Favorite Cookbook Friday 2.2 ~ Sylvia’s Soul Food Recipes from Harlem’s World Famous Restaurant

Happy Friday Friends! I am back with another segment of Favorite Cookbook Friday 2.0. I have been very excited to write this post ever since I completed the post for FCF 2.1, “The African American Child’s Heritage Cookbook“ by Vanessa Roberts-Parham. And also, I cannot stop thinking about the dinner roll recipe I recreated and shared. I mean they were just delicious and tasted even better the next day…mm, mm, mm, shaking my head delicious. First of all… the aroma of yeasted dough is quite amazing. But, baked dough lathered in butter as soon as they come out of the oven…that is next level lusciousness and it has to be a sin to be that tasty. Make sure you check that post and that recipe out by clicking the link in this paragraph.

Have you ever been to Sylvia’s Soul Food in Harlem, New York? I have not but, it has been on my restaurant wish list for a many years. Because soul food is in the title, I probably don’t have to list out what food items are on the menu there. However, I do own both of the cookbooks written by the founder of that famous restaurant. Sylvia’s Soul Food and Sylvia’s Family Soul Food Cookbook are both on my favorite list they should be on yours too. Today though, we will focus on Sylvia’s first cookbook Sylvia’s Soul Food -1992….read on to find out more about Sylvia Woods herself, and her very first cookbook.

Do you know the history of how the World Famous Sylvia’s Soul Food Restaurant of Harlem New York came to be? Ms. Sylvia was raised in Hemingway South Carolina. She was a graduated cosmetologist and started her own beauty business while still in her hometown. After she married her husband Herbert Woods and started family they moved to New York. At some point in time she began to work at Johnson’s Restaurant in Harlem. When she talked about this job she said, she had no skills for it, even though she had been cooking for her family since she was a young girl. Because of the Johnson’s she learned the restaurant business well. It was Mrs. Sylvia Woods that they would ask when they were ready to sell if she would like to buy the small restaurant; and buy it she did. With money from her savings and a loan from her mother; the Wood’s family became restauranteurs.

In 1962 in the restaurant was renamed Sylvia’s… Ms. Sylvia says in her cookbook that within a few years the restaurant became so popular that they had to move down the block to accommodate the business growth. Although Sylvia’s Soul Food was already popular in New York and other places near by, a news article/review that was published in 1979 put the busy bistro on the world stage. Many articles online speak of the famous faces who have dined at Sylvia’s over the years like Al Sharpton and President Bill Clinton. Sylvia passed away in 2012 at the age of 86; although she is no longer physically present I have to believe that her spirit sprinkles the air on 126th and Lenox Avenue where the name Sylvia will live forever.

Today’s book is another Christmas Gift from my mother. She actually gave me this book on the same day she gave me the African American Child’s Heritage Cookbook. If you missed the news or if you cannot tell, cookbooks are my most favorite type of books. I have a stockpile of them, especially cookbooks by African-American authors. And today’s book Sylvia’s Soul Food by Sylvia Woods with Christopher Styler (1992) is just that, a cookbook authored by an African-American Woman who was also a restauranteur and creator of southern inspired packaged foods that you can purchase from many grocery stores in the United States. From the cover photo to the very last recipe in the book (with the exception of the pigs feet, chitterlings, rabbit, and venison recipes) I find inspiration to cook and/or bake whenever I pick it up.

My favorite recipes that I use in this book are:

1. Pie Pastry
2. Apple Pie
3. Sweet Potato Pie
4. Caramel Cake
5. Smothered Pork Chops
6. Sweet and Sassy Chicken Wings (See below for recipe)

I make many pies with the pie crust recipe in this book. The crust is easy to make and flaky, buttery and thick. I don’t like a lot of pies, but apple and sweet potato are two of my favorite. I have to tell you that both of these recipes are excellent. The apple pie has just the right amount of sweetness and spice, the crust that the pie is swaddled in makes this combination dessert perfection. I have to say the same for the sweet potato pie too. Perfectly sweetened and spiced with nutmeg and vanilla and then baked on top of a perfectly flavored and textured pie crust. My maternal grandmother could make sweet potato pies in her sleep. She never (that I know of) wrote down a recipe, however I did get her to tell me how she did it and what was in her pie filling. The recipe in Sylvia’s Soulfood cookbook is similar to my grandmother’s and so I have attached myself to it; and, when I bake a sweet potato pie or two I hope that my grandmother is smiling and proud as she watches me bake from heaven.

Caramel Cake is very popular with people with southern roots. It is not easy to get the caramel icing right on the first try. The cake in this book is a good starter cake to start practicing making caramel icing. The flavor is buttery and sweet with cake layers that are thick and the frosting is delicious no matter if you get it made right the first time or not.

If you say “smothered” chicken or pork chops, I’m all in. So when the recipe read Smothered Pork Chops I got my pots ready. The gravy for the pork chops is so flavorful, and heavy with green peppers and onions sprinkled throughout. I have just one word to describe the pork chops…T.E.N.D.E.R. Match your smothered chops with some buttery rice and something green (for the healthy people). I am almost certain you will be dreaming about this dinner for many nights to come. And..you’re welcome.

Now let’s talk about the Sweet and Spicy Chicken Wings… We love baked chicken wings at my house. Actually we love almost any chicken wing at my house… But, this recipe sounded interesting to me because of the sweet sauce you prepare prior to baking the wings. The sauce is made in one pot and includes, sugar, lemon juice, butter, orange marmalade and water. To me they are more sweet and sassy than sweet and spicy but most definitely delicious. Season the wings with salt, pepper and garlic powder and bake them in the oven for 35 minutes and they are ready to eat. Saucy, tender and flavorful is what I think as I watch ’em bake. I like to broil them for just a few minutes to get them a little crispy, I serve these whole wings with buttery rice ( use any extra sauce to lightly drizzle over the rice) and broccoli. Oh boy… I really want to taste these flavorful wings now…. I do hope you will make them and when you do let me know what you think…. 🙂 You can find the recipe below…

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Wings

Ingredients

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

3 pounds whole chicken wings

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup orange marmalade

1 stick of butter

Instructions

Season the chicken wings with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Place the wings in a single layer on a foil or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Set chicken wings aside to come to higher temperature before baking.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small pot combine the sugar, water, lemon juice, marmalade, and butter in a small sauce pan. Cook on medium heat until butter is melted. Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Pour the cooled sauce over chicken wings and bake until they. are cooked through and golden brown, 35-40 minutes. The End.

This recipe is simple, quick and tasty. You can make as many or as little as you want. It would be very easy to cut this recipe in half. If you like different spins your chicken wings, give this recipe a try. I hope you will let me know how much you enjoyed it.

By the way, do you own this book? Which recipes are your favorite?…… Tell me, I want to know!

What cookbook do you own that should I add to my favorites list?

Do you want to buy this book? Here’s the Amazon link for Sylvia’s Soul Food Cookbook.

Want to support your local bookstore? Shop here @ bookshop.org

Also visit and shop these woman owned and black owned bookstores Comma Bookstore & Social Hub and Sociallight Society for cookbooks finds and other works of word art. Tell me in the comments if there is a black owned bookshop where in your town..

See you back here soon for Favorite Cookbook Friday 2.3!

Until then,

Peace, Lipstick & Soul Food

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