{"product_id":"hallelujah-the-welcome-table-isbn-9780812974850","title":"Hallelujah! The Welcome Table","description":"\u003cb\u003eThroughout 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 \u003ci\u003eHallelujah! The Welcome Table,\u003c\/i\u003e Angelou shares memories pithy and  poignant—and the recipes that helped to make them both indelible and irreplaceable.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 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.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 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.  \u003ci\u003eHallelujah! The Welcome Table \u003c\/i\u003eis a stunning collaboration between the two things  Angelou loves best: writing and cooking.\u003cb\u003eMaya Angelou\u003c\/b\u003e was raised in Stamps, Arkansas. In addition to her bestselling autobiographies, including \u003ci\u003eI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Heart of a Woman,\u003c\/i\u003e she wrote numerous volumes of poetry, among them \u003ci\u003ePhenomenal Woman, And Still I Rise, On the Pulse of Morning,\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eMother\u003c\/i\u003e. Maya Angelou died in 2014.Chapter 1\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Pie  Fishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  My grandmother, who my brother, Bailey, and I called Momma, baked  lemon meringue pie that was unimaginably good. My brother and I waited  for the pie. We yearned for it, longed for it. Bailey even hinted and  dropped slightly veiled suggestions about it, but none of his  intimations hastened its arrival. Nor could anything he said stave off  the story that came part and parcel with the pie.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Bailey would complain, \"Momma, you told us that story a hundred times\"  or \"We know what happened to the old woman\" and \"Momma, can we just  have the pie?\" (Momma always ignored his attempts to prevent her from  telling the tale.) But if we wanted Momma's lemon meringue pie, we had  to listen to the story:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  There was an old woman who had made it very clear that she loved young  men. Everyone in town knew where her interests lay so she couldn't get  any local young men to come to her house. Old men had to be called to  clean out her chimney or fix her roof or mend her fences. She learned  to count on finding young strangers who were traveling through the area.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  One Sunday morning there was a new young man in church sitting alone.  Mrs. Townsend saw him and as soon as the last hymn was sung, before  anyone else could reach him, she rushed over to his bench.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \"Morning, I'm Hattie Townsend. What's your name?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \"George Wilson, ma'am.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  She frowned a little.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \"Anybody get to you?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \"No, ma'am. I don't know anyone here. Just passed by, saw the church,  and stopped in.\" He had used the word ma'am out of courtesy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  She was all smiles again. \"Well, then I'm inviting you, and I am a  good cook, to my house for Sunday dinner. I have my own chickens and  two cows, so my chickens are fresh and my butter is rich. I live in  walking distance. Here is my address; come around this afternoon around  three o'clock.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  She patted him on the shoulder and left the church.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  A few young men from the congregation rushed over.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \"Mrs. Townsend invited you for dinner?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \"Yes.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \"Well, I'm Bobby. Here's Taylor and this one is Raymond. We've all  been to her house and she's a good cook.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  The men started laughing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \"No, she's a great cook. It's just that after you eat, she pounces.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \"Man, the lady can pounce.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  The stranger said, \"I don't mind a little pouncing.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  They all laughed again. \"But man, she's old. She's older than my  mother.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \"She's older than my grandmother.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \"She's older than baseball.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  The stranger said, \"I'll eat dinner and after that I can take care of  myself. Thanks, fellas, for warning me.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Bobby shouted, \"Her lemon pie will make a rabbit hug a hound.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Taylor added, \"Make a preacher lay his Bible down.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Meanwhile, Mrs. Townsend entered her house and went directly to her  sewing box. She put on her glasses and took out a needle.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  She walked back down the path to her house and stuck the needle in a  tree.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  She returned to the house and began to cook a chicken she had resting  in the refrigerator. For the next hour she stirred pots and shifted  pans, then she set her dining table for two. She had time to freshen up  and change before her company came.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \"Well, welcome, Mr. Wilson.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  He was a little cooler than he had been at church.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  She knew why but she also knew he hadn't eaten her cooking.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \"The bathroom is here if you would like to freshen up. Dinner is not  quite ready yet.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Of course everything was ready, but she wanted him to have time to  breathe in the fine aromas floating in the air.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  She served him chicken and dumplings. Chicken tender as mercy and  dumplings light as summer clouds.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  The side dishes were fried yellow summer squash and English peas.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  He didn't care that he was eating as if he hadn't eaten in a month.  She kept pressing him, \"Eat some more, but save a place for dessert.  Some people swear by my lemon meringue pie.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Between bites she thought she heard him mumble, \"That's my favorite.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  When he put his first bite of Mrs. Townsend's pie in his mouth, he was  hers. He was ready to marry her or let her adopt him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  She sat opposite and watched as with each forkful he surrendered more.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  After the second slice he would have followed her to the Sahara Desert.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  She said, \"Let's go out on the porch for the air.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  He replied meekly, \"Yes, ma'am.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Once they settled into the swing on the porch she said, \"My goodness,  night has fallen. It's quite dark.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \"Yes, ma'am. It's dusk all right.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  They swung a few times.