Everything is this book is so good, you want to make it all in one day. It brings back the old days when my grandmother was alive and the family got together for holiday dinners.

The product was stated as to be in almost perfect condition but when we received it, it really was not. There was writing on the inside of the cover, scratches, and i actually had to wipe it off because of something sticky on it. Not very impressed.

I HAVE BEEN TO ITALY, AND HAVE HAD HOMEMADE ITALIAN FOOD FROM SCATCH. THIS IS MORE FOR ENTERTAINMENT THAN COOKING.

Well, this is just an echo of all the positive reviews here, but this is really one of the best cookbooks on my shelf -- and I have a lot! Every recipe I've tried has been very authentic and great, except perhaps the recipe for cannolis called for a little too much cinnamon for my son's taste. The recipe for Rollatini di Pesce Spada was one of the best fish dishes I've ever made!

Even if you don't watch the Sopranos, if you like good old-fashioned Italian food, get this book!

I absolutely love this cookbook! If you are a Sopranos fan and you love Italian food, you'll love it as well.

I am Italian and consider myself an excellent cook. I was thrilled to find the recipes in this cookbook to be so authentic. The Sunday Gravy could've been my recipe. It is how I was taught by my mother and my grandmother ! We have always made our own pasta and zeppoles and our family recipes match or come very close to the recipes in the book. I bought 3 more to save them for my own 3 daughters for future use. This is definitely a must-have book if you like authentic Italian cooking!

This book brought back so many memories of living in Newark, New Jersey as a youngster and learning from my mother and grandmother how to cook. I am now sharing this with my son and grandchildren who have expressed a desire to learn to cook the way Grandma does. The stories are great and it was a pleasure to see Artie call "spaghetti sauce" by the name I still use, which is "red gravy".

Recipes are easy, from the province in Italy my people came from, and totally enjoyable. But most of all, they are authentic!!

And the stories.......again, full of memories of Newark, New Jersey.

I have even ordered extras to give out to friends.

You don't have to be Italian to cook like one. (I am). This book makes it easy, informative and delightful.

Best Christmas present I got in years. Whether you watch the Sopranos or not this book is fantastic. It has outstanding tips in all facets of cooking. How hot your BBQ coals should be, how to check if fire to hot or cold. Has shopping lists and many recipes all interwoven with Sopranos history and trivia. Delightful at a great price.

Mammamia! These recipes are worth dying for. This book is worth buying by itself for the "Sunday Gravy" recipe, you'll love it.

Excellent - arrived fast. Very pleased. Description was accurate and was delivered as described

Just what I wanted in every way- quick delivery- well packaged. Highly recommend this vendor. A+,A+,A+,A+ A+

If you love to cook (or not) and eat, this book is worth getting. Soprano fan or not, it's a great cookbook to add to your collection. I had the book for a week now, so far, I made Janice's baked ziti (I didn't have time to make the Sunday Gravy that's why I made Janice's it was quick and the sauce was good (minus the peas), however, I added more basil and garlic--you can never have enough garlic), then I made the roasted chicken with lemon, garlic, and oregano--finger-lickin' good; and the Biscotti Regina Cookies--we made total pigs out of ourselves, afraid to make another batch; and the pastina with ricotta and the Pineapple ricotta pie--pure comfort food and simple. When I get some nice peppers, I will make the egg and pepper sandwich. Need I say more? This cookbook compels you to make food and enjoy with friends.... thanks Carmella, thanks Artie

I was unsure about buying this, but it became one of the best cookbooks I own. Everything is very clear, and so far nothing has come out bad. Many of the recipes are ones I remember my greatgrandmother cooking!!

This has to be one of my favorite cookbooks-and I have MANY--but this one is special, not only does it have pretty pictures of the actors, but the recipes are delicious! And so funny-the interview with Furio had me laughing out loud-you'll be cooking and laughing at the same time-not a bad way to spend the day.

I purchased the Sopranos Family Cookbook as a gift for three different friends. All of them have raved about the variety of recipes and the story lines from the TV hit show. Lucky for me, I get to eat what they cook from the book!

I'LL TAKE THE RECIPES FROM THIS BOOK ANYTIME OVER FOOD FROM THE OLIVE GARDEN!! OR MOST OTHER RESTAURANTS FOR THAT MATTER.

