Aida Sings for Cause

By Stephen M. Silverman

Monday April 27, 1998 12:00 AM EDT

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Whereas her character Janice on "The Sopranos" is "never really involved in anything except for what works for her," actress Aida Turturro has a serious cause to promote -- the anti-hunger organization Share Our Strength, which is being benefited by the "Canned Food Alliance Five-Star Celebrity Cookbook." Turturro's grandmother's simple antipasto recipe is included, as are dishes from Rosie O'Donnell, Isaac Hayes, Patti LaBelle and others. The cookbook is available to those who donate more than $5. For details, see the Web site of mealtime.org. Turturro, 38, was trying to promote the cause to PEOPLE.com over lunch on Monday -- in between being interrupted by the staff and patrons of a midtown Manhattan restaurant who kept sending over fan notes and bottles of wine. "My friend Bill called me up and said, 'You've got to give a recipe, because the Canned Food Alliance will donate money in your name,' " Turturro, who also devotes time to representing rheumatoid arthritis (an illness she suffers), told PEOPLE.com. "You give in the world and try to do your best," she said, adding (and not sounding Janice-like at all), "You can't do everything, though, or else you won't have a life."