African American Books - Page 4

Southern Homecoming Traditions: Recipes and Remembrances

Carolyn Quick Tillery

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Southern Homecoming Traditions is a cookbook and a celebration of the five historic black colleges and one university that comprise the Atlanta University Center: Morehouse, Spelman, and Morris Brown Colleges, Morehouse School of Medicine, Interdenominational Theological Center, and Clark-Atlanta University. Author Carolyn Quick Tillery uses the evocative power of food to take us back to the institutions where so many great African-American leaders were educated, and the region where so many great dishes were created. With over 200 mouthwatering recipes, along with powerful history, moving remembrances and stunning archival photographs, this book is a homecoming table laden with memories, pride and pleasure. So take a seat and dig in!

A Sampling of the Recipes:

APPETIZERS
* Sweet Auburn Street Wings
* Rum-Glazed Tiger Prawns
* Corn and Field Pea Dip
* Blue Cheese and Toasted Pecan Spread

MAIN DISHES
* Spicy Fried Chicken with Spicy Tomato Salad
* Sunday Collard Greens with Rice and Ham
* Blazing Jalapeno and Turkey Greens
* Black-Eyed Peas with Smoked Ham

BREADS AND DESSERTS
* Ginger Cookies
* Mother's Cake
* Georgia Peach and Praline Pie
* Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Amaretto Frosting
* Sweet Potato Cake with Pineapple Filling and Cream Cheese Frosting

A melting pot of speeches, songs, stories, and photographs, Southern Homecoming Traditions illuminates the whole of the African-American experience. Enhanced by inspiring African proverbs ("Teach a woman and you teach a nation") and touching remembrances, this is both a sumptuous cookbook and a joyous living history of black America's ever-continuing influence on American cuisine and culture.

Food for the Soul: Recipes and Stories from the Congregation of Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church

Abyssinian Baptist Church

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

From Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church, one of the most esteemed centers of African American spirituality in the country, comes Food for the Soul–a compilation of more than one hundred recipes, and the many stories behind them shared by its congregation. Since its founding in 1808, Abyssinian has been a major social and religious voice of black Americans. The oldest African American church in New York State, it is a cultural melting-pot ministry with members from throughout the African diaspora–and a history of cooking reflecting that diversity.

Yet beyond the great recipes for dishes such as Bahamian Seafood Cobbler, Soulful Chicken Stir-Fry, Whipping Cream Biscuits, and Mama Georgia’s Sweet Potato Pie lies a rich and textured account of how the church incorporates the creation and enjoyment of food and the care of the physical body into its love for and devotion to God and humankind. Brimming with updated, healthy renditions of favorite old dishes, Food for the Soul is also illustrated throughout with beautiful photographs.

Woven through the book are stories associated with the recipes that are full of life–humorous, moving, joyful. From a churchgoer who started making spicy chili in the sixties as the South Bronx burned (Chef J’s 5-Alarm South Bronx Chili) to another who still re-creates the one-pot dinner that was the only meat dish her large and poor family could afford each week (Booba’s Saturday Night Special One-Pot Meal), these anecdotes and recipes come from the heart and provide deep sustenance to the body and soul.

The Abyssinian Baptist Church is the second oldest African American church in the United States and will celebrate its two hundredth anniversary in 2008. Abyssinian has members from Kenya, Jamaica, the United States, Ireland, Brazil, the Cameroon, Uganda, Ghana, the Bahamas, Cuba, Honduras, Panama, England, Egypt, South Africa, Grenada, Trinidad, Holland, Japan, and Nigeria.

A Taste Of Freedom: A Cookbook With Recipes and Remembrances from the Hampton Institute

Carolyn Quick Tillery

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Similar to Others in Series 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

As with the author's other books in this series, this book lacks the historic info behind all of the recipes. I do enjoy the background and pictures that are included. I purchased this book more for its historical value than for the recipes.

Beware when authors review their own books.

A Delicious Slice of HBCU History 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.

If you liked the African American Heritage Cookbook: Recipes and Remembrances From Tuskegee Institute you will love, A TASTE OF FREEDOM and the other books in this, recently branded, African American Heritage Cookbook Series.

