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½ cup flour

¼ cup white cornmeal

1½ tablespoons Bell’s seasoning

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Wash the chicken pieces thoroughly and pat them dry with paper towels. Place the remaining ingredients in a brown paper bag and shake the bag to mix them well. Then add the chicken pieces to the bag a few at a time and shake it to ensure that each piece is well coated with the mix. Heat the oil to 350 degrees in a heavy cast iron skillet. Place the chicken pieces in the skillet and fry, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes, turning the chicken as it browns. Check for doneness by pricking the chicken with a fork; the juices should run clear with no trace of blood. Remove the chicken and drain the pieces on paper towels. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Note: The chicken is traditionally drained on pieces of brown paper bag, not on paper towels, but the latter will do just fine.

—The Welcome Table

Macaroni and Cheese

This dish is an African American classic. It has deeper roots in the culinary repertoire than is usually assumed and even turns up in other locales in the African diaspora like Barbados, where it is known as macaroni pie.

Cook macaroni broken up into short length in boiling salted water. Boil uncovered for twenty or thirty minutes, then drain. Fill a buttered pudding dish with alternate layers of macaroni and grated cheese, sprinkling pepper, salt, and melted butter over each layer. Have top layer of cheese, moisten with rich milk, bake in moderate oven until a rich brown.

—Rufus Estes’ Good Things to Eat

Bean Pie

This is a variation of the bean pie that represented the Nation of Islam to many. It was sold on the streets and in restaurants run by mosques around the country. This version was given to me by my friend Charlotte Lyons, who is the food editor of Ebony magazine.

Makes one 9-inch pie

1 9-inch pie shell, baked for 10 minutes and cooled

2 (15-ounce) cans great northern beans, drained

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1¼ cups sugar

¼ cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon freshly ground allspice

1 teaspoon baking powder

⅓ cup evaporated milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the drained beans in a bowl and beat them with an electric mixer until they are smooth. Add the eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, and spices. In a separate bowl, add the baking powder to the evaporated milk and pour it into the bean mixture. Beat the mixture well and then pour it into the partially baked pie shell. Bake the pie for 50 minutes, or until it is firm. Allow the pie to cool before serving.

—The Welcome Table

Smothered Pork Chops

It’s all about the gravy in these traditional pork chops. In this recipe, the gravy is almost stewlike and flavored with clove, cinnamon, and allspice.

Serves 4 to 6

6 (1-inch thick) center-cut pork chops

3 tablespoons bacon drippings

1 lemon, thinly sliced

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

1 small green bell pepper, cored and sliced into rings

1 small red bell pepper, cored and sliced into rings

4 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped

1 cup water

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

Pinch of ground clove

Pinch of ground cinnamon

Pinch of ground allspice

Pinch of celery seed

Pinch of cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons sugar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a heavy skillet, brown the pork chops in the bacon drippings. Add the lemon, the onion, and the bell pepper slices and continue to sauté. In a small bowl, mix the tomatoes, water, vinegar, spices, sugar, and salt and pepper until they become a thick sauce and pour it over the pork chops. Cover the skillet and simmer the chops over medium heat for 45 minutes, or until they are tender and the tomato mixture has turned into a thick gravylike sauce.

—The Welcome Table

Brazilian Greens

In the twenty-first century, we have learned that