Edna Lewis

Chef and Cookbook Author

An admired chef and cookbook author, Dr. Edna Lewis is known as both the Grande Dame and Grande Doyenne of Southern cooking. Lewis was among the first African American women from the South to write a cookbook that did not hide the author’s true name, gender, or race. Lewis specialized in traditional Southern cuisine, sharing recipes from the Virginia farming community where she grew up (founded by her grandfather and his friends following emancipation). She spent much of her career cooking in the South, but returned to New York City at the age of 72 to become a chef at Brooklyn restaurantGage & Tollner. Lewis is the author or co-author of 4 cookbooks:The Edna Lewis Cookbook(1972),The Taste of Country Cooking(1976),In Pursuit of Flavor(1988), andThe Gift of Southern Cooking(2003).She received an honorary Ph.D. in Culinary Arts from Johnson & Wales University in 1996 and the James Beard Living Legend Award in 1999. She was named Grande Dame by Les Dames d'Escoffier International in 1999 and was recently honored with the issuance of a postal stamp by the US Post Office. Lewis passed away in 2006.

Recipes Menus

Asparagus with Cream Sauce

Here, a velvety sauce studded with salty nuggets of country ham strengthens, rather than hides, the meaty savor of asparagus. But what we particularly love about this dish is the toast, made from a sturdy white sandwich loaf, one from a bakery (not from the packaged-bread aisle at the supermarket), the kind of bread that doesn't disintegrate under an extravagant topping but instead turns succulent.

December 2, 2007

Recipes Menus

Sauteed Chicken with Hominy Casserole

Hominy was as common on the table when I was growing up as rice is today. It is not used too much anymore but is still readily available in some regions, particularly in the south. You can buy it in cans or loose, sold in bulk, and sometimes you can find it in health-food stores and packaged alongside the other grains in the supermarket. The brand I buy is Monte Blanco or Goya. I have found that Spanish brands are more tasty. After you have opened the can, wash the hominy 3 or more times with cold water and drain well. This removes the taste of the liquid it soaked in. Hominy is dried, hulled whole kernels of corn; grits are finely ground hominy. Usually hominy is boiled and served hot for breakfast, plain or with gravy. Because I think it is a little like tiny dumplings, I like to cook it with sautéed chicken so that the juices from the chicken and the vegetables can mingle with the hominy.

August 20, 2004

Recipes Menus

Apple Brown Betty

This is one of my long-time favorite desserts. I have been making apple brown betty nearly every fall since I can remember and still love it for its simplicity and sweet fruit flavor. Early in the fall, when the apples are freshest, you may not need to add water to the recipe, but later, as the apples dry out a little, you will need it. I have found McIntosh apples are just about perfect for this dessert, but use any firm, slightly tart apple. If you have leftover French bread, it makes very good crumbs, but any day-old, firm white bread will do. Whatever kind of bread you use, be sure to leave it out on the counter to dry for several hours before cutting it into cubes. Brown bettys should be served still warm. If they are allowed to get too cool, they will collapse a little.

August 20, 2004

Recipes Menus

Breakfast Shrimp for Supper

Quickly sautéed shrimp over rice is a very old, traditional breakfast in the Carolina Low Country. But it would also make a nice quick-and-easy luncheon or supper dish, rounded out with a salad and maybe cornbread.

August 20, 2004