Speaker 1: You're listening to I Choose Me with Jenny Girl. Hello, everyone,
Speaker 1: welcome back to I Choose Me. In Susan Lucci's book Lalucci,
Speaker 1: she has a chapter called thank You for Asking, answering
Speaker 1: questions she gets all the time. We're not giving them
Speaker 1: all away today. You'll have to read the book for that,
Speaker 1: but we thought it would be fun to share a
Speaker 1: little sneak peek and add a few of our own
Speaker 1: to the mix. So let's jump back in with the
Speaker 1: incomparable Susan Lucci. Your book has got all kinds of
Speaker 1: great things in it, So you have a chapter called
Speaker 1: thank You for Asking, where you answer questions that you
Speaker 1: get all the time, and we're not going to give
Speaker 1: them all away. You'll have to read the book for that, everybody,
Speaker 1: But we thought it would be fun to share a
Speaker 1: little sneak peek and add a few of our own
Speaker 1: to the mix. So let's just jump in. We'll get
Speaker 1: the most asked out of the way. You are eight
Speaker 1: twenty one time Emmy nominee. You say everyone wants to
Speaker 1: know what it is like the times that you didn't win,
Speaker 1: But I want to know what was it like the
Speaker 1: time you did win?
Speaker 2: Well, I'll just say right off the bat that winning
Speaker 2: is better. I was very very happy with the nominations,
Speaker 2: very very happy.
Speaker 3: But winning is definitely better.
Speaker 2: And ABC had a party that night and my husband
Speaker 2: I went to with everybody and they put a glass
Speaker 2: of champagne in my hand, and when they did that,
Speaker 2: we all just cheered and we had one sip. And
Speaker 2: then the ABC publicist and my husband told me that
Speaker 2: I'd had to go home now because People magazine was
Speaker 2: coming at six o'clock in the morning to do an
Speaker 2: interview and take photos of me with the Emmy in
Speaker 2: my hand.
Speaker 3: That's the winner, that's the winner.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh. I would have run right home and
Speaker 1: gotten all my beauty sleep after happy waited that long
Speaker 1: to win that award. It's ridiculous that you had to
Speaker 1: wait that long. By the way, thank you. So a
Speaker 1: slew of some of the biggest actors were on All
Speaker 1: My Children throughout the years. Us Michael B. Jordan, who's
Speaker 1: yes a great moment right now. Also Amanda Seyfried who
Speaker 1: nominated this.
Speaker 3: Year to two categories.
Speaker 1: Yeah, incredible. Who do you remember acting beside or watching
Speaker 1: act that?
Speaker 2: Michael B Jordan, Really Michael, because Michael was the stepson
Speaker 2: of Jack Montgomery and Erica and Jack had a long,
Speaker 2: long romantic history together. And so I was working with
Speaker 2: Michael with well Willie who played Jackson numerous times during
Speaker 2: the week, and I just had he was sixteen, Michael
Speaker 2: was Michael B. Jordan was sixteen when he began on
Speaker 2: All My Children. I would just tell you he was
Speaker 2: always so wonderful to work with. He was prepared, he
Speaker 2: was on time, he was committed, he was sweet, he
Speaker 2: was respectful to everyone around him. Cast crew produced everybody
Speaker 2: you name it, but not nauseously, so you know, not
Speaker 2: phony blow name and he was he was authentically who
Speaker 2: he was. He was a genuinely terrific young man.
Speaker 1: That's so nice to hear. It's always easier and better
Speaker 1: when everyone is nice.
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, and on the same page and no agenda.
Speaker 3: Right right.
Speaker 1: What's a role you turned down or a role that
Speaker 1: you were up for that you didn't get?
Speaker 2: Uh, it's so hard.
Speaker 1: That's a hard question for me to answer because I don't.
Speaker 1: Once I don't get something, I let it go. I
Speaker 1: don't yeah, hold it in my memory, banks.
Speaker 3: I know there are parts I would like to have played.
Speaker 3: People always said to me.
Speaker 2: That I should play Maggie and kat and Aha Tin roof.
Speaker 2: I would have loved that. I still think Tennessee Williams
Speaker 2: has written some maybe the best parts for women.
Speaker 3: Ever.
Speaker 1: You should do Maggie today.
Speaker 2: Would be interesting. I've thought about that, Jenny, thank you.
Speaker 1: I love that idea. Yeah, I want to know what
Speaker 1: it's like for her now.
Speaker 3: Yeah for me.
Speaker 1: One of the roles that I have recently not gotten
Speaker 1: that I was bummed about was one of the characters
Speaker 1: on White Lotus, and they shot that season in Thailand,
Speaker 1: which I would have really loved. So I was bummed
Speaker 1: about that. I'm not gonna lie. You say in the
Speaker 1: book that you love spaghetti.
Speaker 3: Yes, okay, So I have to ask, do.
Speaker 1: You make your own sauce or do you use it
Speaker 1: from a jar? No?
