If I Can Cook - You Know God Can
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Author:  Ntozake Shange, Foreword by Vertamae Grosvenor
Publisher:  Beacon Press
Date Published:  January 1998
Format:  Trade Cloth

In this inventive book, acclaimed artist and award-winning playwright, poet, and author Ntozake Shange (Lilian; Sassafrass, Cypress, and Indigo; for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf) presents an eclectic tribute to black cuisine as one that reflects the tenacious spirit and powerful history of a people. With recipes that include such recipes as Cousin Eddie's Shark with Breadfruit and Collard Greens to Bring You Money, Shange instructs us in the nuances of a cuisine born on the slave ships of the Middle Passage, spiced by the jazz of Duke Ellington, and shared by all members of the African Diaspora.

Here is a taste of "If I Can Cook / You Know God Can"--a special recipe for barbecue sauce that Ntozake's father loved to brag about, especially when his daughter touted the joys of Texas beef barbecues (Shange had a stint as a rodeo rider in Texas). "Oh, I can make better barbecue sauce at home [New Jersey],'' he remarked. Shange lovingly shares the recipe:

"Daddy's Barbecue Sauce": Add 1 can tomato paste to 2 cups orange juice with the pulp, 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce, and 3 tablespoons A-1 sauce. Then simmer over low flame. Get 1/3 cup Black Jack molasses or 1/2 cup brown sugar. Put that in there. Add salt and pepper to taste, 1 medium sautéed onion, 1 large hot pepper or 2 small sweet peppers. Let that sit for a while. Just before you add your meat or pour over your meat (in the case of ribs, shrimp, salmon, chicken, fluke, or bluefish), sling a dash of bourbon, red wine, or a golden tequila in there just for the hell of it. It's important that folks don't feel a need to add something to my sauce. Let the sauce cook with the meat (on it) until it becomes a part of the meat and doesn't slide off or peel off. That's when you can serve it."

Rich with personal memories, historical reflection, as well as 34 recipes to try at home, this book is unique and irresistible.

The Welcome Table: African American Heritage Cooking
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Author:  Jessica B. Harris
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster Trade
Date Published:  October 1996
Format:  Trade Paper, 400pp

Jessica B. Harris.  You can't go wrong with this cookbook. It has many good recipes from Dirty Rice I to Fried Corn II. The book also includes a wonderful glossary and is narrated with a wonderful sense of humor. I like this one a lot.

 Soul Food; Recipes and Reflections from African-American Churches
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Author:  Joyce White
Publisher:  HarperCollins Publishers, Incorporated
Date Published:  January 1998
Format:  Trade Cloth

Soul Food: Recipes & reflections from African-American Churches. Now this book is Da Bomb! And then again maybe my growing affection for this book comes from the fact that I tried it's Old Fashion Dinner Roll recipe and it is EXACTLY the way my grandmother made her rolls from a recipe that has been lost for years. I'm going to have fun and gain some weight going through this book

Soul Food: Classic Cuisine from the Deep South
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Author:  Sheila Ferguson
Publisher:  Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Date Published:  February 1992
Format:  Trade Paper

"Soul Food is just what the name implies. It is soulfully cooked food . . . good for your ever-loving soul . . . the shur-'nuf kinda down-home cookin' that I grew up on, " writes Sheila Ferguson. In Soul Food she captures the essence of this cooking through 200 mouth-watering recipes, seasoned with vivid anecdotes, photos, and tales capturing the unique spirit of soul food. (Grove Press)

Soul on Rice: African Influences on American Cooking
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Author:  Patricia B. Mitchell
Publisher:  Mitchells
Date Published:  January 1993
Format:  Trade Paper

Soul On Rice: African Influences on American Cooking - Patricia B. Mitchell.  A small book that explores the historical aspect of African-American cooking. It has a couple of pages of recipes towards the back of the book, but not that many. Very interesting reading. -- Thumper

Mama's Tea Cakes: 101 Delicious Soul Food Desserts
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Author:  Wilbert Jones
Publisher:  Carol Publishing Group
Date Published:  June 1998
Format:  Trade Cloth