Annemarie’s Personal Cookbook

At 21 years old, Annemarie Huste stood in front of Billy Rose, songwriter,entertainer and household name and told him that he should hire her as his private chef. So he did. Within six weeks she was promoted to his executive housekeeper, managing a staff of 12 people. Eight months later, Rose died and Huste was looking for a new employer. It just so happened that Jacqueline Kennedy was looking for a chef and soon Huste was cooking for kings, queens and the leaders of the world who often visited the Widow Kennedy after paying respects to President Lyndon Johnson.

Unfortunately, for Huste, her access to the most famous woman in the world and her incredible good looks and youthful demeanor,made her fodder for gossip columnists. Mrs. Kennedy did not approve, so Huste was told she would no longer be needed.

Fortunately for Huste, her access to the most famous woman in the world and her incredible good looks and youthful demeanor, made her a natural for television and as they say in the press, there is no "bad" publicity, so being fired by Mrs. Kennedy made her cache rise as a bidding war for her first cookbook ensued. That was followed by the talk-show circuit, a television cooking show, food editor of the Saturday Evening Post and the German edition of Family Circle, and executive chef of Gourmet magazine.

When her book, Annemarie’s Personal Cookbook, was published The New York Times wrote:

"From “just a little something special” about pistachio ice cream, or things a beginner can do in minutes ti a hamburger to win a man’s heart… to wonderfully simple advice about elegant cuisine and gracious entertaining… her is “a fun cookbook.”

Here is her pistachio ice cream.

Pistachio Ice Cream

4 cups heavy cream
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons almond extract
Green food coloring
1 1/2 cups chopped pistachio nuts

Pour heavy cream into a bowl and whip until slightly stiff. Add the sugar and almond extract and beat thoroughly. Add a drop or two of food coloring (easy does it). Fold in the pistachio nuts. Pour mixture into a mold or other container and place in the freezer.

After 1 hour, stir the cream gently so that the nuts are well distributed and don’t sink to the bottom. Finish freezing for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Today, Annemarie Huste is still cooking, teaching and writing. She runs Annemarie's Dinning Room, offering private dinning and cooking lessons.