A FORMER BRONXITE

I ordered this cookbook so that I could use authentic "Sopranos" recipes for a dinner I made for my husband and myself to enjoy while watching the final episode of "The Sopranos". This is a fun cookbook in that it is written by "Artie" and contains stories contributed by other characters in the series. I enjoyed reading about "Janice's" memories of Sunday dinner growing up in the Soprano household; "Bobby Baccalieri's" love affair with food and the many other stories included in the book.

I have only tried two recipes so far - the baked Ziti and the Tiramisu. The Ziti was delicious but a bit time consuming to put together. Next time I decide to make it I think I will put it all together the day before so I only have to deal with baking it the next day. Tiramisu is probably my most favorite dessert. This was a simple recipe and it went together in no time. Next time I make it I plan to use cocoa powder instead of the chopped up chocolate and I also will line the dish with plastic wrap to ease the removal of the dessert from the pan. Also, I couldn't find any ladyfingers in my area so I used a sponge cake. It worked OK but after a day or so became very soggy. I wouldn't recommend using it as a replacement for the ladyfingers.

When I opened this book, my first laugh came immediately upon seeing the photo of Livia Soprano in the kitchen on the inside cover spread. The rest of the book is great humor interspersed with authentic Italian recipes. I was pleasantly surprised at the large number of recipes included. Obviously the humor and entertainment value depends largely upon the reader being a Soprano's fan, but if you are a fan, I highly recommend this book.

Great book, with personalized recipes from different Sopranos' characters with stories of their favorite Italian food. The recipes are great!

This book is not for the novice. The recipes in the book are, at their core, sound. However, one should be cautions when following some of their directions. Almost all of the recipes require modifications to some degree. Part of it is commom sense, part is personal taste (that's if you like your chicken to have the consistency of shoe leather; seriously, an hour and a half for baked chicken?).

That said, the recipes themselves are fantastic. I've happily stuffed my face with Ziti al Forno, Minestra, Eggs in Purgatory, and Zeppole (donuts).

I collect Italian cookbooks and I find these recipes very appealing. I like cookbooks that don't require lots of special trips to the market for one specific ingredient that I will never use again and this fills the bill.
Easy recipes that don't require a lot of work. Recommended.

I have been an avid fan of the Sopranos since day one and when I saw this cookbook on the bookshelf I went right for it. First off, I didn't' buy the book for the recipes, I bought it for the pictures and stories but once I started looking at the recipes I got intrigued. I made the manicotti and escarole with garlic recipes! Not only did they turn out delicious but they were pretty simple to make and follow. Now I try to pick one special recipe from this book and make it before the show comes on every Sunday.

Simply remarkable...this book is like a Italian food history book...better than simply italian...this book teaches you the real italian way...dont hesitate

Every recipe in this book is excellent. Brings me back to my grandmothers kitchen in Ozone Park. The only thing missing is the wine in the jelly glasses. There needs to be a part II to this book

True Sopranos fans will be in for a treat with this one ---- Nifty little insight articles along with magnificent recipes. Italian cooking at it's finest. The "Sunday Gravy" is as good as the sauce that has been simmered by our family for generations - now thats Italian! Makes a nice gift for Sopranos Fans. If you don't want to buy the book - "forget about it"

The book has a very good variety of items with simple, easy to follow instructions to prepare a good Italian meal. The articles on Italians, terms, and customs sheds light on a culture that is full of flavor, fun and exposure to the Italian world. GREAT BOOK!!

This isn't the type of cookbook you'd keep in your kitchen. It is very nicely illustrated with photographs of the dishes and the cast plus other fun memorabilia from the show. This makes an excellent gift for the Soprano enthusiast! I doubt the recipes are as good as my Sicilian grandmother's, but I look forward to trying them out!

As many others have mentioned you need to double check temps and in even some cases quantities or portions of ingredients. All in all I love this cookbook for many reasons, most of which is the way the recipes are presented. It is fun to read along some of the storylines as you browse for a new meal to make the family. I never had an Italian mother to compare these recipes to so I am not judging the book under pretense. But we grew up in an area with many fine Italian restaurants and how I miss those places.

This cookbook makes it fun on Sundays to recreate some of the favorites we used to "order out". Take this cook book with some levity and have fun while you cook, that's really what it's all about.

