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