Today is Martin Luther King's birthday, it's not officially celebrated in the States till the 19th but I'm starting early with a cookbook on soul food by Tanya Holland. Wouldn't Dr. King have been thrilled with the US election, it's been a long time in the making but his dream seems to be coming true. I remember an episode of All in the Family where Archie said there would be a black pope before they elected a black president, that was way back in the early 70's. Anyway, as a sign of the changing times, here's a cookbook that has soul food like I've never seen before. Tanya was trained in France and this is gourmet all the way, grits with gruyere cheese, dandelion greens with hazelnuts and sherry vinegar dressing. There's even watermelon sorbet with brown sugar tuiles. Tres chic!
It's for a "new generation of home cooks and chefs" but something is missing, I'm just not feeling the love. Soul food should make you feel warm and fuzzy and bring back memories of home. Unless home was along the Rue de la Sorbonne, I don't think this will do it for you. Some things just don't need to be gussied up in my opinion and where's the butter? So book #3 from my collection is New Soul Cooking.
