An American Family Cooks: From a Chocolate Cake You Will Never Forget to a Thanksgiving Everyone Can Master

With its irresistible recipes, gorgeous photographs, charming illustrations and narration by award-winning author Judith Choate, An American Family Cooks sets the table to which we all want to be invited.

Join award-winning cookbook author Judith Choate in the kitchen and at the table as she and her family of foodies celebrate the new American home cooking. Within its beautifully photographed and delightfully illustrated pages, one will find a sophisticated, yet cook-friendly variety of recipes that meld influences from the fundamentals of traditional home cooking, classic follow-to-the-letter French techniques, contemporary California cuisine, exciting ethnic dishes, holiday classics and the most simple and satisfying of family meals.

• An introduction from a veteran and much-published chef to the new American home cooking with a strong emphasis on organics and local and sustainable produce
 • Modern, produce-centric, organic, recipes--from French classics to California cuisine
 • Fundamental generations-old recipes and techniques no home chef should be without: stocks, stews, soups, pastries and cakes, canning and preserving
 • Richly photographed by renowned food photographer, Steve Pool; charmingly illustrated by Stephen Kolyer. 324 full color photographs, and 15 illustrations.

An American Family Cooks will be the Featured Selection for The Good Cook Bookclub ‘s late September catalog (announce date 9/8/13, in homes approximately 9/25/13).

Table of Contents

Some Thoughts About How We Cook
Shopping, Ingredients, Supplies, and Techniques
 
Drinks and Nibbles
Chris Talks About Wine
Making Hootch
Cocktail Treats
Grilled Red Devil Quail
Olive Swirls
Hummus
Spicy Bean Dip
Holy Guacamole
Scallop Seviche
Marinated Yogurt Cheese
 
Just Everyday Meals
Heirloom Tomato Salads
Every Night Salad
Octopus Salad
Braised Baby Artichokes
Boy Oh Boy! Bok Choy (Bok Choy Sauté and Bok Choy, Shiitakes, and Tofu)
Champ
The Chicken Pot Pie That Nana Made and We All Still Make
Pepper Steak
Beef Stew
Stuffed Cabbage
Mom’s Crook Neck Squash
Chris’ Paella
Roasting Chicken
Chicken Meets Lemon
Fried Chicken
Favorite Chicken
Chicken Under a Brick
Braised Lamb Shanks with Green Olives
Talking About Pork (Roast Loin with Garlic Scapes and Stuffed Pork Loin)
Pork Scallopine with Arugula Salad
Making Mole
Fancy Dining

Friday Still Means Fish
Steve’s Every Night Shrimp Creole
Dungeness Crab at Home
Soft Shell Crabs
Scallops with Roe and Fiddlehead Ferns
Linguine with Clam Sauce
Salmon with Curried Carrot Couscous and Green Purée
Cod Cakes
 
What Would We Do Without Pizza and Pasta?
Pizza
Correcto Risotto – sample pages
Nana’s Potato Gnocchi
Butternut Squash Ravioli
Raw Tomato Sauce
Meatballs and Spaghetti
Pork in Milk
Eggplant Parmigiana
Braised Radicchio
We Can’t Forget the French

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup Days
Impromptu Soups
Black Bean Soup
Butternut Squash Soup
Corn Chowder
Talking About Sandwiches
Really, Really Good Cheese Sandwiches
Thin Yellow Boys
 
Country Cooking
Newsom’s Country Ham
Fried Green Tomatoes
Corn Fritters
Digging Ramps
Waffles for Dinner
Annie’s Brown Bread
 
Looking Back
Chris on Vinegar
Pickled Asparagus
Easy Pickles
Making Old-Fashioned Relish
Fresh Fig Relish
Making Jams
Making Sausage
Boston Brown Bread
Banana Bread with Canada
Making Bread
 
A Short Order Cook; Isn’t Breakfast Great
Salt-Buzz Breakfast with Biscuits
Hash Browns
Mom’s Waffles That We All Still Make
Scotch Griddle Scones
Laurel’s Oatmeal Scones
Easy Cinnamon Rolls
 
We All Love Dessert
Chocolate Chess Pie/Cake
Devil’s Food Cake
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Laurel Makes Everybody’s Birthday Cake
Lemon Meringue Pie
Shaker Lemon Pie
Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie and Some Others
Apple Pizza
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ginger Cookies
Poached Pears
 
Mickey’s Big Birthday
Easter
Scotch Eggs
Greek Easter Bread
Uncle Kol’s Hors d’Oeuvres: Mini Black Bean & Corn Empanadas, Spinach-Feta Phyllo
   Cups
Mickey’s Easter Dinner Menu: Grilled Leg of Lamb au Jus and Chimmichurri; Potato
   Gratin; Orange-Cumin Carrots; Grilled Asparagus; Roasted Baby Artichokes; Pearl
   Onions and Cremini Mushrooms
 
Thanksgiving
Chris’ San Francisco All-Day Thanksgiving: Champagne & Fried Eggs on Toasted
   Baguette with Shaved Truffles and a Drizzle of Honey; Iced Vodka & Caviar with
   Quail Eggs, Minced Red Onion, and Tiny Toasts; Traditional Turkey Dinner with All
   the Fixings
Perfect Roast Turkey and Gravy
My Stuffing
Brussels Sprouts
Cranberry Ice
Easy Rolls, At Least I Think They Are
 
Christmas
Mickey’s Christmas Dinner: Pickled Oysters and Caviar; Gougères; Foie Gras Torchon
   with Quince Compote (Roasted Beet Salad for the Ladies); Lobster Bisque; Tournedos
   Rossini on Potato Galette; Tournéed Vegetables; Cheese Board with Grapes and Pears;
   Bûche de Noël
Making Fruitcakes for Christmas Giving
Date-Nut Bread
Cut-Out Sugar Cookies for Decorating
My Never-Fail Fudge
 

Judith Choate is a writer, chef and pioneer in the promotion of American food and author and co-author of over 100 books. Additionally, through her company, Custom Cuisine, Judie works as a consultant in product development, most specifically creating lines (both recipes and actual production) of restaurant quality specialty food products and entrées for commercial distribution as well as in marketing, restaurant development, and culinary presentations. She has been consultant to many internationally-known chefs, among them, Charlie Trotter, David Burke, and Charlie Palmer as well as to companies such as Heinz, Starbucks and Costco.

For more, click "About Judie" on the website for her popular blog, "Notes From Judie's Kitchen" at www.notesfromjudieskitchen.com

Judith Choate lives in New York City
Michael Choate lives in upstate New York
Christopher Choate lives in San Francisco
Steve Pool (Photographer) lives in New York City
Stephen Kolyer (Painter) lives in New York City

Quotes about Judith Choate:

Judith Choate is as passionate about the written word as she is about food, making A Reader's Cookbook both a pleasure and a terrific blueprint for sharing great writing and great eats. -- Michael McCarty of Michael's Restaurants in Santa Monica and New York

A Reader's Cookbook encourages you to curl up not only with a good book but also a terrific collection of recipes. Judith Choate explores the surroundings of favorite authors with delicious results. -- Nan Lyons, author of Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? and Around the World in Eighty Meals

Judith Choate has masterfully created a delicious road map for a culinary journey around the world. It's the perfect pairing to any book club. -- Charlie Palmer, of Aureole, Joule and other restaurants, hotels and wine shops across the country.