Sweetie Pie's Cookbook

Book excerpt: The beloved owner of the wildly popular Sweetie Pie's restaurant, and star of the OWN reality television show Welcome to Sweetie Pie's shares recipes for her renowned soul food and the lessons she's learned on the path to success. Growing up in Mississippi and St. Louis, Robbie Montgomery, the oldest of nine children, was often responsible for putting meals on the family table. Working side by side with her mother in their St. Louis kitchen, Robbie learned to prepare dozens of classic soul food dishes. Now, at seventy-two, Miss Robbie passes down those traditions for generations of fans to enjoy in Sweetie Pie's Cookbook. Robbie takes you into the kitchen to prepare her most favored meals—smothered pork chops, salmon croquettes, baked chicken—and tells you heartfelt and humorous stories, including amazing tales from her life at the restaurant and on the road as a back-up singer. Miss Robbie began her culinary career on the road—in the segregated America of the1960s, finding welcoming restaurants in small cities and towns was often challenging for African-Americans. When a collapsed lung prematurely ended her singing career, Miss Robbie returned to St. Louis, using her formidable cooking talent to open a soul food restaurant that would make her legend. Through her show and this special cookbook, Miss Robbie hopes to maintain the place of soul food cooking—its recipes, history, and legacy—in American culture for decades to come. Sweetie Pie's Cookbook includes 75-100 gorgeous color photos and an Index.