Great Food, All Day Long_ Cook Splendidly, Eat Smart - Maya Angelou [26]
At school, the girls would talk about boys and parties and good times. They did not try to prevent me from hearing them. Finally I went to my mother and told her how lonely I was and that the other girls gave parties where they had fun, but no one invited me. She gave me some advice, which I have used forever. She said, “If someone draws a circle and leaves you out, you draw a bigger circle and include them in it. If they have not invited you to their parties—you invite them to yours.”
She encouraged me to go to the five and ten cents store and buy invitations and then write, “Maya invites you to a birthday party. Although it is nobody’s birthday that we know, we will have spaghetti with large meatballs, garlic toast of sourdough bread, all the salad you can eat, a massive cake, good music and dancing. Please respond.”
I offered ten invitations. Twenty people answered. Some girls brought boys. I was afraid my mother would not want boys and girls in her beautiful house. “They will be all right,” she said. “I will cook all the food, Papa Ford will serve buffet style, and I will be here in the house. I will walk through no more than three times. Don’t worry—they will behave and you will give a great party.”
In my fifties, I moved to North Carolina from California. I already had some fame, but no one invited me to anything, so I had some invitations printed saying, “Maya Angelou invites you to a ‘Welcome to Spring Party.’ We will have laughter, good food, some dancing, some drinking, and some storytelling.” I invited twenty people, remembering what had happened the first time. I prepared for forty and that’s how many came. I do not suggest that there are recipes in this book that will help you to make new friends, but I assure you they will introduce you to people you have never heard of.
Happy Cooking and Happy Eating, all day and all night long.
Acknowledgments
I am indebted to Robert Loomis and Porscha Burke of Random House. They demonstrated exquisite patience with me as I slow-crawled through this manuscript.
I am indebted to my late mother for leaving me memories of great food for use all my life long. My indebtedness to M.F.K. Fischer is enormous. From her I learned to be bold in the kitchen but never casual. I learned that the cook may shock but must never be careless.
To Chef Don McMillan and every good cook who dared to serve great tamales, fried chicken, wonton soup, roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, and pasta primavera … thank you.
Index
acorn squash, in Orange-Stuffed Squash, Chapter 07.1
“acquired taste”, Chapter 04.1
alcoholic beverages, Chapter 11.1
aromas of cooking, Chapter 08.1
Ashford, Nick, Chapter 06.1
asparagus
Chicken Soup, Chapter 08.1
Crudités with Vinaigrette, Chapter 07.1
Leek, and Zucchini Terrine, Pressed, with Mustard-Lemon Dressing, Chapter 07.1
Roasted Vegetables, Chapter 07.1, 07.2, 07.3
Warm Garden Salad, Chapter 10.1
bacon, in Mixed London Grill, Chapter 03.1
Balsamic Vinaigrette, Chapter 07.1
banana, in Fruit Mélange, Chapter 10.1
Barbecued Spareribs, Spicy, Chapter 02.1
bean(s)
Black, Soup, Chapter 08.1
garbanzo (chickpeas), in Corn Salad, Chapter 10.1
garbanzo (chickpeas), in Puchero and Corn Bread, Chapter 05.1
lima, in Succotash, Chapter 06.1
Pink, Chapter 06.1
Pinto, Chapter 05.1
pinto, in Chili Guy, Chapter 02.1
White, Braised Lamb with, Chapter 04.1, 04.2, 04.3
See also green beans
beef
Chili Guy, Chapter 02.1
Club Steaks with Parsley Butter, Chapter 04.1
leftover prime rib, uses for, Chapter 01.1
Meat Loaf, Chapter 03.1, 03.2, 03.3
Mixed-Up Tamale Pie, Chapter 05.1
Oxtail Stew, Chapter