.

PAUL: Not long after Brooklyn Banker, I was working on a movie called Cold Deck in Canada and asked Dee Dee to join me. One of the stars of the movie invited us for Canadian Thanksgiving dinner, which falls on our Columbus Day. I was so caught up in the spirit of the celebration that I asked Dee Dee to marry me.

You ask me sitting down? she responded.

I got down on one knee and proposed again at the Thanksgiving table. I couldnt wait any longer.

Dee Dee accepted.

DEE DEE: We married a little more than two months later, on December 27, 2014, in what I call the simplest wedding ever. We had a thirty-second ceremony performed by Judge Matthew Sciarrino, my consigliere from early politics, at the fountain at Lincoln Center. Our witnesses were Pauls oldest friend, Paula, and her partner Riccardo, who had joined us for dinner the night we met, our photographer, and Stacy Blum Sciarrino, the judges wife. A very tight knit wedding partythe only way to elope. Perfect, just the way we wanted it. Our small wedding party walked across the street to celebrate our marriage at Fiorellos. And we are still celebrating.

In Pinot, Pasta, and Parties, we have collected our favorite recipes so that you can effortlessly prepare special food for your family and friends. Pinot, Pasta, and Parties features ten party menusfrom an intimate dinner to a Goodfellas feast, from an abundant buffet to a picnic with an Italian accent. We include more than eighty simple recipes that you can enjoy with your guests.