Speaker 2: I always made my own. Now I'm not really cooking
Speaker 2: very much. I do a lot of takeout. Unfortunately, we
Speaker 2: have an Italian chef in town who owns a restaurant
Speaker 2: that when I do take takeout, it's wonderful, or.
Speaker 3: I go there.
Speaker 1: Yeah, why would you make your own if there's a
Speaker 1: chef nearby?
Speaker 2: Well and a helmet? Of course, always he did the cooking.
Speaker 2: I mean, I made a few things, and spaghetti sauce
Speaker 2: was one of the few things I brought to the marriage.
Speaker 2: I could do that with an Italian father. My mother
Speaker 2: wasn't Italian. My mother was Swedish, so I American born
Speaker 2: but of Swedish descent. But I you know, I never
Speaker 2: had to do the cooking because it was a helmet.
Speaker 2: But I did love to set the table. I do
Speaker 2: love to set a beautiful table, and I love flowers
Speaker 2: and all of that.
Speaker 1: So you were a good team. It sounds like, yeah, okay,
Speaker 1: so can you share with us as your recipe because
Speaker 1: I know people love to hear Susan Luci recipe.
Speaker 3: Or spaghetti sauce. Yeah, okay, okay, in a.
Speaker 2: Great big pot, little olive oil on the bottom, but
Speaker 2: very little, because what you're going to do first is
Speaker 2: brown the meatballs. And I always used more than one
Speaker 2: meat as my dad did. So the meatballs you brown
Speaker 2: them on the stove in that still in that big pot,
Speaker 2: because you will use the drippings as part of the sauce.
Speaker 2: So also the sausage, I used Italian sweet sausage as
Speaker 2: well as Italian spicy sausage. I used both sausages, so
Speaker 2: I would I would brown those, take those out and
Speaker 2: drain them on paper towels on platters, and then add
Speaker 2: the spices so that they roast a bit. Helmut always
Speaker 2: said that brought the flavor out. I solved that I
Speaker 2: learned from my dad. But Helmet would put his two cents,
Speaker 2: and he couldn't help himself, and he was right.
Speaker 3: So I would put you know, then you put.
Speaker 2: In the oregano and the thyme and the basil and
Speaker 2: the onions and the garlic, and I'd roast them and
Speaker 2: it would bring out the flavor. And then I would
Speaker 2: put in the this was from a can, the canned
Speaker 2: plum tomatoes, and maybe somebody else uses frush.
Speaker 3: You can.
Speaker 2: There are all sorts of variations, but I would use
Speaker 2: the canned plum tomatoes and the cans of pure tomato pure.
Speaker 2: But for each can, I would use a can of
Speaker 2: water mixed with chicken stock or just chicken stock, because
Speaker 2: water doesn't add much flavor. But the stock whale could
Speaker 2: also be beef stock, and then stir and be sure
Speaker 2: with a wooden spoon to be getting all those bits
Speaker 2: that collected on the bottom of the pot from the
Speaker 2: other the other things, and cover and I always lead
Speaker 2: the cover, open a smidge so that the air escapes.
Speaker 2: It doesn't boil down that much. You know, it's just
Speaker 2: melding all the flavors together and cook the pasta separately.
Speaker 2: Of course, drain it really well because you don't want
Speaker 2: a watery sauce on the plate. I have seen Liddy Bastianich,
Speaker 2: who has become a friend. She's just so delightful. I
Speaker 2: would watch her cooking shows and she did something that
Speaker 2: my dad did that if if the sauce gets too thick,
Speaker 2: take a spoonful, don't discard all of the pasta. Water.
Speaker 2: She would take a ladle and mix it in with
Speaker 2: her sauce. My dad did that too.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's that great tip.
Speaker 2: It's a great tip. And I thought, oh, that's so
Speaker 2: my dad did. That made me feel very very happy
Speaker 2: that I knew that that he did that. I'll tell
Speaker 2: you something else my dad did that I learned with
Speaker 2: the meatballs. He didn't put bread crumbs in the meat
Speaker 2: in the meatball. He took day old bread, white bread
Speaker 2: and soaked it in milk and chopped it up very
Speaker 2: much and did the meatballs with that. That's a very
Speaker 2: classic thing to do. And anyone who is of Battalian
Speaker 2: descent will probably recognize that. And the other thing, the
Speaker 2: thing I learned from my husband was not to overwork
Speaker 2: the meat too much, roll it quickly, let it go.
Speaker 2: Not to keep on keeping on because it gets too
Speaker 2: tough and hard and concentrated than the meatballs.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, making me want spaghetti with meatballs, and
Speaker 1: I don't need meat.
Speaker 3: Not that I would just say too.
Speaker 2: You know, in the last so you made your sauce,
Speaker 2: the meatballs and the sausages are draining. You put those
Speaker 2: in later so that they fully cook while the sauce
Speaker 2: is Maybe you put them in I'm trying to think.