Selected by book of the month clubs and organizations such as Reading is Fundamental, books in this series are more than just cookbooks. They also trace the unique history, heritage and contibutions of historic black colleges and universities (HBCUs). And the recipes, which, for the most part, are regional to each area, are as delectable as the history. A Taste of Freedom concentrates on the bounty of the Virginia coastal region, home of Hampton University(formerly known as Hampton Institute). Where available recipes unique to the college or university are used and clearly identified.

Otherwise, the history of the recipes is the collective history of a courageous race of people who took the scraps offered to them and built an enduring monument to survival and a legacy of learning.

Aptly titled, "A TASTE OF FREEDOM," the second cookbook in this series focuses upon the contributions of Hampton University and the key role that its future students would play in the Civil War. Founders, supporters, students and teachers lend their vivid accounts of life in the early years at Hampton. And interwoven into this fascinating history are recipes that are sure to warm the heart and nurture the soul. Richly illustrated with vintage photographs and the period poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar, who was closely associated with Hampton Institute, A TASTE OF FREEDOM offers readers a rich remembrance of a very special time and place in African-American history -- one in which a once enslaved people finally had the freedom to create something of their own , a haven where they could strive for excellence, support the efforts of others, and achieve self-reliance.

Watch for the next cookbook in this series, which pays tasty tribute to our nation's historic black colleges and universities

Black Family Dinner Quilt Book

Dorothy Height

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Buy With Confidence 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

You can buy this book with confidence. You won't be disappointed. Unlike other cookbooks that entice you with 5 star reviews, only to be disappointed with 1 star results, this book delivers. So...sit back, relax and have a gastronomically good time.

Another Winner for the Council 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I've enjoyed owning The Black Family Reunion Cookbook for many years, not only for its excellent recipes but also for the many narratives.

Once again, the Council has issued a winner. The recipes I've tried out of this new book have worked as well as their original cookbook. Actually, I didn't notice that these recipes are supposed to be 'healthier' until I began to write this review!

I've particularly enjoyed the black-eyed pea soup, the mustard greens and potato soup, and the collard greens and turkey wings. The pound cake recipe is standard, but the pear upside-down cake is terrific. The banana oatmeal cookies will be a hit for you. The chicken broccoli casserole is yummy!

I could go on, but I'll just say that every recipe I've tried has worked well. This is good home-style cooking, nothing too fancy, and the recipes are well written.

However, it's the stories and parables running through the book that make it special. I've always been a fan of Ms. Bethune, and the narratives here about her are particularly enjoyable.

This book is not only excellent, but it's also an excellent buy!

Editorial Review:

As a shared meal nourishes the body, so a quilt, passed from generation to generation, warms and nourishes the spirit. Both recipes and quilts preserve the culture and history of a people and their social, historic, and artistic connections to their past and their future. Celebrating both these traditions, The Black Family Dinner Quilt offers recipes based on both traditional and contemporary African-American cuisine with recipes full of down-home flavor but lower in fat, salt, and sugar. Southern Ham and Shrimp Soup, Country Chicken and Biscuits, Jamaican Pork, Creole Beans and Rice, Creamy Macaroni and Cheese, and even Bethune Sweet Potato Pie are just a few of the healthful and soul-satisfying dishes you'll find in these pages.

Celebrating Our Equality: A Cookbook With Recipes and Remembrances from Howard University

Carolyn Quick Tillery

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Similar to Others in Series 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I have the other two books in this series. These books offer some historical background on the recipes. I like them more for the historical value than I do the recipes. Love the pictures. I wish there was historic info behind all of the recipes.

Beware when authors review their own books.

A TASTY SLICE OF HBCU HISTORY 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 6 people found this review helpful.

If you liked the African American Heritage Cookbook: Recipes and Remembrances From Tuskegee Institute and A Taste of Freedom: Recipes and Remembrances From Hampton Institute, you will love, CELEBRATING OUR EQUALITY another cookbook in this, recently branded, African American Heritage Cookbook Series.

Selected by book of the month clubs and organizations such as Reading is Fundamental, books in this series are more than just cookbooks. They also trace the unique history, heritage and contibutions of historic black colleges and universities (HBCUs). And the recipes, which, for the most part, are regional to each area, are as delectable as the history. CELEBRATING OUR EQUALITY concentrates on the delicious offerings of Washington D.C., home of Howard University. Where available recipes unique to the college or university are used and clearly identified.

