Sinfully Soulful and Southern

Categories: Cookbooks , African American

Doesn't the title Delilah's Everyday Soul: Southern Cooking with Style just get your mouth and mind hungry?  Delilah Winder is famous as the cook whose macaroni and cheese was pronounced the best in America by no less than Oprah herself (and, yes, the recipe is included here) and this is her first cookbook.

Winder owns restaurants in Philadelphia where she was born and bred but spent her summers with her grandparents in Virginia, creating an interesting food culture of urban sophistication combined with the best of country cooking.  Her book reflects the traditions of both and is a handsome addition to anyone's culinary collection.

Although unabashed about using  seasoning salt and granulated garlic, Winder advocates making everything from scratch--she won't even use canned beans!  Her recipes are familiar and homey like deviled eggs and fried green tomatoes but then she goes sophisticated Southern with her take on Smithfield ham with currant biscuits and cherry marmalade.  And her travels to Jamaica sometimes yield the exotic like curried goat.

Delilah's Everyday Soul is unusual in its layout.  Handsomely illustrated, the chapters are arranged by locale and occasion.  Big city cooking for fancy parties, just hanging with good friends, the summers in Richmond with one set of grandparents and time spent with the other set on their farm in King Queen County, special celebrations, including a funeral--all these add up to a book rich with a hearty appreciation of life, family and good food.   And the mac and cheese recipe is heart-stopping rich with eggs, butter, half-and-half and eight kinds of cheese, including Velveeta! No wonder Oprah loved it.