Soul Food: Recipes and Reflections from African-American Churches (Hardcover)

by Joyce White (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Intended to please a congregation of palates, these church-supper recipes possess a simplicity that suits the accompanying stories about their contributors. After sending forth a call for Sunday favorites to churchgoing folk in cities big and small, White, a freelance food writer, received scores of letters from Harlem and Tyler, Tex., and Biloxi, Miss., and Detroit. The responses embrace a range of dishes suitable for kettles, warming trays and big-handled spoons: Pineapple Cornbread; Fried Green Okra; Baked Chicken and Gravy; Salmon Croquettes; Love-Glazed (pineapple juice and brown sugar) Ham; Hush Puppies. Paprika is fairly ubiquitous; a cup of ketchup features in both Barbecued Shrimp and Neat Meatloaf. In the narratives accompanying these 150 recipes, the cooks are presented as busy, generous, hard-working and religiously devoted. One is "a poet, Sunday school teacher, legal secretary and meeting planner." Of another White wonders how she "has time to cook, considering the wide array of church activities and community projects that she is involved in." The book is more notable for its cultural trimmings than for its recipes. Some readers may find themselves longing for the company of just one lazy sinner with a booty of Italian sausage.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Food editor White brings together reminiscences and stories of African American women with 150 of their best recipes, including crab cakes, West African chicken, and lemon chess pie.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks; 1 edition (January 20, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060187166
• ISBN-13: 978-0060187163
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #154,532 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #4 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Regional & International > U.S. Regional > African American
  #9 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Regional & International > U.S. Regional > Soul Food

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hmmm Hmmm Good!, December 12, 1999

By	Evelyn E. Browne (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Sister White, I love useing this cook book and I'm not crazy about cooking. I tried the Gulf Coast Gumbo and the Perfect Steamed Rice the day I borrowed this book from the libary, girl I orderd the book the same day. WONDERFUL!

Can't go wrong. And I love the stories and the pictures. This is a wonderful gift for any body that loves to cook. And even for someone who doesn't but loves to eat.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book with info about each recipe/contributor, August 28, 1998

By A Customer

I love this book. It is very warm, and contains recipes for delectable treats from African-American churches throughout the country. Each recipe is prefaced by a short introduction describing the recipe and contributor. It reminds me somewhat of _Spoonbread and Strawberry Wine_ (another book I love and highly recommend). This is a wonderful introduction to wonderful people and their best recipes. I can't imagine not loving this book.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book, December 5, 1999

By	John F. Arnold (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

What put this book up on the competition in my opinion, is the consistent and real world cooking advice that is embedded in the recipes. There are no lies in this book. I leaned on it very heavily this past Thanksgiving and my family raved about the food.