Soul food includes some of the most gratifying dishes: heaping portions of fried chicken, mac and cheese, hoppin鈥 John, black-eyed peas, okra, collard greens, cornbread and biscuits. This isn鈥檛 light, easy or healthy, but it is hearty, rich and satisfying. These classic dishes were the focus of alum Tia Cannon鈥檚 A Soul Food Family Dinner: Revivng the Harlem Renaissance. Last night, she walked her class of 16 through a menu that included fried chicken, buttermilk waffles, pork chops, mac and cheese, fried corn, greens, yams, peach cobbler, banana pudding and a 7-Up cake.
The students were able to learn how to recreate a little piece of Harlem in their own kitchens without heading uptown. Not only did she prepare a huge array of satisfying soul food recipes, she also prepared a soundtrack for the class! Soul food is as much about the experience as it is the food.
On the playlist was 鈥淕reen Onions鈥 by Booker T & the MG鈥檚, 鈥淕iblet Gravy鈥 by George Benson, 鈥淧otato Head Blues鈥 by Louis Armstrong, 鈥淏eans and Cornbread鈥 by Louis Jordan, 鈥淧ork Chops and Mustard Greens鈥 by Ernie Andres & the Maxwells, 鈥淪ugar in my Bowl鈥 by Nina Simone, and other food-centered songs paired with the soulful menu. The unique and fun playlist was a first for an ICE recreational class.
The friendly, jovial atmosphere certainly made it a class to remember 鈥 truly cooking to feed the soul.