The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts: Heavenly Recipes and Sweet Recollections [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Brenda Rhodes Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2002

In the tradition of The Black Family Reunion Cookbook, Celebrating Our Mothers' Kitchens, and A Gracious Plenty, The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts brings together more than two hundred recipes, culled from local, church, and family cookbooks. But this book is much more than a compilation of recipes for decadent (or divine) sweets. It honors church ladies, those revered African-American women who have contributed immeasurably to their churches as teachers, mentors, keepers of tradition, and as culinary experts.

A homemade dessert is more than just a sweet finale to a meal in the African-American kitchen. It is a way to demonstrate special affection while underscoring the bounty of God's blessing on the home. And no one more than a church lady is aware of the power of a fine chocolate confection or a down-home bread pudding prepared with love and served with respect.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The African American church-going experience is richly defined through the recipes and stories collected in Brenda Rhodes Miller's The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts: Heavenly Recipes and Sweet Recollections. Throughout the book, Miller introduces us to many church ladies and shares their sweet yet significant contributions to their neighborhood churches and communities.

The phrase "church social" is equivalent to homemade and the recipes are of the sort one would expect to find on the tables at a church social or bake sale, ranging from Pineapple Upside-Down Cake to Sweet Potato Pie. Boxed cake mixes are forbidden with this crowd and Miller even includes a story of one church lady from her childhood who was quite comfortable sending individuals back home if they had brought "store-bought" baked goods to a gathering.

The stories and church-lady bios make for pleasant reading, and the recipes in this book are great to have on hand the next time you're asked to bring dessert to a social gathering. Whether you need a tasty and tart fresh lime pie or a chocolate brownie recipe that requires more effort than just adding water, The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts is a welcome and comforting resource, full of rich flavor as well as history. --Teresa Simanton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The "church ladies" are the loyal women the author describes as "the movers and shakers in the congregation," the ones responsible in many African American churches for making sure things run smoothly. Miller, a contributor to The Black Family Reunion Cookbook and the wife of a Baptist preacher in Washington, DC, has collected recipes and reminiscences from "church ladies" all over the country. Her text is informative and engaging, and the stories of many of these special churchwomen are often moving. The more than 200 recipes include old-fashioned sweets like Floating Island, perennial favorites such as Strawberry Shortcake, and unusual desserts like Caribbean Bread Pudding. For most collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 435 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press (January 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786236094
• ISBN-13: 978-0786236091
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,252,897 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yummy!, January 31, 2002

By 

Kimberley Wilson (VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts : Heavenly Recipes and Sweet Recollections (Hardcover)

Brenda Rhodes Miller's The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts: Heavenly Recipes and Sweet Recollections is an excellent cookbook and a beautiful tribute to the wonderful ladies who keep our churches going. The cakes are out of this world delicious! I've been working my way through it much to the delight of my hungry friends and family.

Kimberley Lindsay Wilson, author of 11 Things Mama Should Have Told You About Men

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Church Ladies Divine Deserts makes our spirits soar, November 23, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts : Heavenly Recipes and Sweet Recollections (Hardcover)

The Church Ladies Divine Deserts is an indispensable combination of great recipes and hearty doses of oral history and advice. There is a long tradition of "church ladies" involvement in every facet of the secular and sacred traditions of their faith based institutions. One of the most important is that of nourishing the palate with the delectable deserts that grace the tables of the church dinners and the dining room tables in their homes. Brenda Miller, the wife of a minister, has collected the recipes and the stories behind them from the "church ladies" all over the country. Every cook should buy it. Every reader who wants to know more about some of our country's best traditions should also read it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An important piece of our history, November 7, 2006

By 

A. White "avid reader and baker" (Los Angeles, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts (Paperback)

The praline recipe in this book is outstanding, as well as the cover recipe, the lemon-coconut pound cake. Both get rave reviews whenever I make them. The stories and pictures are also wonderful, and should bring up wonderful memories for anyone who grew up in the church.