Entertaining with the Sopranos

Fans of a certain multi-award-winning HBO® dramatic series and lovers of fine eating everywhere made The Sopranos Family Cookbook a runaway #1 bestseller, thanks to its intimate vignettes and delectable Old Country recipes. But that just got the party started. Now comes the ultimate guide to making every event the perfect occasion, served up by the Garden State's most gracious hostess, Carmela Soprano.
From graduation parties to holiday gatherings to poolside barbecues, Carmela gives you everything you need to keep your personal crew as happy as a clam in red sauce: over 75 delicious new Neapolitan-based recipes as well as scores of Soprano-approved tips on picking the ideal location, choosing tasteful decorations, whipping up the best drinks, and selecting the right music. Sweetening the festa are dozens of never-seen illustrations and insightful commentaries from Soprano relatives and intimates. You'll find "AJ" Soprano's confirmation invitation, advice on "party anxiety" from therapist Dr. Jennifer Melfi, a term paper by Meadow Soprano on "Why My Grandmother Can't Cook," advice from family friend Paulie Walnuts on throwing a surprise party, and much, much more.
Unsure about wine? Follow the advice of Artie Bucco, proprietor of the renowned Nuovo Vesuvio restaurant in Newark, New Jersey: "If you have steak, a `big' meat dish, think of a `big' red wine like a California Burgundy. I guess you could match it with a big white wine, too, but I don't know of any big white wines."
Want to surprise with a birthday gift? Model yours after what Carmela plans on giving her husband, waste management executive Tony Soprano, on his fiftieth: a Dean Martin impersonator, an outdoor screening of his favorite film, The Public Enemy, starring James Cagney, and a monogrammed putter. (But no ritzy watch. He has a dozen of them.)
Planning a wedding? Find inspiration in the vision of Carmela's sister-in-law, Janice Soprano Baccilieri: "As guests enter a cathedral of pines, they would pass an ancient wishing well where they could deposit small presents or deep thoughts about life and love. Ideally, I would love for the whole ceremony to be done in the nude, but unfortunately, the time for that kind of pagan openness has long passed."
Flustered by funerals? Heed the wise suggestions for his own wake from Tony's Uncle Corrado "Junior" Soprano: "A lot of food, no crap, a lot of homemade Bucassi vino, a nice speech from Bobby Bacala, since he was always the nicest to me of all those bums, and me singing like Caruso on the Victrola."
In Carmela's words: "What's closer to a celebration of life than celebrations? Look for them, jump into them, charger plates and all, and have a ball."

ALLEN RUCKER was born in Wichita Falls, Texas, raised in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and has an MA in Communication from Stanford University, an MA in American Culture from the University of Michigan and a BA in English from Washington University, St. Louis. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller, "The Sopranos: A Family History," as well as two books with comedian Martin Mull, "The History of White People In America" and "A Paler Shade of White." His next book, "The Sopranos Family Cookbook," comes out in September, 2002. As a TV writer-producer, he co-founded the experimental video group, TVTV, and has written numerous network and cable specials and documentaries, including "The History of White People In America," "Christopher Reeve: A Celebration of Hope" (Emmy nominee), "CBS: The First Fifty Years," "Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular," "Big Guns Talk," a history of the Western, and TNT's "Family Values: The Mob & The Movies." He is also the head writer of the official Sopranos website. Mr. Rucker is the recipient of the duPont-Columbia Journalism Award, the Writers Guild Annual Award, and two CableACE Awards, among others. "The History of White People In America" was honored by the Museum of Television & Radio at their 2001 Paley Television Festival in Los Angeles. Mr. Rucker also teaches in the USC School of Cinema-TV. He lives in LA and is married, with two children.