Otherwise, the history of the recipes is the collective history of a courageous race of people who took the scraps offered to them and built an enduring monument to survival and a legacy of learning.

Aptly titled, "CELEBRATING OUR EQUALITY," the third cookbook in this series focuses upon the contributions of Howard university, the nation's first black university. Where A Taste of Freedom explored the historic black struggle for freedom and education, CELEBRATING OUR EQUALITY chronicles a newly freed people's continuing battle for equality and justice.

Established in 1867 to educate African-Americans freed by the Civil War, Howard University is credited with being at the forefront of the civil rights struggle. Nine of the ten attorneys who argued Brown v. Board of Education, which ended public school segregation, were either Howard University professors or Howard Law School graduates. Most noted among the latter group was Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American to sit on the United States Supreme Court.

Founders, supporters, students and teachers lend their vivid accounts of life in the early years at Howard. And interwoven into this fascinating history are recipes that are sure to warm the heart and nurture the soul. Filled with intriguing anecdotes, and accompanied by over fifty vintage photographs and illustrations, CELEBRATING OUR EQUALITY is at once a powerful tribute to a venerable American institution and a salute to the accomplishments made by a people who turned their hard-won freedom into a chance to change the course of history.

Watch for the next cookbook in this series, which pays tasty tribute to our nation's historic black colleges and universities.

Kwanzaa: An African American Celebration Of Culture And Cooking

Eric V. Copage

List Price: $15.00 By: Harper Perennial Amazon Marketplace: 31 new & used starting at $0.50

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A CULTURAL FEAST 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Kwanzaa is rapidly approaching and as with all holidays requires detailed preparation. Contained in these pages are all the components you need for a meaningful Kwanzaa celebration with ritual and food.

Eric Copage shares with us the origins of Kwanzaa as well as his own experiences in first celebrating the holiday. We are introduced to the seven princples of Kwanzaa and the relevance that it has for the African-American community.

You can't have a true celebration unless good tasting food is present. At the very heart of the book are over 120 recipes for you to prepare for the Kwanzaa feast. The recipes are samples from Africans throughout the diaspora. Indulge yourself with pigeon peas and rice from the Caribbean. Avocado mousse with shrimp sauce from Brazil will tantilize your taste buds. A pot of mustard greens from "down home" (the South) in the United States will fill your belly. And let us not forget spicy matoke from Kenya. If you mouth is not watering yet for these delicious treats then something must be wrong with your taste buds.

The above dishes are easy to make and you are provided with suggested menus for the feast. If by chance some of the unusual ingredients are not available in your local grocery store, never fear. Mail order resources are provided for you in the book. As Kwanzaa approaches enjoy the friendship, food and celebration but must of all stand firm with the principles which bind us together as a people. Enjoy! Happy Celebration.

Editorial Review:

Kwanzaa: An African-American Celebration of Culture and Cooking is the only complete guide to the history and foods of Kwanzaa. In this beautiful yet practical book, there are recipes for more than 125 treasured dishes from people of African descent living all over the world. Adorned with biographies of distinguished African Americans, proverbs, and folk tales that illustrate the seven principles of Kwanzaa (Nguzo Saba), Kwanzaa embodies the very spirit of the holiday itself: a culinary celebration and a testimony to the accomplishments and spirit of African Americans throughout history.

This is more than just a book for a holiday. It is a cookbook and a source of inspiration to be used all year long.

A Taste of Heritage: The New African-American Cuisine

Joe Randall, Toni Tipton-Martin

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Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

This is THE book to have for updated Soul Food recipes. 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful.

I love this book. So far every recipe I have tried has turned out excellent. The recipes are easy to read and well written for the home chef. To date I have tried the Oven Roasted Rosemary-Garlic Chicken with Corn Bread Dressing, The Rustic Macaroni and Cheese and the Potato Salad to name a few. I just tried the Sweet Potato Pie and everyone loved it. The Authors did a wonderful job, and I have recommended it to my friends and plan on giving the book as gifts.

