The Time Paul Sorvino Was On The Rachael Ray Show

Since the news of Paul Sorvino's death on July 25 at the age of 83, his family, friends, co-stars, and fans have flooded social media with tributes to the great actor. Sorvino will be remembered for his dramatic portrayals on screen, like that of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in "Nixon," a communist sympathizer in "Reds," and Detective Phil Cerretta in early seasons of the TV series "Law & Order."

But the film role that Sorvino will be likely remembered for above all others is that of mob boss Paulie Cicero in "Goodfellas." In one of the best-loved scenes, Sorvino's character and the other mafiosos make a multi-course Italian meal with slow-simmered pasta sauce, steaks, and wine — despite being in prison at the time. Sorvino famously, painstakingly slices a clove of garlic with a razor blade, while Ray Liotta's character Henry Hill narrates: "He used to slice it so thin that it used to liquefy in the pan with just a little oil." That scene stayed seared in the memories of Italian food lovers everywhere — including Rachael Ray. This week, Ray took to Instagram to remember the day she had Sorvino on the "Rachael Ray Show" to demonstrate this impossibly delicate garlic-slicing method.     

Paul Sorvino appeared on the "Rachael Ray Show" in 2015. Standing with the actor in front of a counter full of peeled garlic cloves, Rachael Ray gleefully exclaimed, "I've waited 25 years to be in a kitchen with Paulie!" She then asked Sorvino if it was really his hands in the close-up scene in "Goodfellas" of garlic cloves being sliced impossibly thin with a razor blade. Sorvino told Ray, "I'm a sculptor. I'm a pianist. I think I can shave some garlic." Then, with Ray leaning in closely to watch, he did just that, using a regular razor blade to shave a garlic clove into paper-thin slices. 

Sorvino was no stranger to traditional cooking, and as Fra Noi shares, the Italian-American actor liked to say that he had been cooking since he was 12 years old. He once owned a restaurant and even had his own line of jarred pasta sauces. In 2017, he and his wife Dee Dee published "Pinot, Pasta, and Parties," a cookbook of Italian dinner party dishes and cocktails. 

In her Instagram post, Ray calls Sorvino "a true Renaissance man," a fitting title for someone proficient in acting, sculpting, music, and also cooking. "There is no Italian that doesn't love food," Sorvino shared with Fra Noi. "There is food that doesn't love Italians, but there is no Italian that doesn't love food."