There's one thing you can say for sure about Vertamae -- she does her thing her way. And in spite of what she says, she always gives ample instruction on how to create her tasty dishes. But the recipes are just part of the immense appeal of this memoir-cookbook, all of it as sassy as Vertamae herself.
The other part is the people you'll meet and get to know: Estella Smart ("Mother Dear"), Vertamae's paternal grandmother and creator of Mountain Oysters; Uncle Costen, who lived to be 112 and knew how to make Harriet Tubman Ragout; and Archie Shepp, responsible for Collard Greens a la Shepp, just to name a few. You'll also hear about how poundcake got Vertamae a marriage proposal (she didn't accept), how she ate the best barbecued chicken ever at the Jimmy Carter White House with Ed Bradley, and how she perfected her omelettes in Paris, her enchiladas in New Mexico, her biscuits in Mississippi and her Vatapa in Brazil.
Best of all, you will become familiar with the rich variety of African-American cookery while listening to the voice of one of the true original storytellers of our time or any other.
The other part is the people you'll meet and get to know: Estella Smart ("Mother Dear"), Vertamae's paternal grandmother and creator of Mountain Oysters; Uncle Costen, who lived to be 112 and knew how to make Harriet Tubman Ragout; and Archie Shepp, responsible for Collard Greens a la Shepp, just to name a few. You'll also hear about how poundcake got Vertamae a marriage proposal (she didn't accept), how she ate the best barbecued chicken ever at the Jimmy Carter White House with Ed Bradley, and how she perfected her omelettes in Paris, her enchiladas in New Mexico, her biscuits in Mississippi and her Vatapa in Brazil.
Best of all, you will become familiar with the rich variety of African-American cookery while listening to the voice of one of the true original storytellers of our time or any other.