Speaker 2: I think you put them in like a half hour
Speaker 2: before the sauce is finished. My dad would add not
Speaker 2: a thick pork chop, but thin, and the meat the
Speaker 2: meat becomes like braized and it just comes off the bone.
Speaker 2: And just that added addition, it's just layers of flavors.
Speaker 1: Layers of flavors. I'm so excited for all of our
Speaker 1: meat eating listeners for this recipe. I kind of want
Speaker 1: to modify my vegan ways, but my husband, yes.
Speaker 2: Yes, would you could you modify it in a vegan way?
Speaker 2: You could modifight a meatless way or not a red
Speaker 2: meat way.
Speaker 1: Yeah, uh huh. I'm not fond of all the fake
Speaker 1: meats out there. No.
Speaker 2: I feel like I take my poison straight, you know,
Speaker 2: and just in very very good moderation.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's probably the way to do it.
Speaker 3: Okay.
Speaker 1: So I have this question to you, what book do
Speaker 1: you love that you think everyone should read? I have
Speaker 1: an answer. It's La Luchi.
Speaker 3: Oh, thank you?
Speaker 1: Well, what's yours?
Speaker 2: Thank you?
Speaker 3: I have a list in.
Speaker 2: The book actually of the books that helped me so much.
Speaker 2: Helped me so much.
Speaker 1: That's a great resource for people to look at in
Speaker 1: the book.
Speaker 3: I hope.
Speaker 2: So. Yes, I wanted to put it in writing so
Speaker 2: people can relate to it if they want to. Right, right,
Speaker 2: there's a book.
Speaker 3: Well, actually there.
Speaker 2: Were three books written by Emily Silva. One is Evening Gratitude,
Speaker 2: which is very calming to read before you go to bed.
Speaker 2: One is Sunrise Gratitude.
Speaker 3: Which is lovely.
Speaker 2: I begin an end each day, I will say, with
Speaker 2: prayers of gratitude. So they were wonderful and they're not
Speaker 2: specifically religious, they are they just speak to our spirituality
Speaker 2: and it's day by day you can read it day
Speaker 2: by day. That's how I read it. You can read
Speaker 2: a bunch of them at once. It's up to you.
Speaker 2: And there was a third one, and this became a
Speaker 2: quest for me. So when I saw this title by
Speaker 2: that same wonderful writer, it's called find your Glow, because
Speaker 2: that was something I really wanted to be, genuinely having
Speaker 2: that again, not just putting on a happy face. But
Speaker 2: I did never want to be Debbie Downer, but I
Speaker 2: wanted to eventually acknowledge that I did have a glow
Speaker 2: and I'd like to find that again. And that was help.
Speaker 1: Oh I love that finding the glow again. It's very
Speaker 1: important because you do you feel just like down and
Speaker 1: you know when you walk into a room that's not
Speaker 1: the energy you want to.
Speaker 3: Give off exactly.
Speaker 2: And in fact, the whole title is find your glow,
Speaker 2: Feed your souls.
Speaker 1: That's good. I think we should read that one. I
Speaker 1: want to know the secret of finding my glow for sure.
Speaker 2: I think you've got a Jenny.
Speaker 1: It's a daily practice.
Speaker 3: Like you said, it's a daily practice.
Speaker 1: It's always returning to gratitude. Yes, no matter what the
Speaker 1: problem is, returning to gratitude will somehow put things into
Speaker 1: perspective and make you appreciative. I agree, you've met a
Speaker 1: lot of celebrities. Who have you been star struck by?
Speaker 3: Sophie la rent Hm?
Speaker 1: Great answer, Yeah, was he and idol of yours?
Speaker 3: Did you just say yes, yes.
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, she and Elizabeth Taylor, I would say when
Speaker 2: I was a little girl growing up, you know.
Speaker 3: And I also watched movies on TV.
Speaker 2: I watched The Early Show, the Late Show, the Million
Speaker 2: Dollar Movie, the Late Late Show. Watched them all and
Speaker 2: I admired them so much and and still I think
Speaker 2: they would hold up to having been idolized.
Speaker 1: Absolutely so worthy.
Speaker 3: As are you.
Speaker 1: Oh my goodness. I thank you so much for being
Speaker 1: with us and doing our little bonus episode. I want
Speaker 1: to remind everybody that Laluci is available now wherever you
Speaker 1: buy your books. Thank you, thank you, Thank you Susan
Speaker 1: for talking to me today. I've really enjoyed it.
Speaker 3: Thank you so much. Jenny, thank you.
Speaker 2: I've enjoyed it too, and continued success to you.
Speaker 3: Yes, to you, thank you.
Speaker 1: I have a wonderful review of your book, so I'll.
Speaker 2: Oh speak well of it.
Speaker 1: Thank you very very much, great talking to you. Have
Speaker 1: a great day.
Speaker 3: Thank you you too. Bye bye,