Al Roker is one of America’s favorite TV icons, beloved for his weather reports and globetrotting specials. He’s also a food obsessive who’s cooked alongside celebrity chefs on The Today Show and even started his own food podcast, Cooking Up a Storm with Al Roker.
Now, Roker is set to release a new cookbook, Al Roker’s Recipes to Live By: Easy, Memory-Making Family Dishes for Every Occasion, which he created with his daughter, chef and recipe developer Courtney Roker Laga. In anticipation of the book’s October 15 release, the father-daughter culinary duo visited the Delish Kitchen Studios to cook one of their favorite recipes: seasonally appropriate Apple-Cider Doughnut Bread Pudding. Al and Courtney also reminisced about family dinners, dining pet peeves, and the process of writing their beautiful cookbook together.
How did the idea for your new cookbook come about?
Al Roker: Courtney said, “Hey, Dad, how about a cookbook?” And I said, “It’s great, but you’re going to have to figure this out because I’m obviously not a professional chef.” She’s a professional chef. And I was a little intimidated to be in the kitchen with her for the longest time. She really knows far more than me.
Courtney Roker Laga: I’ve been [developing recipes] for about five years, and this book is one of the best things I’ve ever done in my entire life.
What were family dinners like growing up in your house?
Courtney: I had two family dinners. I had one with [my dad] and Deb, and then I had my mom. They were all great. But with [my dad], we always had a lot of guests coming over.
Al: Especially on Sundays. I like Sunday dinner.
Was Courtney always into food as a child?
Al: She was always an adventurous eater, even as a little one. I remember she was about three, and when we lived in Westchester there was this lovely little mom-and-pop sushi place. And she would go for sushi and they even gave you your own set of Hello Kitty chopsticks.
I think her adventurous taste buds have been genetically transported to [her daughter] Sky, because we were at a diner in New Jersey and I gave her a lemon and she just started sucking on the lemon. To see her daughter have the same adventurous palate as she has has been lovely. It’s also been very gratifying watching her navigate being a mom and a culinary professional, and how she’s worked those two things together.
What’s one dining etiquette rule people need to follow more?
Al: People who don’t put their napkin in their lap. It’s a little thing, I know it’s not a big deal. Or, waiting until everybody gets their meal to start eating.
Courtney: I think it depends on the location. If you’re at a restaurant, like a barbecue restaurant, right? And you go in sweatpants and a sweatshirt—whatever. But if you’re at a nice restaurant and you’re in a sweatshirt, flip flops. Yes, that.
As a dad, what were you the most strict about at the dinner table?
Al: I wasn’t really strict about anything. The only rule was, you’ve got to try something.
What about phones at the dinner table?
Al: To be honest, [my wife] Deborah is very adamant about that. I was going screaming and kicking about it, because I want to take a picture of the food and all that, but it does make a difference. Even if you have your phone in your pocket and it buzzes, you want to check it out.
Courtney: It’s a distraction. People are texting you or you’re getting notifications from news outlets. You just want to focus in the moment with family and put everything else aside.
What’s an important party etiquette rule?
Al: Here’s the thing that drives me nuts: When we have a party and people literally won’t leave. I’ve had to go upstairs, get in my pajamas, and come down. And it’s like, “You know what? You can be wherever you want, you just can’t stay here. Get out. The food’s done. Move on.”
If the party starts at seven, what time do you arrive?
Courtney: 6:30. I’m always early.
Al: 6:30? Yes.
Courtney: Or I’ll drive there and sit in the car. I just have to be there early. I don’t like being late at all. But I know a lot of people in our family are late. A lot.
What’s your favorite fall food tradition?
Al: We love going apple picking. It is a tradition in our house. We have a house in the Hudson Valley. How old were you when we started apple picking?
Courtney: Seven, eight.
Al: And ever since, we go on Columbus Day weekend and we pick apples. But more importantly, what do we get?
Courtney: Apple cider doughnuts.
Al: They’re hot, they got the sugar, and you just start inhaling them.
Do you remember any family cooking disasters?
Al: You know, I don’t think we had any disasters in the kitchen. I don’t like trying anything really complicated. The most complicated thing [I’ve made] is Daniel Boulud’s short ribs, which were a lot. That takes a while.
What was is most ridiculous amount of money you’ve spent on delivery and what was the order?
Courtney: It was $250 and it was at Nobu. I was craving sushi so bad and I was in the city. We went out for drinks, and I was hungry afterwards. I’d rather spend money on a good meal than a bag or shoes.
Al: That’s my girl.
What’s your favorite thing to bring a host if they have you over for dinner?
Al: It depends on the people. Some people, you bring a bottle of wine, other people you bring a pie. We’ve got a niece whose recipe for chocolate chip cookies is in Al Roker’s Recipes to Live By—plug—and they are so freaking fantastic. She brings those as a host gift.
Courtney: For me, probably wine, but it depends on who the person is. If it’s somebody who I’ve known for years, one of my good friends, I might make something. But if it’s someone who I don’t really know or it’s my husband’s friends, a bottle of wine.
Megan Schaltegger is an NYC-based writer. She loves strong coffee, eating her way through the Manhattan food scene, and her dog, Murray. She promises not to talk about herself in third person IRL.