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  She asked, \"What on earth is that shining down there in that tree?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  He squinted, \"I can't hardly see a tree.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  She said, \"Yes, I see it. It's either a needle or a pin shining. Well,  I do say. It's a needle.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  He asked, \"You can tell?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  She said, \"Yes, I see the hole. I'll go get it.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  He said, \"Well, that proves you are not as old as they say you are.  When you come back I may have some talk for you.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  She stepped off the porch and went down the lane and retrieved the  needle. When she came back she could hardly see the house, but she kept  walking with her head up, triumph in her grasp.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  She tripped in the darkness. After much fumbling she was able to stand  erect. She saw that she had fallen over a cow that had lain down in the  lane.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Mr. Wilson saw her fall, and he could see the cow. When she gave a  little scream, he bounded off the porch to help her. Once she collected  herself, he said, \"Well, thank you for dinner. I have to go.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  She asked, \"Can't you stay for one more slice of pie?\" The strength of  the pie can be seen in the fact that he did stop to think about it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  She took his arm as if she wasn't going to give it back. He thought of  the pie again and then the cow and the possible pouncing. He said, \"No,  ma'am,\" and snatched his arm and went away running. He escaped, but he  never forgot the pie.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Each time, my grandmother laughed until tears flooded her cheeks. I  think she knew Mrs. Townsend or someone very much like her.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Here is the recipe. In fact, here are the recipes for Mrs. Townsend's  entire Young-Man-Catching Sunday Afternoon Dinner.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Best wishes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Lemon Meringue Pie\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e        Serves 6\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  1 cup sugar\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  3 tablespoons cornstarch\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  1\/8 teaspoon salt\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  1 1\/2 cups hot water\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  1 1\/2 cups crumbs from soft-type bread (no crusts)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  4 egg yolks (reserve whites for Meringue)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  1 tablespoon butter\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Grated rind of 1 medium lemon\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Juice of 2 medium lemons\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  One 9-inch pie shell, baked\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Meringue (recipe follows)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Preheat oven to 400°F.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  In top part of double boiler, mix well sugar, cornstarch, and salt.  Stir in hot water and combine until smooth. Add bread crumbs and cook  over boiling water, stirring until smooth and thickened.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  In small mixing bowl, beat egg yolks, and stir in a small amount of  mixture. Then combine the two mixtures in boiler, and cook over low to  medium heat for\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  2 to 3 minutes. Add butter, lemon rind, and lemon juice. Cool slightly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Pour mixture into baked shell. Pile Meringue lightly on top, covering  filling completely.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Meringue\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  4 egg whites\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  1\/8 teaspoon salt\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  1 teaspoon cream of tartar\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  4 tablespoons sugar\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Beat egg whites with salt until frothy. Gradually add cream of tartar  and sugar. Beat until stiff but not dry.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Chicken and Dumplings\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e       Serves 6 to 8\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds cut up)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  6 chicken wings\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  1 large Spanish onion, chopped and sauteed but not browned\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  2 stalks celery, chopped\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  1 carrot, peeled and chopped\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  1 green bell pepper, chopped\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Bouquet Garni (recipe follows)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Dop Dumplings (recipe follows)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWash and pat dry chicken. \u003cbr\u003eTake flange off chicken wings.\u003cbr\u003ePlace cut-up chicken and wings into large, heavy pot and add water to cover 1-inch above chicken. \u003cbr\u003eAdd onion, celery, carrot, bell pepper, and Bouquet Garni. Season with salt and pepper.\u003cbr\u003eAllow mixture to simmer slowly for 1 1\/2 hours. Let cool. Remove any foam that has gathered on top of the broth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBring broth to a slight boil, and drop heaping tablespoons of dumpling batter into pot. Fill top of pot with dumplings. Cover pot, and simmer for 15 minutes - dumplings will rise. Baste dumplings, and continue simmering for another 5 minutes. Remove cover and baste dumplings. Serve hot on platter.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Bouquet Garni\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 3 bay leaves\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 8 black peppercorns\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Tops from two stalks of celery\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 1 teaspoon margarine\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCut double thickness of cheesecloth 6 inches wide. Place bay leaves, peppercorns, celery tops, and margarine in center of cheesecloth. Pull corners of cheesecloth together, and tie with kitchen twine. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Drop Dumplings\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  2 cups sifted all-purpose flour\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  1\/4 teaspoon salt\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  2 heaping teaspoons baking powder\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  2 tablespoons (1\/4 stick) butter\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Sift flour, salt, and baking powder into mixing bowl. Add butter, mixing with fingertips, then milk, until mixture is        consistency of grainy cornmeal.New York Times bestseller; From the author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings","brand":"Random House Trade Paperbacks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304909459685,"sku":"NP9780812974850","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780812974850.jpg?v=1767728627","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/hallelujah-the-welcome-table-isbn-9780812974850","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}