UNC Press - Gullah Home Cooking the Daufuskie Way

<SPAN STYLE= "" >Gullah Home Cooking the Daufuskie Way</SPAN>

192 pp., 7.625 x 8.75, 2-color throughout, 28 photos, 1 mapit , index

Cloth

ISBN 978-0-8078-2783-3

Published: April 2003

Paper

ISBN 978-0-8078-5456-3

Published: April 2003

Gullah Home Cooking the Daufuskie Way

Smokin' Joe Butter Beans, Ol' 'Fuskie Fried Crab Rice, Sticky-Bush Blackberry Dumpling, and Other Sea Island Favorites

By Sallie Ann Robinson

With Gregory Wrenn Smith; Foreword by Pat Conroy

"If there's one thing we learned coming up on Daufuskie," remembers Sallie Ann Robinson, "it's the importance of good, home-cooked food." In this enchanting book, Robinson presents the delicious, robust dishes of her native Sea Islands and offers readers a taste of the unique, West African-influenced Gullah culture still found there.

Living on a South Carolina island accessible only by boat, Daufuskie folk have traditionally relied on the bounty of fresh ingredients found on the land and in the waters that surround them. The one hundred home-style dishes presented here include salads and side dishes, seafood, meat and game, rice, quick meals, breads, and desserts. Gregory Wrenn Smith's photographs evoke the sights and tastes of Daufuskie.

"Here are my family's recipes," writes Robinson, weaving warm memories of the people who made and loved these dishes and clear instructions for preparing them. She invites readers to share in the joys of Gullah home cooking the Daufuskie way, to make her family's recipes their own.

About the Author

Sallie Ann Robinson was born and raised on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, and is dedicated to sharing the richness of her native Gullah culture. She now lives in Savannah, Georgia. Gregory Wrenn Smith is a photographer, writer, and editor who has worked to document the history and culture of the South Carolina Lowcountry. He lives in Bluffton, South Carolina.

Reviews

"A fascinating cookbook. . . . Robinson knows what to do with classic soul food ingredients like pig's feet, ham hocks, chitterlings and even possum. But Southern food lovers will also find plenty of down-to-earth recipes."
--New York Times Book Review

"Sallie Ann Robinson cooks slow and local--from the heart."
--Damon Lee Fowler, Garden & Gun

"Opens the front door of Robinson's garden and childhood and welcome[s] you right in."
--Chicago Tribune

"Full of homey yarns of the islanders' subsistence life and their wonderful efficiency: 'We were organic gardeners before it was cool,' [Robinson] writes."
--More

"This book honors a love of [Robinson's] childhood and her family, and that love is intertwined with food. Introducing most recipes are reminiscences of loading the wood stove, trips to the store, fishing for sheepshead, washing clothes on a washboard and cooking 'long pots' (slow-cooked meals). Beautiful photos of island life and a relaxed attitude toward cooking make for accessible additions to anyone's Southern repertoire. . . . The book [has a] unique, almost anthropological intrigue. . . . This is not a cookbook meant for nouveau palates as much as it is for the preservation of a unique, fascinating culture. Wonderful to browse through and experiment with, this is an excellent volume for anyone interested in Southern and African-American culture and food."
--Publishers Weekly

"Robinson shares her memories and recipes from a culture and place outside the normal realm of everyday America and provides a provocative glimpse of a time gone by. . . . Beautiful photographs and Robinson's relaxed attitude toward cooking . . . combine for a delicious taste of the West African-influenced Gullah culture still found in this remote community."
--PW Daily for Booksellers