Al Roker’s New Cookbook Connects Food and Family

Al Roker says “I love you” with pancakes and a perfect roast chicken. 

With his latest cookbook, written with his oldest daughter, Courtney Roker Laga, the TODAY show star shares the personal side of his cooking life with his family. The book, Al Roker’s Recipes to Live By: Easy, Memory-Making Family Dishes for Every Occasion, includes more than 100 recipes and comes out October 15. 

Roker and Roker Laga will share stories and dishes from the book at the inaugural Food & Wine Classic in Charleston, September 27-29. He says he’s a longtime fan of the city, especially for its food scene. 

“Charleston is such a great city, for the architecture and the food, of course,” he says. “We love staying at The Dewberry and eating at Chez Nous. It’s a restaurant in a row house run by a couple; the husband is French and the wife is Spanish. They offer two apps, two entrees, and two desserts; that’s it. I just love it. But there are so many great restaurants in Charleston; you can’t go wrong.”

Roker says his daughter came up with the idea for them to write the book together. 

“She came to me and said that after we had so much fun cooking together during the pandemic, we should do this. I said, ‘You’re the chef, let’s do it together,’ and let’s make it about our family recipes. The recipes are from our family, plus some from close friends, and a few from chefs I’ve worked with on the TODAY show.”

Roker is a bestselling author with 13 books to his credit but says writing a book with his daughter was a completely different story.

"I was a little hesitant — we’ve never worked together before, and you don’t know how that’s going to work out. You can always part ways with a friend but not your kid,” he says. “That’s what I’m most thrilled about with this book — seeing how good your child is at her job is one of those moments that you live for as a parent. It’s the best feeling in the world, when you see objectively that your child is really smart and good. And it was amazing; she knocked it out of the park. She did the research on the recipes from our family and pulled everything together, then she re-created those recipes. It really is a labor of love, an homage to our family; it’s our story.

“The book is a snapshot in time,” he continues. “There’s pictures of our granddaughter, Sky, when she was only three or four months old. Now she’s a toddler. Our family pooch, Pepper, is there. I got my first bound copy of the book a week after she passed away, and when I opened the book, it was to a page with a big photo of Pepper on the sofa. It was very bittersweet. I loved it.” 

Roker says that when he cooks at home with his wife, ABC News correspondent Deborah Roberts, and children, he prepares the meat or main course, such as the barbecue bacon-wrapped shrimp or smothered chicken. Roker Laga often makes a cheese board for pre-dinner snacking and rounds out the meal with a few vegetables and sides, like marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes and collard greens with bacon and brown sugar. 

“My nightly routine is a protein that is well-seasoned, then pan-seared, roasted, baked, or grilled, without a lot of stuff that covers the flavor. The seasonings are meant to enhance the flavor of the food,” he notes. “These are not fancy recipes. They are not complicated. I’m from a middle class background, and that’s reflected here; we’re talking about roast chicken, pork chops, potato salad.” 

A favorite recipe from the book is the roast chicken, which he adapted from the famous version  served at Zuni Cafe in San Francisco, after having the late chef Judy Rodgers on the TODAY show. “To me, there’s nothing that says love on a Sunday than a good roast chicken,” he says. “I tell people, ‘If this isn’t the best roast chicken you’ve ever eaten, I'll pay you $100.’ No one has ever taken me up on it.” 

The pancakes recipe in the book is another family favorite, developed and honed over the years with his three children and now, his granddaughter. 

“Every kid should enjoy good, homemade pancakes; that’s a rite of childhood. When I’m around, we’re not having frozen waffles,” he laughs. “You make them from scratch; it’s the little things. I want to make them something simple but special.” 

That formula of cooking simple food with a special touch is important to Roker, especially when he’s trying to balance his work schedule with family time.  

“I like things that are simple but with an extra step,” he says. “It’s not a big deal, but food is love. Taking the time to do that for someone is important.”