“An American Family Cooks” by Judith Choate: After 100 Cookbooks, Celebrity Cookbook Author Writes One From The Heart

Judie and her family, doing what they love best. From “An American Family Cooks” by Judith Choate (Welcome Books) Photos by Steve Pool

New York, NY – September 24, 2013 – After writing over 100 cookbooks–including a slew by celebrity chefs including Charlie Palmer, David Burke, Jacques Torres and Patti Labelle, James Beard Award-winning author Judith Choate turned to her family journal to write the cookbook she’s always wanted to write.

In stores today, An American Family Cooks (Welcome Books), Choate is joined by three generations of relatives, including her food-photographer husband, Steve Pool, and her formidably epicurean sons: San Francisco wine professional Christopher Choate and culinary Francophile Michael Choate, a literary agent representing writers in the world of literature and food.

This inviting collection of some “fancy, some not-so-fancy, and some just plain everyday” dishes is lovingly interlaced with Choate’s fondly recollected kitchen anecdotes, spanning from her childhood on the farm, to coming of age in San Francisco, to raising a family in Manhattan, to spending her golden summers in upstate New York.

With combined culinary influences that range from classic comfort food, to fine French cuisine, to traditional Italian fare, to local and organic ingredient-driven cooking, to lusciously baked desserts, the Choate family’s diverse repertoire of recipes reflects the passions and experiences of three generations of gifted cooks.

An American Family Cooks marks the culmination of a vibrant culinary career that spans more than fifty years and over 100 cookbooks. For the first time Judie brings us the most treasured meals and practical advice from her own kitchen and private menus, most of which have never been published before.

Part memoir, part cookbook, part modern family album, this beautifully photographed (by Choate’s husband) and illustrated (by lifelong friend Stephen Kolyer) volume offers us a coveted seat at the Choates’ dinner table and invites us to experience the warmth, laughter, bickering, and joy that happens when families cook together.

A family cookbook, yes, but one reassuringly bound with expert authority and generations of love.

Apple Pizza Recipe

With apple season just around the corner, try Judie’s Apple Pizza (below). Just one of over 100 recipes in An American Family Cooks.