Family of the Spirit Cookbook: Recipes and Remembrances from African-American Kitchens

I *LOVE* this book. It is very warmly written, and filled with both recipes and reminiscences from some of the country's finest cooks, all of whom are African-American. It introduces each person (complete with a picture), tells a little of their culinary background -- and then their favorite recipes, with memories of how they'd acquired them and why they were so special. The book is as wonderful to read as it is to cook from.Two of the people described are well-known: Verta Mae Smart-Grosvenor (who used to host my favorite cooking show on PBS; I still miss it, and own and lover her own cookbooks), and Leah Chase (owner of the famous Dooky Chase restaurant in New Orleans, and author of highly-regarded cookbooks).