Vertamae Cooks in the Americas' Family Kitchen

From Booklist
Part of the popular Americas' Family Kitchen series on PBS, Vertamae Cooks is itself a gourmet feast. Blended with recipes representing "low south" African American cooking is a sweet mix of history, anthropology, and storytelling that come together to create a tasty treat for the most modest of cooks. While the book is not devoid of traditional recipes reminiscent of everyone's real or imaginary grandmother--such as potato salad, barbequed chicken, and macaroni and cheese--South Carolinian Vertamae (she is never referred to by her last name) also offers a variety of dishes from adjacent regions or ones that have influenced her cooking. From the sublime Brazilian palm-heart soup to the simple spinach and goobers (peanuts) to the sophisticated gullah vegetable paella, every recipe is thoughtfully written, and many are annotated with Vertamae's own historical or anecdotal take on the origin of the recipe. Vertamae Cooks makes you feel like you know Vertamae and her grandmama, Sula Ritter. A beautiful and moving portrait of African American culture--and delicious recipes to boot. Mary Frances Wilkens


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Vertamae Grosvenor is a treasured storyteller and historian who is also quite comfortable writing recipes. This book, which evolved from her PBS television series, is filled with good humor and even better recipes. I often follow her commentary on National Public Radio and can't wait for another book from her.


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