Louis Armstrong loved ham hocks and red beans:
“Have you ever tried ham hocks and red beans? Old man, season them well! Add the right spices at the right time, and man, you have a ‘Date with a Dish’ that’s just about the greatest.”
Duke Ellington had his own way of eating a meal:
“He eats his dessert first, whether it is simple pie à la mode or a fancy French pastry. The Duke follows this with a good steak with celery instead of bread; or crepe suzettes and a good old-fashioned country boiled dinner.”
But can he cook? You bet, he says.
“Cook! There’s not a person I know who doesn’t go for my scrambled eggs. They are definitely a collector’s item.”
I learned the culinary tastes of these two musical giants while reading Freda DeKnight’s “The Ebony Cookbook,” a 1973 revised edition that I came across while helping a friend clean out a relative’s home. Fortunate for me, she didn’t realize she had left behind a historical gem.
A few years ago, I wrote a blog post that highlighted DeKnight (or De Knight, as her surname is sometimes spelled) and her monthly “A Date with a Dish” column that ran in Ebony magazine and the cookbook that grew out of it. She was the first food writer for the magazine, which was founded by John and Eunice Johnson in 1945. My post was in response to a question about a book I had found at auction about early chefs/cooks. The writer wanted to know if any black folks were mentioned; none were. So, I pulled together a few names from research, including Edna Lewis, Leah Chase and Sylvia Woods.
When DeKnight’s cookbook was originally published in 1948, it opened up a world of black chefs, cooks and caterers across the country whose culinary skills were never considered worthy by mainstream America. Her book is a fascinating blend of history and storytelling that is valuable because it enshrined these folks.
“They just seem to have a ‘way’ of taking a plain everyday dish and improvising a gourmet’s delight,” she wrote in the preface to the 1948 book.
Throughout the book, DeKnight presented herself as The Little Brown Chef – which became her trademark – who nosed into kitchens or peeped through keyholes to see what was cooking and ask for recipes. The book also featured black Hollywood celebrities who cooked, loved food and gave parties where food was the main guest.
DeKnight’s 1948 book was titled “A Date with a Dish: A Cook Book of American Negro Recipes,” and I found a digital version on the web. The book was revised at least three times, and some chapters were left out or changed. One was the “Collectors Corner,” which was rich with the culinary history of black folks.
She came from a family of great cooks. “My mother used to tell me many stories about my dad’s love for the culinary arts; he loved to create a dish as an artist loves to paint,” and one of his specialties was cooking ham, she says in the cookbook. Her mother loved good food, too, and lobster was her favorite, which she called the “company special.” DeKnight dedicated the 1948 book to her mother Eleanor (or Elenore) Lee Alexander and Mamie “Mama” Scott.
DeKnight was born in 1909 while her mother, a traveling nurse, was on a train near Topeka, KS. Two years later, her father, Frederick Alexander, a steward in a dining car on the Santa Fe Railroad, died. Early in her childhood, she and her sister went to live with Paul and Mamie Scott, farmers in Mitchell, SD. The Scotts were the best caterers in the Midwest and among the finest in the country, she says in the cookbook.
She learned to cook at the elbow of Mama Scott, who never used a recipe, measuring spoon or measuring cup.
“The Scotts were the inspiration for my early cooking aspirations, which gave me every opportunity to absorb all of their fine recipes and rudiments of cooking, preparing food and catering,” she wrote in the 1948 cookbook. “Although Mama Scott’s education was limited, she could measure and estimate to perfection without any modern aids, and her sense of taste, her ability to create was phenomenal.”
DeKnight wanted so much to be like her. Her cooking-class books were so silly, she says, that she marked them up: “‘The person who wrote this book is stupid.’ Then I would add, ‘A teaspoon of salt isn’t enough for this recipe, it will be flat. Don’t be silly; salt to taste! Mama Scott knows more than you.'”
DeKnight became the food columnist at Ebony in 1946 and soon began writing the “A Date with a Dish” column, which included features, recipes, tips and more. For that first recipe, she recounted in the 1948 cookbook, John H. Johnson and Ben Burns, a top editor at Ebony, took special interest in making sure they had the right recipe. They decided on barbecued chicken, but first it was tested at a July 4 picnic. It was cooked on a pit, and it turned out brown and tender.