If you're looking for a cookbook on regional Italian cuisine buy Marcella Hazan or Lidia Bastianich instead. If you want haute Italian buy Mario Batali. If you're looking for some authentic east coast Italian-American family home cooking then get this is the book. This is stuff your mom or grandma would make. I bought this as a joke on a whim as a Soprano's memorabilia item and was pleasantly surprised to find it's a good cookbook to boot. The recipes are easy, functional, and tasty. The ingredients are simple to find. One word of advice though, as others have noted, keep a close eye on the cooking temperatures because sometimes they seem a bit off, though the ingredients and proportions are excellent and can be easily tweaked to your taste. Two other books I'd recommend of the same sort are Rao's cookbook and The Wise Guy cookbook. Like the Soprano's cookbook they have yummy home cooking with lots of amusing anecdotes that make the books fun to read.

If you are a Sopranos fan and love Italian food, then you must get this book. It is very entertaining, colorful, and written like you were getting a tour of not only "the neighborhood", but the personal kitchens of each character depicted. Salute!

As far as cookbooks go, this is one of the most fun. Filled with stories and excerpts from the show it's an entertaining read on top of an informative cookbook. Yes, the recipes are basic Italian, nothing too hard or too involved, but for the average cook this is a great source of Italian cooking. If you anything like me, and absolutely love to cook, then you'll enjoy this book very much, especially if Italian is what you're craving. Filled with pictures (always a plus) to show you what your dish should look like, as well as easy to follow instructions that for the most part include ingredients easy to find I really don't see a downside to this addition to your cookbook collection. I've tried out a few, not all (I don't general use cookbooks, just own them for a quick idea), of these recipes and they sure do taste good...

Although this is filled with show story lines, it is one of the worst Italian cookbooks I own. These people can't really be Italian!

I was not pleased with this cook book. Despite all the positive reviews I was disappionted. When I first saw the recipe using a can of soup I knew it wasn't for me. I do love the Sopranos but as far as cooking goes I will look elsewhere for my Italian recipes.

The Sopranos Family Cookbook is authentic! Having grown up in an Italian family I know first hand that these are the dishes that are served as basic fare and Artie Bucco's approach is as authentic as it gets. Every recipe is made exactly the way my grandmothers made them and taste exactly like theirs, too.

My husband and I haven't even put this book on the bookshelves with the other cookbooks - we keep in out on the coffee table for quick and easy access. We use it more than any other cookbook and we're not tired of it yet. It's genuine comfort food, both for the body and the spirit.

If you want authentic Italian fare on your table, this is the book to get. Nothing too fancy - just good, basic family style meals that have been around for generations.

There is also good fun reading in here. Get it - you'll enjoy it!

I thought this would be kind of silly, but the recipes are just like mama would make. They work and they are tasty. It's a great way to celebrate family night in front of the Sopranos with a bowl of pasta!

I love this cookbook. Of course my favorite is Penne ala Vodka! Just like the true Italians make it back in New York. Recommend it to anyone who loves Italian cooking. My family just loves it when I cook from this book.
My best friend bought me this book and another book called The Truth About Caffeine : How Companies That Promote it Deceive Us and What We Can Do About It. Since he knows I quit black tea recently, he's been really wonderful helping me in cope with my mood swings. This book is a labor of love I loved the book and don't miss coffee one bit. Buy it here or visit CaffeineAwareness.org for more info.

I love all italian food, but have been hard pushed to find a cookbook that really makes the food the way it was meant to be. The ricotta pie with pineapples is to die for. If you love food, this book is a must.

The Sporano's Family Cook Book is well presented in a large format, with great pictures and anecdotes to accompany some truly mouthwatering and authentic recipes. Non-cookery loving fans of the series will enjoy it, even if it only serves to give just that little bit more insight into the characters. This book is certainly one for the shelf at home, and if you attempt cooking anything from this excellent product, it's just gotta be the chicken cacciatore for dinner and the eggs in purgatory for breakfast. Bada-bing!!

I tried some of the recipes already and have been impressed. I tried the Sunday Gravy, Lasagna, and Ricotta pie with pineapples. I look forward to making more with this book.

Yes, I know that the title of this review comes from The Godfather, but that's what comes to mind when I thumb through this book. I actually cooked one of the recipes in here and it was durn tasty. I enjoyed it so much, I made it twice.
I love the Sopranos, so I'm addicted to picking up anything related.
The book is set up so the characters tell the recipes and little stories to go along with it.
Any Sopranos fan will love this book.

I'm made several dishes from the cookbook.. I enjoyed all of them

For those of you that can't find the one or two recepies you have been looking for over the years, this is the book. If you follow the recepie, your efforts will be rewarded with a fine entree you will be proud to serve.

