As a follow up to the previous post, I also want to highlight Jubilee by Toni Tipton-Martin. Ms. Tipton-Martin, who appears in Episode 4 of High on the Hog, spent years researching and compiling The Jemima Code, a compendium of cookbooks by African-American cooks and chefs throughout American history. Jubilee is the successor to that book, providing original recipes from those cookbooks as well as the author’s modern versions and historical notes.
Like High on the Hog, Jubilee is, as its title proclaims, a celebration of the talents and achievements of Black cooks in the U.S., from unnamed slaves to famous twentieth-century chefs. And, like the Netflix series, it is another step in undoing the erasure of Black culture and contributions to American history. From appetizers to desserts and everything in between, these recipes demonstrate the fundamental role that Black cooks played in creating what we know now as American food.
Unlike Steven Satterfield, Ms. Tipton-Martin is more blunt in calling out the ways in which Black culture has been eradicated from this nation’s history – through violence like the Tulsa Massacre and through appropriation like the omission of credit for the foods that grace tables across America. But the author is also insistent on finding the joy and strength that comes out of resilience, of recognizing that Black culture has not just survived, but thrived, despite its history of oppression and pain.
And so these recipes are suited for events as well as daily meals: whether you want nibbles like sesame crackers or crabcakes, or cocktails like a mint julep (created by Tom Bullock and first published in his 1917 book The Ideal Bartender!), or the complex and savory lamb chops featured in High on the Hog, the recipes use readily available ingredients and straightforward cooking techniques to allow home cooks to put together grand gatherings or family dinners. I recommend Jubilee for non-cooks as well; I read it cover-to-cover before cooking anything from it and was engrossed by the anecdotes and glimpses of the lives of these early cooks. And who knows, maybe someone you know (cough, cough) might throw a dinner party or make some of these dishes for you.