At Ebony during the 1950s, DeKnight supervised the planning and preparation of “full-course daily meals” for the company’s 100 employees, presided over the test kitchen and among her other jobs, supervised the selection of clothing and photography for the Fashion Fair models.
In 1957, DeKnight put together the first Ebony Fashion Fair. She died of cancer in 1963 while working on the 1963 show.
Here are some of the people behind the stories, which are in the Collectors Corner and sprinkled throughout her cookbook. Their recipes are also included:
Pauline and Charlie Saunders of New Orleans, from whom DeKnight also learned to cook. Pauline came from a family of caterers in New Orleans, and Charlie was a chef on a private car. Pauline taught her to keep her kitchen clean and free of dirty dishes as she cooked.
Holland Caterers of Philadelphia. The company was founded in the 19th century by butler John Holland after noticing that friends of his employer loved his food. The firm was considered one of the best caterers in the East. “Today, Mr. Holland is a quiet, unassuming, soft-spoken man with a pleasing personality. He is definitely a credit to his race.”
Zoah Hunt, whose mother was a pastry chef, started working in a school lunchroom at the age of 12 during the summer and then at a chain of restaurants. She learned everything she could about cooking and was known for her “Calla Lily of Butter,” which took much effort and patience to perfect. She also used the method on fruits and vegetables. She was a caterer and owner of a restaurant in Cleveland called the Subway Snack Shoppe.
Hattie McDaniel, the 1939 “Gone With the Wind” actress, loved throwing parties in her Los Angeles home and “excelled” at cooking Mexican food.
Herby Anderson ran the Snack Bar in Hollywood for clients and employees of Block & Company. He lived in Wilmington, DE, and traveled to Los Angeles to cater for Hollywood celebrities.
Quintard Miller was a stage actor whose second love was cooking. Many Hollywood people came to his open houses, including actor Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, who teamed up with Jack Benny; the “Dancing Covans”; entertainer Flournoy Miller (Quintard’s brother); Hattie McDaniel; composer Noble Sissle (part of a theatrical team with composer Eubie Blake) and actor Nick Stewart, known as Nicodemus. Quintard Miller was famous for his special relish dish – a casserole of baked spicy fruit with an assorted cold-cut platter, and vegetable salad.
Ruby Moore Crawford of South Carolina studied at some of the best southern schools, and attributed her success to education as well as common sense. “She agrees it is most essential how a dish looks, as well as how it is seasoned. Seasoning can and does change any dish from a Cinderella to a Queen.”
Cartoonist E. Simms Campbell. “I poked my nose into his kitchen and watched his charming wife supervise the preparation of his favorite dish, Ebony’s Barbecued Spare Ribs, and did they look good! I couldn’t resist following her to his studio. … It was little wonder that the aroma caused him to stop his work and converse with The Little Brown Chef about food.
“As usual, ‘Brownie’ asked for the recipe for his collection, and to his surprise, the great artist informed him ’twas his own. ‘Steaks and chili have always been my favorite until Mrs. Campbell tried your Ebony’s Date with a Spare Rib, and it made a date, for indeed we wait for each magazine to ‘Date each Dish.’ But this barbecue is my idea of an epicurean delight.’ So, as he turns back to drawing a tasty ‘Campbell Cutie’ and picks up a rib to nibble on, the interview is over.”
Musician Lionel Hampton’s Brown Stewed Chicken and Rice. “Good food is the basis of health, and good health keeps me in tip-top shape for my profession – for the xylophone takes a lot of strength,” Hampton told DeKnight.
Mrs. Williams of Washington, DC, who makes “mouth-watering” crab cakes. “Mrs. Williams is a fine cook. Not fancy, but a believer in wholesome food.”
Actress Lena Horne’s East Indian Chicken and Rice. “She likes her dishes to be as interesting as her songs and clothes, and spicy.” Horne’s Valentine party appeared in the February 1947 column.
Jimmy Daniels, who owned one of New York’s finest black restaurants called the Jimmie Daniels’ Restaurant or Jimmie Daniels Supper Club or Jimmie Daniels’ Nightclub. “Among his favorite recipes is ‘Kedgeree,’ an East Indian dish which is his pride and joy. It is simple, tasty and inexpensive.”
