Click Here To Purchase Ruby's Juke Joint Americana Cookbook

Author: Ruby Dee Philippa

ISBN-10: 0983782407

ISBN-13: 978-0983782407

Kindle: ASIN: B0069CPDHS

Publisher: Bando Press; 1 edition (November 10, 2011)

Ruby Dee Philippa knows how to get in the kitchen and rattle those pots and pans. A Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter, she does more than stir up toe-tapping fans when she performs with Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers. Her new cookbook has arrived, and Ruby shares 120 of her tasty original recipes that you can use to welcome a Texas traveler home, or create a Memphis mood within a New York apartment.

The cookbook separates the delectable dishes like platters on a Wyatt’s Cafeteria tray, with categories ranging from Drinks, Starters, Soups and Salads, and Sides and Sauces, to Vegetables, Meats, Poultry, Fish and Seafood, and Desserts. For daring chefs who are brave enough to invite their whole clan to a Thanksgiving dinner, Ruby tops off the surprises with a tantalizing smorgasbord detailing how to prepare a Roast Turkey with Maple Herb butter and Cider Gravy along with wild mushroom stuffing, green beans-n-pecans, and glazed pearl onions with almonds and raisins.

The idea of this cookbook is to provide you with the basics of her personal Americana recipes—something to kick-start your own imagination. So, we kicked off one hot Texas day with her cool, satisfying Honey Lemonade made from stirring sugar, water, ginger root, and lemon juice in a saucepan, and then refrigerating an hour before pouring the mix with half a beer over ice. Nice!

Pickled Peaches with bay leaf, cloves, and cinnamon sticks tempted our tastes and whetted our appetites for the main course, but we could have just as well gone for the Sirloin Sliders, Steak Fingers, Fried Dill Pickles, Pickled Eggs, Banana Cheese Pies, Lamb Pies, Bacon Wrapped Dates, or the Cheese Nut Loaf.

Next we tried both the Cheeseburger Soup made with garlic kissed beef, potatoes, tomatoes, and shredded cheddar cheese, and Chicken Stew with Rosemary Dumplings. Both came out excellent thanks to Ruby’s clear, step-by-step instructions. Next time, we’re going for the Great Pumpkin Soup, Groundnut Stew, Hearty Vegetable Bean Soup, Black Eyed Pea and Artichoke Salad, Beet Salad, Creamy Coleslaw with caraway seeds, Sugared Cucumbers, Grilled Corn-Black Bean Salad, or Spinach Salad with warm bacon vinaigrette. We might even just make a big bowl of her Kitchen Sink Salad and let everyone dig in as they please!  

We felt courageous enough to follow her recipe for Potato Pancakes, normally great when covered in applesauce and sour cream for breakfast, but equally grand as a lead-in to our main course. Ruby also details how to make Baked Beans camp-out style, Potato Apple Bake, Sweet Potato Fries, Layered Sweet Potatoes, Campfire Cornbread, Pecan Cornbread, Old Country Soda Bread, Onion Jam, Tomato Jam, Hot cha-Cha Onion Rings, or Chipotle BBQ Sauce. There were still other choices, such as Drunken Beans made with garlic and jalapeños, Raisin Sauce for Ham, Blueberry Glaze, Pineapple Rum Sauce, Mint Mojo, Steak Rub, Lemon Vinaigrette, Bacon and Blue Cheese Vinaigrette, and Horseradish Mayonnaise. Every recipe seems fitting because of Ruby’s little side remarks written beneath the details.

Most everyone agrees that vegetables need spicing up, so Ruby suggests trying Sweet and Sour Cabbage, Sautéed Greens, Winter Vegetables with Cornmeal Grits, Okra Relish, Stuffed Tomatoes, Corn Pudding, Winter Vegetables with Horseradish, and Maple Ginger Beets, which would be perfect foil for anything spicy or simple fare, such as fried chicken.   

There are many main courses in the book, but we aimed for Pineapple Rum BBQ Short Rips. Ruby’s recipe called for combining brown sugar, paprika, garlic, pepper, salt, and cumin together and rubbing over those ribs as they simmered in a large pot for ninety minutes. When they came out, we enjoyed them all day!

Ruby knows that a day begins with a big breakfast, so if you haven't tried Apple Fritters, treat yourself to a simple spoon-drop-into-the-fryer recipe with which she kicks off her Breaking Fast section. I think you'll also like the other recipes, such as the Blueberry Scones, or the Breakfast Pie, which is easy to make in a bowl or processor and serve up as a self-contained pie.  

There’s enough of a variety of different dishes within Ruby’s Juke Joint Americana Cookbook to give you endless, excellent combinations to fuss with. The book is written in an easy-to-read format with large fonts that require no squinting. Just for fun, along with the book, you'll enjoy the free CD of great Americana music to cook by, including original songs by Marti Brom, Two Hoots and a Holler, Rockin' Lloyd Tripp, Teri Joyce, Earl Poole Ball, and others, as well as “Home Cookin’,” her brand new song.