Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes
by Maya Angelou
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Religion & Spirituality. Nonfiction. If ever an audiobook could be called mouth-watering, this journey through the years, read by the great American poet, is a feast of food that only Maya Angelou can bring to her listeners. In a deep, rich voice, she shares stories of people, places, and food in a cozy, confidential way, taking us from her Arkansas childhood and her grand-mother's kitchen to adulthood, including becoming a Creole cook without knowing how. Along the way, she generously show more shares her no-nonsense approach to life. As a friend once said, "If you can write as well as you cook, you're going to be famous." And the prediction came true. The telling is funny at times, heartbreaking at others, and Angelou's superb voice turns the art and enjoyment of cooking into poetry. M.T.B. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine. HTML:Throughout Maya Angelou's life, from her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas, to her world travels as a bestselling writer, good food has played a central role. Preparing and enjoying homemade meals provides a sense of purpose and calm, accomplishment and connection. Now in Hallelujah! The Welcome Table, Angelou shares memories pithy and poignant–and the recipes that helped to make them both indelible and irreplaceable.Angelou tells us about the time she was expelled from school for being afraid to speak–and her mother baked a delicious maple cake to brighten her spirits. She gives us her recipe for short ribs along with a story about a job she had as a cook at a Creole restaurant (never mind that she didn't know how to cook and had no idea what Creole food might entail). There was the time in London when she attended a wretched dinner party full of wretched people; but all wasn't lost–she did experience her initial taste of a savory onion tart. She recounts her very first night in her new home in Sonoma, California, when she invited M. F. K. Fisher over for cassoulet, and the evening Deca Mitford roasted a chicken when she was beyond tipsy–and created Chicken Drunkard Style. And then there was the hearty brunch Angelou made for a homesick Southerner, a meal that earned her both a job offer and a prophetic compliment: "If you can write half as good as you can cook, you are going to be famous."
Maya Angelou is renowned in her wide and generous circle of friends as a marvelous chef. Her kitchen is a social center. From fried meat pies, chicken livers, and beef Wellington to caramel cake, bread pudding, and chocolate éclairs, the one hundred-plus recipes included here are all tried and true, and come from Angelou's heart and her home. Hallelujah! The Welcome Table is a stunning collaboration between the two things Angelou loves best: writing and cooking.
From the Hardcover edition.. show less
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greytone Both books have engaging narratives; but, Angelou's wins hands down for quality recipes.
Member Reviews
Angelou relates episodes from her life along with the foods accompanying those moments. I found the earlier incidents and recipes more interesting than the later ones for the most part. It is most likely to appeal to fans of Angelou's writing rather than cookbook aficionados.
This book is great because, with each recipe, you get a story from the life of the incomparable Dr. Angelou featuring the recipe. It may not be well-known that she is a first-rate cook as well as memoirist, poet, actor, dancer....The recipes are relatively easy to make and are delicious. Try the drunken chicken: chicken pieces cooked in white wine. Yum.
Maya writes several short stories about her life and includes the recipes that go along with that memory. This is a must read just for the stories alone. I tried several of the recipes and they turned out great.
What an extraordinary life she led!
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Cookbooks of the Rich and Famous
4 works; 2 members
Author Information
129+ Works 40,746 Members
Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928 in Saint Louis, Missouri. At the age of 16, she became not only the first black streetcar conductor in San Francisco but the first woman conductor. In the mid-1950s, she toured Europe with a production of the opera Porgy and Bess. In 1957, she recorded her first album, Calypso Lady. show more In 1958, she became a part of the Harlem Writers Guild in New York and played a queen in The Blacks, an off-Broadway production by French dramatist Jean Genet. In 1960, she moved to Cairo, where she edited The Arab Observer, an English-language weekly newspaper. The following year, she went to Ghana where she was features editor of The African Review and taught music and drama at the University of Ghana. In 1964, she moved back to the U.S. to become a civil rights activist by helping Malcolm X build his new coalition, the Organization of African American Unity, and became the northern coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Even though she never went to college, she taught American studies for years at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem. In 1993, she became only the second poet in United States history to write and recite an original poem at a Presidential Inauguration when she read On the Pulse of Morning at President Bill Clinton's Inauguration Ceremony. She wrote numerous books during her lifetime including: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Die, All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes, Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now, and Mom and Me and Mom. In 2011, President Barack Obama gave her the Medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian honor, for her collected works of poetry, fiction and nonfiction. She appeared in the movie Roots and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 1977 for her role in the movie. She also played a part in the movie, How to Make an American Quilt and wrote and produced Afro-Americans in the Arts, a PBS special for which she received a Golden Eagle Award. She was a three-time Grammy winner. She died on May 28, 2014 at the age of 86. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2004
- People/Characters
- Maya Angelou
- Dedication
- I dedicate this book to every wannabe cook who will dare criticism by getting into the kitchen and stirring up some groceries.
To O, who said she wanted a big, pretty cookbook. Well, honey, here you are. - First words
- My Grandmother, who my brother, Bailey, and I called Momma, baked lemon meringue pie that was unimaginably good.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Here are the recipes for the salads and other vegetarian dishes I creared for Nick Ashford.
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Food & Cooking, Biography & Memoir
- DDC/MDS
- 641.5973 — Applied science & technology Home economics & family management Food, Cooking & Recipes / Meals, Picnics Cooking; cookbooks Ethnic Cookbooks North America United States
- LCC
- TX715 .A5697 — Technology Home economics Home economics Cooking
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 417
- Popularity
- 74,045
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (4.09)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 11
- ASINs
- 3
