Throughout Maya Angelou's life, from her childhood in Stamps,
Arkansas, to her world travels as a bestselling writer, good food has
played a central role. Preparing and enjoying homemade meals provides a
sense of purpose and calm, accomplishment and connection. Now in
Hallelujah! The Welcome Table, Angelou shares memories pithy and
poignant--and the recipes that helped to make them both indelible and
irreplaceable.
Angelou tells us about the time she was expelled from school for being
afraid to speak--and her mother baked a delicious maple cake to brighten
her spirits. She gives us her recipe for short ribs along with a story
about a job she had as a cook at a Creole restaurant (never mind that
she didn't know how to cook and had no idea what Creole food might
entail). There was the time in London when she attended a wretched
dinner party full of wretched people; but all wasn't lost--she did
experience her initial taste of a savory onion tart. She recounts her
very first night in her new home in Sonoma, California, when she invited
M. F. K. Fisher over for cassoulet, and the evening Deca Mitford roasted
a chicken when she was beyond tipsy--and created Chicken Drunkard Style.
And then there was the hearty brunch Angelou made for a homesick
Southerner, a meal that earned her both a job offer and a prophetic
compliment: "If you can write half as good as you can cook, you are
going to be famous."
Maya Angelou is renowned in her wide and generous circle of friends as a
marvelous chef. Her kitchen is a social center. From fried meat pies,
chicken livers, and beef Wellington to caramel cake, bread pudding, and
chocolate éclairs, the one hundred-plus recipes included here are all
tried and true, and come from Angelou's heart and her home. Hallelujah!
The Welcome Table is a stunning collaboration between the two things
Angelou loves best: writing and cooking.
