Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts

Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks

By: Crystal Wilkinson

Narrated by: Ja'Air Bush

Years ago, when O. Henry Prize-winning writer Crystal Wilkinson was baking a jam cake, she felt her late grandmother's presence. She soon realized that she was not the only cook in her kitchen; there were her ancestors, too, stirring, measuring, and braising alongside her. These are her kitchen ghosts, five generations of Black women who settled in Appalachia and made a life, a legacy, and a cuisine.

An expert cook, Wilkinson shares nearly forty family recipes rooted deep in the past, full of flavor—delicious favorites, including Corn Pudding, Chicken and Dumplings, Granny Christine's Jam Cake, and Praisesong Biscuits. Together, Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts honors the mothers who came before, the land that provided for generations of her family, and the untold heritage of Black Appalachia.

As the keeper of her family's stories and treasured dishes, Wilkinson shares her inheritance in Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts. She found their stories in her apron pockets, floating inside the steam of hot mustard greens, and tucked into the sweet scent of clove and cinnamon in her kitchen. Part memoir, part cookbook, Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts weaves those stories together with recipes and a lyrical imagination to present a culinary portrait of a family that has lived and worked the earth of the mountains for over a century.

©2024 Crystal Wilkinson (P)2024 Tantor Media

I grew up all over again

I had the pleasure of going to a meet the author event in Oxford NC where I am a cook myself and grew up. During the meet and reading I felt like I was taking a step back in time. I needed this book, like her my grandmothers kitchen ghost stands with me throughout every meal I make. I don’t make much anything at home if it is not in the realm Crystal lived. The feelings she had down to the way her and her family engaged took me back to a place in time I know we will never get back. Thankful I was able to purchase this on hard copy and audio because I definitely support her in her work and story telling. It makes me want to write my own, and give to the world what she gave to me and countless others. That is the recollection of the things that made me who I am.