Ruby's Juke Joint Americana Cookbook / Ruby Dee Philippa

Part of what distinguishes national cuisine from food that is served up all around the world and that tastes more or less the same no matter where you are is the sense of pride and identity that those who are native to that country feel in their culinary skills in preparing those particular dishes. That is the exact sense that declares itself triumphantly from each and every page of Ruby Dee’s Ruby’s Juke Joint Americana Cookbook (Bando Press; ISBN: 978-0-9837824-0-7). That she takes sheer delight in cooking and preparing food no matter whether she is at home or on the road with the rest of her Snakehandlers band, you can be rootin’ tootin’ sure that, as soon as she can lay her hands on some down home natural and fresh ingredients with which she can whip up a tasty morsel or two, she’ll do so. Her cookbook proves the point.

Packed with colorful photos, with a glossy format and an appealing, well-laid out spread, Ruby’s Juke Joint Americana Cookbook is both entertaining and thrilling in the way that Ruby Dee has counterpoised each recipe with her own expertise in cooking the dish. That Dee has a professional grounding in concocting mouth-watering delights is borne witness to by her having built, owned and operated three well-received restaurants in Seattle. She not only offers you clear instructions on how to prepare ingredients that you’ll be able to source with ease anywhere in the US of A, but she also regales you with enticing snippets of information from her days on the road. For instance, she illustrates her recipe for Chest Nut Loaf with a pointer that could be useful for anyone setting out on a long road trip: “When we hit the road on tour, we always pack an ice chest with homemade sauces, spreads, and sandwich fixings so we don’t get homesick too quickly.” Dee’s book of culinary delights is sensibly organized under such appropriate headings as “starters” and “poultry,” and ends with seven recipes specifically aimed at Thanksgiving Dinner, followed by a comprehensive index.

In addition to providing a Bonus Recipe Card or two, Ruby Dee includes a CD with her cookbook that is billed as “Americana Music to Cook By,” including such appropriate tracks as “Deep Fat Fry” by Jim Stringer, “Eat My Words” by Marti Brom and Her Barnshakers and the track specially written to accompany this book, “Home Cookin’,’’ by the very same Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers. So, whether you’re stringing beans or shaking barns, or, yes, even wrestling that there rattler to the ground, you’re bound to find yourself at home with this scrumptious and succulent read.

[My thanks go to renowned online publisher, Norm Goldman, for his inclusion of this review on his http://www.BookPleasures.com website.]