I know the show ended several years ago, but I'm finding myself more obsessed with "The Sopranos" than I ever was before.

I own the DVD set, and whenever I'm bored, I pop in a disc and immediately get immersed in the lives of New Jersey's most-famous family (besides the Springsteens.)

Watching the show also makes me really hungry. They're always eating scrumptious-looking Italian food, either at Vesuvio or in someone's dining room (I'm not a fan of what they eat at the Pork Store or Bada Bing. How can you have an appetite at a strip club, or a place where so many people got whacked?)Anyway, I thought I'd throw a plug in today for "The Sopranos Family Cookbook", which very cutely says it's "compiled by Artie Bucco."In addition to featuring some mouth-watering recipes, it's a good read for fans of the show. Here's the product description from Amazon.com:

"In what is quite possibly the most fun of all the Sopranos-themed titles being published in time for the show's September return, this tongue-in-cheek cookbook brings homestyle Soprano family cooking to the table. Artie Bucco, the character (played by John Ventimiglia) who is the chef at the show's Vesuvio restaurant, sets the tone of this book of insider 'family' secrets by explaining his family's move from Campania, Italy, to New Jersey, then turns to various Soprano characters. ...While the book's conceit is playfully written by [Allen] Rucker in the voice of each character, the recipes, by [Michele] Scicolone, are solid and honest-to-goodness Italian-American dishes."