Grace The Table: Stories And Recipes From My Southern Revival

Plot

"Alexander Smalls, the father of southern revival cooking and owner of the acclaimed Cafe Beulah, pens an atmospheric memoir rich with stories about the joys of food, music, and life and liberally sprinkled with his world-class recipes." "Boasting a loyal clientele that includes such luminaries as Quincy Jones, Spike Lee, and Toni Morrison, Cafe Beulah has become a major Manhattan hot spot. Much of its success is due not only to its renowned approach to Southern cooking - a delicious blend of traditional fare and international flair - but to the effervescent, larger-than-life presence of its former opera-singer owner, Alexander Smalls." "In Grace the Table, Smalls combines his talent for storytelling with his love of food in chronicling his journey from Spartanburg, South Carolina, his hometown, to the cosmopolitan cities of Europe and eventually to Manhattan. "Growing, buying, preparing, serving, and eating food - the whole tasty subject - has captured and framed so many of my memories that in a curious way it has not only sustained me but given me life," writes Smalls, and his unabashed passion for food is readily apparent as he regales readers with such recollections as the first meal he ever cooked (he was six), his accidental but rewarding encounter with Joan Sutherland, and his adventures, culinary and otherwise, while touring Europe as one of the stars of the Houston Grand Opera production of Porgy and Bess." "As a special treat, 100 of the delicious culinary creations he invented during his travels are sprinkled throughout the book, allowing readers to re-create his menus and enjoy such southern revival dishes as Cheese Corn Puppies with Fresh Herbs and Sweet Potato Coconut Cake."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved