• January 21, 2008
• Vol. 69
• No. 2

Debi's Dinner

By Amy Elisa Keith

What the Entourage Star—And Tuscan Food Video Blogger!—Needs for the Perfect Meal with Friends

Salud!" Debi Mazar toasts her friends gathered at the table in the L.A. home she shares with husband Gabriele Corcos, a percussionist. Over the sound of Afro-Cuban jazz on the stereo, guests are digging into a Tuscan bread soup and sausage with spicy beans. "Amazing," says Isaiah Washington, there with his wife, Jenisa. "Gabriele, you made the sauce?" asks Sopranos actress Katherine Narducci. He nods and shares the credit with his wife. The 43-year-old Entourage star loves entertaining as much as acting, and her passion is evident at the couple's frequent dinner parties—and on their six-month-old Italian cooking video blog, UndertheTuscanGun.com. Mazar, who first hit the scene as one of Madonna's much-photographed friends, acknowledges how much her life has changed in the last 20 years. "Me and Madonna weren't eating in the '80s!" says the mother of Evelina, 5, and Giulia, 1. "This is about my life now, as a mother, in love, cooking with family." (She gained about 80 lbs. with each pregnancy but never gave up pasta to get thin again; she credits Pilates and cardio.) As she and Corcos, 35, plan to post more instructional videos, the good news for their friends is more dinners. The bad news: They're filmed. "I'm trying to be cute for the cameras," says Narducci, eyeing her soup, "but I want to tear into this!" Adds Washington: "Debi and Gabriele are a down-to-earth couple. The food they prepare is a bonus."

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Mazar's Must-Haves

1 VINTAGE APRONS "Usually I wear my grandma's old aprons, or others I have collected in my travels. When I was young, I would sit and watch my grandma prepare stuff. She wasn't Italian, but she did really good Italian food."

2 A TRADITIONAL TUSCAN GRILL "It's nothing more than a piece of metal that you make the bread on," says Mazar of this stove-top grill, which she brought back from a trip. "The secret is to burn it on one side, then burn it on the other, and inside it's still soft. Then you make bruschetta with olive oil."

3 APPETIZERS "Guests love to nibble," she notes. A reliable first bite is pecorino cheese and Bartlett pears with honey and hot pepper. Get this recipe, and others from Mazar's meal, at people.com/debi_recipe

4 THEIR WEDDING WINE HOLDERS "In Italy everybody buys silver for every special occasion. Baptisms, weddings, you get silver." These were gifts from friends for Debi and Gabriele's 2002 nuptials in L.A. In the holder? "We always have wonderful wine like Ruffino or Bruzzico."

5 GABRIELE'S SLIPPERS "I have lots of shoes, but I have to be comfortable. Lately I've stolen my husband's big, ugly Uggs to wear around the kitchen. I want to have them on, then slide into a fabulous heel later. Truth is, I often forget the heel."