Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts

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 wee here 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 the history and stories of these ancestors along swith 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 – brought to vivid life through stunning photography. “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.