Editorial Review:

Chef Joe Randall and Toni Tipton-Martin showcase the rich heritage of African-American cooking in this authentic collection of 300 recipes. Drawn from Joe Randall's personal recipes, the book also includes recipes from chefs who have worked with Randall's A Taste of Heritage Foundation, including Edna Lewis and Patrick Clark.

African-American cooking has evolved over more than 200 years to become a sophisticated and distinctive cuisine. More than just "soul food," African-American cuisine has become world class. Experience Catfish Stew with Cornmeal Dumplings, Southern Fried Quail, or Crepes with Country Fried Apples. Geared to the home cook, the recipes are also enhanced by a section of menus, complete with wine selections. The final section introduces readers to the stories and menus of the prominent African-American chefs who contributed to the book.

The African-American Kitchen: Cooking from Our Heritage

Angela Shelf Medearis

List Price: $17.00 By: Plume Amazon Marketplace: 20 new & used starting at $1.97

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Rich in flavor and traditions, this wonderful collection of recipes traces the diverse food cultures and dishes of African Americans. From the gumbos of Louisiana to the Carolina rice islands, from the introduction of pasta to the rise of the ubiquitous peanut, African-American cooks have placed an indelible stamp on American food. Angela Shelf Medearis has collected more than 250 treasured recipes, including native African dishes, Caribbean-influenced foods, Southern and soul food staples, and contemporary favorites, all testifying to the exciting variety of this abundant tradition. From Africa come Ghanaian Kelewele, (spicy plantain fritters) and Ethiopian Yemiser Selatta, a lentil salad. From the Caribbean, Jamaican Stamp and Go codfish cakes and Haitian Griots, savory marinated chunks of pork. Out of the slave quarters and plantation kitchens where African cooks presided, we get Hoppin' John, Ham with Red-Eye Gravy, Beaten Biscuits, and Peach Cobbler. For holidays and celebrations, there are special menus including Kwanzaa Blessing Soup and Christmas Molasses Taffy, as well as time-honored treats from church socials and family reunions like Picnic Potato Salad, Raisin-Pecan Pie, and much, much more. The text is enlivened with African and Southern sayings, quotations from 19th-century cooks' manuals, and personal and family reminiscences, all bringing the rich African-American culinary heritage to life. The African-American Kitchen is packed with the traditions of generations of cooks who have always created and preserved their culture through food and the families it nourishes. More than a cookbook, it is a living history and a loving testament of pride.

The Black Family Dinner Quilt Cookbook/Health Conscious Recipes & Food Memories: Healthy Conscious Recipes & Food Memories

List Price: $14.95 By: Tradery House Amazon Marketplace: 31 new & used starting at $0.04

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The WELCOME TABLE : African-American Heritage Cooking

Jessica B. Harris

List Price: $16.00 By: Simon & Schuster Amazon Marketplace: 6 new & used starting at $5.95

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A marvelous cultural work...not just a cookbook 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful.

Even though I'm not African-american ( except in the cultural sense that ALL Americans are somewhat African-american...our culture owing so much to Africa ), I LOVED this book! It explains so much about what I grew up calling "soul food", and in a way that neither puffs-up it's subject or trivializes it in any way. The depth of this book simply must be seen and experienced to be appreciated. there is no way, for instance, that this book could well lend itself to making Afroamerican cooking "chi-chi", as has happened to so many other cuisines that have become trendy. The title says it all: "Welcome...whoever you are. Sit down and eat. Enjoy!" But, the book never panders to the hip and trendy. I also liked the recently published Tuskegee University cookbook, which was, unfortunately, stolen recently. Buy this book if you are at all interested in the origins of many things that most Americans think of as "American", but are actually African in origin.

Editorial Review:

The African-American way with food combines the improvisational techniques that gave the world jazz with the culinary techniques and piquant tastes of the African continent. From Hoppin' John to creamy Sweet Potato Pie, from Benne Seed Wafers to the Gospel Bird, African-American cooking recalls its history and speaks eloquently to the richness and diversity of black culture. In The Welcome Table, Jessica Harris presents African-American food at its finest: over 200 recipes, both traditional and contemporary, combined with historical detail and personal interviews and illustrated with beautiful photographs.