The Family Table: Recipes and Moments from a Nomadic Life
Before actors and Food Network stars Jazz, Jake, Jurnee, and Jussie Smollett conquered Hollywood, they spent their childhood crisscrossing the United States. Moving coast to coast thirteen times, they car-tripped to small towns and big cities across America.
But no matter where they lived, two things remained constant: their incredible family feasts and the long, wooden kitchen table where they shared food and lived their lives. Each time they arrived in a new home, their mother would transform planks of hard wood into a smooth, varnished butcher block table in a beloved ritual that took three days. That hand-crafted table would become the heart of the Smollett clan, where the most important and cherished events and accomplishments, no matter how large or small, were honored, and where holidays were celebrated: Christmas, Easter, Passover, Chanukah, birthdays, milestones. With a mother from New Orleans and a Jewish father from New York who met and married in California, the Smollett kids were exposed to diverse culinary heritages and grew up open to all the deliciousness the world had to offer.
In this warm and personal book, the Smolletts invite us all to take a seat at their table and enjoy the good times and good food that help families thrive. The Family Table includes more than 130 delicious, comforting recipes that pay tribute to their past and present, including:
- Crispy Beef Lettuce Wraps
- Potato Crab Au Gratin
- Brown Butter Lamb Chops
- Honey Sriracha Chicken Skewers
- 7th Ward Gumbo
- North African Chicken Stew
- Cast-Iron Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie
These favorite recipes from the Smolletts are suitable for intimate dinners and fabulous feasts alike, but more than that, The Family Table is a remarkable portrait of a loving, all-American family, rich with traditions that they continue to build to this day.
Publisher
William Morrow & Company
Publish Date
April 24, 2018Type
Hardcover
Another Black Author
Jazz Smollett-Warwell spent the past decade as a writer/producer on various award shows and talk shows. She is a lifestyle personality, writer, home cook, party architect, and the mother of a toddler, and she shares recipes and tips on KCBS.
Jake Smollett is a home chef and food photographer who last season became the recurring guest chef on The Rachael Ray Show and has appeared as a guest judge on numerous Food Network shows, including Chopped Junior.