I have a personal library of over 500 cookbooks, yet I feel this is the best cookbook I have purchased in years. Every recipe works! The "family" history is very entertaining.

Great cookbook. The recipes are concise and easy to make. Nice storyline also. The recipes are original and come out great every time. Highly recommended for anyone who loves Italian Food.

As an Italian-American, I cringe at anything associated with the continued presentation of this ethnic group as stupid, violent, abusive gangsters. Why other Italian-Americans want to take part in and further promote this stereotype is beyond me.

The Italians like to eat. I know - I married one. They always try to force food down your throat even though you may have just ate an hour ago or you are full. Anyway, this is pretty cool for a cookbook. I like all the little stories in it as well.
I also am not related to the actor that plays Artie on Sopranos because it is my married name. I just hate that they call red sauce "gravy"...it makes my skin crawl. Gravy is brown or white! But if you are a Sopranos fan you will like this. I am way to lazy to cook any of this stuff but I like to read it.

I got a little bit of Soprano in my blood line, Of course mine is on the Iowa timber side of the family...My mom bought me this book for Christmas and I must say it's a keeper! [...]

I learned to cook by being in the kitchen with my mom, and every Sunday and especially on holidays, we'd make macaroni (we never called it pasta) meatballs and sausage, and if it was an occasion, bracciole. Gravy (not sauce) cooked all morning, flavored by the meat. Today I make these recipes but have never had them written down. Reading through the different dishes in the cookbook, I see that they are prepared exactly the way my family has always made them. I can't wait to try some of the other dishes I've always loved but didn't know how to cook.

SOPRANOS MENU FAVORITES (from the book & the show)

The following is a list of the best Italian American comfort foods for goombas (all spelled phonetically and broken down into categories)

Macaroni (must be eaten with homemade gravy)
-Baked Manicott' (manicotti)
-Gavadell' (cavatelli)
-Ziti with Ricott' (ricotta)
-Ravioli
-Lasagne

Fish (must eat at least 7 on Christmas Eve)
-Calamod' (calamari)
-Mussels Ma-dinara (mussels marinara)
-Clams Oregenata
-Seafood Risotto
-Shrimp Scampi
-Anchovies/Sardines
-Lobster Fra Diavolo

Deli & Pizza Parlor Items (the classics)
-Olives, Peppers, Provolone, Grissinis, Salami & Pepperoni Antipast' (antipasti platter)
-Gabagol' (capicola)
-Proshoot (prosciutto)
-Fresh Mozzarell' (mozzarella)
-Ahbeetz (pizza)
-Eggplant Parmigian' (eggplant parmigiano)
-Veal Marsala
-Sausage & Cheese Frittat' (frittata)
-Pepperoni Calzone
-Stromboli Bread
-Stuffed Mushrooms
-Breaded Zucchini
-Meatballs

Soups (the best to warm the soul)
-Pasta Fazool (pasta fagioli)
-Minestrone (minestroni)

Dessert (must sample one of each on holidays)
-Zeppola (zeppolis)
-Shfooyadell' (sfogliatelle)
-Canolli
-Torrone
-Struffoli
-Pignoli Cookies
-Nutella on Pannetone

Remember, you may see other Italian-Italians or Italian-Americans pronouncing these words differently just as they would other Italian words. The east coast Goomba uses the above dialect, and it is a very real and true version of the Italian words

Michele is the name of a MALE! In fact it is Italian for MICHAEL -- YOUR NAME IN ITALIAN!

You will be suprised at the quality of the recipes in the book. However, some of them are not quite on the mark: lemon chicken is a wonderful recipe calling for oregano, garlic, olive oil, and slices of lemon and potatoes baked with chicken, but the bake time and temperature turn out under-cooked stringy chicken even in a new oven. Some of the recipes, like in Dr. Melfi's section use convenience foods which I don't like. But the recipes can be played around with and are a sound basis for delicious meals. They're quality, you just need to adjust some things. But I gave the book 5 stars because there are wonderful "quotes" from Sopranos characters. Furio tells us in an interview that Americans use too much sauce on their pasta, "it's like soup." Also un-Italian is the custom of having cappuccino after a meal, "like a milkshake." Then there's Pauli's "How to Cut a Garlic." Pauli tells the reader the difference between slicing, chopping, and mashing garlic, all important distinctions as they change the flavor of the dish. And never use a garlic press, that's "mayonnaise." As an Italian who knew these customs but also happens to like mayonnaise, I think most people will enjoy this book. It functions wonderfully as a gift.