Ask any of my former students, any of them, and they will all tell you I focused on the lasting contributions African Americans made to the United States’ culinary culture—much to the chagrin of one of my former employers.
Any Southerner will tell you that Southern Cuisine has always stood strong, shaking fists at the world while digging into stacks of ribs, piles of greens, a mess of cornbread, mounds of chitlins, and so many other delectable delights too numerous to mention here.
As popular as Southern Cuisine is today, it wasn’t always that way. Several decades ago, Northerners, Westerners, or really anyone living above the Mason-Dixon who lacked Southern heritage didn’t know about it or derided it as a less-than cuisine. Edna Lewis’s talents and restaurant changed that view by brilliantly cooking and serving the foods of her youth. By staying true to her roots, she earned respect for the cuisine she grew up on and loved, and passed that love on.
Born in an African-American community of Freetown, VA started by freed slaves, she ate about as close to the land as possible because that’s how the community ate. They grew their own food, harvested their own meat, enjoyed the seasonal abundance as it arrived, and preserved those flavors to enjoy when they inevitably fell out of season.
When you read IN PURSUIT OF FLAVOR, you’ll discover her love for food cooked and served to taste the way she remembered it tasting. On these pages, you won’t find chili crisp or any other trendy ingredients. She rarely goes beyond salt, pepper, dried thyme, or fresh basil, which shows the sensibility of a chef who prescribes to the philosophy that simple is best. If you read it, you will find inspiration and guidance on taking very simple ingredients and making them taste sublime. That’s one of the best reasons to get the book.
Our inaugural The Cookbook Club meeting was a grand success. Many thanks to Ingrid, Kristin, Ray, and Sue for sending in photos and sharing your challenges and successes. You’ll find those photos in the gallery below. The recurring theme was how simple Chef Lewis’ recipes were. Although we might not make the dishes we chose again, it was pleasant getting “back to the bone” of cooking and discovering how to best maximize each ingredient’s flavor.
Our next meeting will be in June when we explore KOREAN AMERICAN by Eric Kim. You are more than welcome to join the fun. Our goal is to either buy or borrow the book from the library, read it, and cook something that interests you before the meeting. If you share your photo with me, I’ll post it. At the meeting, we’ll discuss the book, what you made, and why. Hope to see you there.
A RIFT ON TWO OF EDNA LEWIS’ RECIPES
SAUTÉED BANANAS
I suggest using a more speckled banana, meaning sweeter, than the one I used. The banana was too underripe when I made this dish and lacked any exciting flavor.
INGREDIENTS
2 ounces butter
2 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
a sprinkling of salt and black pepper
METHOD
Heat a cast iron skillet or heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat.
Add the butter to the pan.
When the butter just begins to brown, add the banana cut side down to the pan.
When there’s some nice caramelization on the banana’s cut side, flip it over.
Drizzle the maple syrup over the banana. and cook the banana to brown the other side.
Season with salt and pepper.
Use a spatula to place the banana on the plate and ladle some maple syrup over the halves.
CHEESE CUSTARD
Edna Lewis had you julienne and par-cook the potatoes for this. I wasn’t thrilled with the texture but found the flavor delightful. Below are my adjustments.
INGREDIENTS
butter to grease an 8x8 baking dish
1 medium-sized Russet potato, peeled and grated—about ⅔ cups. (Place in a bowl and cover with water to prevent the potato from discoloring.)
½ cup grated Gruyère
½ cup grated smoked Gouda
1 cup heavy cream
2 egg yolks
½ teaspoon salt
a pinch of black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne
a few gratings of nutmeg
METHOD
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease your baking dish with the butter and place the dish on a sheet pan. (This catches any spillovers.)
Place the grated cheeses in the bottom of the baking dish.
Drain the grated potato and squeeze out any excess water.
Layer the grated potato over the cheese.
Whisk together the cream, yolks, salt, pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg.
Pour the mixture over the potato.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes.
You’ll know it’s done when it’s a buttery-creamy color, and the custard is set.
Avoid overcooking it, or it will be rubbery.
Serve immediately.
So sorry I missed the very first meeting.
I would have had to peruse the book carefully to find something that speaks to me as I am not a huge fan of Southern cooking, to be honest. Your bananas I would not even have considered to try! That white stuff on the plate? The cheese custard? I'll take your word for it that it was tasty ;-)
Now, I know I might sound harsh and I truly do not mean to. This style of cooking has not really made its way up north of the 45th parallel. I'll never, ever understand who thought up waffles and fried chicken and I know sausage gravy is a huge deal but nope.