Alexander Smalls - Cookbook Giveaway

Alexander Smalls, James Beard award-winning chef, author, raconteur, and former opera singer was the visionary co-owner of renowned restaurants, The Cecil and Minton’s. His award-winning restaurant, The Cecil, NYC’s first Afro-Asian-American restaurant, was named “Best New Restaurant in America” by Esquire in 2014. A 2019 recipient of a James Beard Award for his cookbook, Between Harlem and Heaven, Alexander received the Creative Spirit Award from the Black Alumni of Pratt by the inimitable Ms. Cicely Tyson.

Over the past three decades, the chef and restaurateur has traveled the world studying the cooking techniques and foodways of the African diaspora. I remember watching Chef Smalls cook on an episode of Extra Virgin with Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos and thought that I loved that his kitchen was like mine - bursting with the tools of his craft and obviously well used and loved.

Alexander Smalls has written three books: Grace The Table: Stories & Recipes From My Southern Revival, Between Harlem and Heaven: Afro-Asian-American Cooking for Big Nights, Weeknights, and Every Day and Meals, Music, and Muses: Recipes from My African American Kitchen. Today we are sharing a recipe from the latter two titles and a giveaway for Meals, Music, and Muses provided by the publisher and a copy of Between Harlem and Heaven provided by Eat Your Books.

As mentioned above, Smalls earned a James Beard award for Between Harlem and Heaven: Afro-Asian-American Cooking for Big Nights, Weeknights, and Every Day. This book delivers over 100 recipes that go beyond just one place and branches far beyond “soul food” to explore the melding of Asian, African, and American flavors.

The authors’ foundation was a collective three decades of traveling the African diaspora, meeting and eating with chefs of color, and researching the wide reach of truly global cuisine; their inspiration was how African, Asian, and African-American influences crisscrossed cuisines all around the world.

Recipes here are packed with flavor from Tofu gnocchi with black garlic crema and scallions to King mushrooms with harissa vinaigrette, roasted carrots, carrot curry puree, and cipollini onions. This is a vibrant collection of dishes with stunning photography along with a background on the spices and ingredients used therein.

Heirloom tomato salad
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In a perfect world, perfect tomatoes would be available twelve months a year. But it’s not perfect here in the United States, so you need to take advantage of August and September, planning every tomato dish like a delicious invasion. Step one: Find a good place to buy real heirloom tomatoes. I often have this flashback of being in Ghana at the first market there I ever went to. I remember thinking, “This tomato looks like it’s an heirloom tomato.” It was the same seed varietals that we see in heirlooms in the U.S. You could see it in the shape, the texture, the color, and the sizes. These were beautiful red, green, and orange tomatoes that they were selling for twenty-five cents. You’ll pay ten times that in the United States.

Thinking back to that market, I wanted to figure out how to highlight this tomato salad like you might have in Ghana.

6 servings, Prep time 5 minutes, Total time 20 minutes

• 2 pounds colorful heirloom tomatoes, halved, or quartered if large
• ¼ cup fresh Thai basil torn, plus small whole leaves for garnish
• 1 teaspoon smoked sea salt, or 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Curry Lime Yogurt Dressing (recipe below)
• ½ cup Pickled Red Onions (recipe below)

In a medium bowl, gently toss the tomatoes and basil with the salt and pepper. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Spread the dressing on a serving platter and top with the tomato salad. Garnish with pickled onions and basil leaves for an extra pop of color and flavor.

Curry lime yogurt dressing (Makes 1/2 cup)

• ½ cup full-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

Whisk together the yogurt, oil, curry powder, and lime juice in a medium bowl until the yogurt is completely smooth and the golden color of the curry powder is evenly distributed.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill until ready to serve.

Pickled red onions
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⅓ cup champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1½ teaspoons coriander seeds
1 large red onion, thinly sliced into half moons

Combine the vinegar, 1 cup water, the sugar, salt, and coriander in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking until the sugar is completely dissolved, and bring to a rolling boil. Lower the heat and allow the pickling liquid to simmer gently for 5 to 8 minutes. In a nonreactive, heatproof pint-size container, carefully pour the boiling hot liquid over the onion, covering it completely. Let sit until cooled to room temperature.
Once the onions have cooled to room temperature, cover with
an airtight lid and store in the refrigerator until needed.

Excerpted Between Harlem and Heaven: Afro-Asian-American Cooking for Big Nights, Weeknights, and Every Day by JJ Johnson and Alexander Smalls with Veronica Chambers. Copyright © 2018 by JJ Johnson and Alexander Smalls with Veronica Chambers. Reprinted with permission from Flatiron Books. All rights reserved. Photography by Beatriz da Costa.

Meals, Music, and Muses: Recipes from My African American Kitchen by Alexander Smalls is filled with classic Southern recipes and twists on old favorites. Complete with anecdotes of the legendary chef’s childhood in the Low Country and examinations of Southern musical tradition, this is a book to cherish.

I love the flavors that are married in these recipes such as Lemon candied yams, Chocolate pineapple upside-down cake, and Hot mustard-apricot jam glaze. The Buttermilk biscuits and sticky rolls are calling my name and I'm moving this title into the kitchen to begin making some recipes!

Carolina rice pudding 
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I treat rice pudding-like crème brûlée, a French pudding with Carolina roots. This is a heritage pudding, and the foundation of the recipe is how my family made it. The dried cherries are my own addition. At home, I would also whip up a bourbon syrup or add a scoop of rum raisin ice cream. A sprig of mint or some crumbled candied pralines would also make a wonderful topping. It is a Willy Wonka–like treat, the sweet base for anything your heart desires.

Makes 6 servings

• 1¼ cups Carolina long-grain rice
• 1½ cups whole milk
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ½ cup golden raisins
• ½ cup dried cherries
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1½ tablespoons unsalted butter

Rinse the rice with cold water until the water runs clear (this removes excess starch). Drain.

In a large saucepan, bring 11/2 cups water to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in the rice and return the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until tender, about 20 minutes.

Add the milk, sugar, salt, cream, raisins, cherries, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Cook, stirring, until creamy, about 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter. Serve warm or cold.

Excerpted Meals, Music, and Muses: Recipes From My African American Kitchen by Alexander Smalls with Veronica Chambers. Copyright © 2020 by Alexander Smalls. Reprinted with permission from Flatiron Books. All rights reserved. Photography by Beatriz da Costa.

Special thanks to Flatiron Books for offering a copy of Meals, Music, and Muses: Recipes from My African American Kitchen in our US giveaway.  Eat Your Books is providing one copy of Between Harlem and Heaven as well. Entry options include answering the following questions in the comments section of this blog post.

Which recipe in the Meals' index would you try first?

Which recipe in the Between Harlem's index would you try first?

Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest before posting or your entry won’t be counted. For more information on this process, please see our step-by-step help post and this forum post. Once you log in and enter your member name you will be directed to the next entry option – the blog comment. After that, there are additional options that you can complete for more entries. Be sure to check your spam filters to receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on October 22nd, 2020.