Books by Alexander Smalls

Grace the Table: Stories and Recipes from My Southern Revival

by Alexander Smalls

An atmospheric memoir filled with marvelous tales about the joys of food, music, and life—seasoned with one hundred of Alexander Smalls’s celebrated world-class recipes.

In Grace the Table, the father of southern revival cooking serves up a delectable combination of memoir and cookbook as he recounts his life’s journey from his hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina, to the cosmopolitan cities of Europe and into the homes and hearts of Manhattan’s socialites and celebrities.

With an unabashed passion for food and a buoyant personality, Smalls recollects his grandparents’ Low Country cooking, and the almost spiritual power of a panful of hot buttermilk biscuits with fresh butter and sorghum. “Food was wealth to us,” Smalls writes, “the kitchen was Fort Knox, and I felt rich just opening the refrigerator.” Leaving small-town South Carolina, Smalls would become a world-class opera singer, an odyssey that introduced a wealth of new tastes and led him to his ultimate calling: cooking. He feasted on Chinese takeout in New York, Steak au Poivre in Paris, Grilled Swordfish Rolls in Palermo—but everywhere he traveled, he carried with him the cuisine of the American South.

In this unique book, Smalls shares his stories, family photographs, and one hundred of his inspiring culinary creations—sumptuous feasts, perfect for long dinners with family and friends. Sweet Potato Waffles and Southern Fried Chicken, Stuffed Veal Chops and Seafood Puppies, Pan-Roasted Salmon and Chocolate Raspberry Bread Pudding. . . just six of the glorious treats invented during Smalls’s adventures. A memoir sprinkled with recipes that are a delicious blend of traditional fare and international flair, Grace the Table will remind you of home no matter where you come from.

Meals, Music, and Muses: Recipes from My African American Kitchen

by Veronica Chambers, Alexander Smalls

Iconic chef and world-renowned opera singer Alexander Smalls marries two of his greatest passions―food and music―in Meals, Music, and Muses. More than just a cookbook, Smalls takes readers on a delicious journey through the South to examine the food that has shaped the region. Each chapter is named for a type of music to help readers understand the spirit that animates these recipes.

Filled with classic Southern recipes and twists on old favorites, this cookbook includes starters such as Hoppin’ John Cakes with Sweet Pepper Remoulade and Carolina Bourbon Barbecue Shrimp and Okra Skewers, and main dishes like Roast Quail in Bourbon Cream Sauce and Prime Rib Roast with Crawfish Onion Gravy.

Complete with anecdotes of Smalls’s childhood in the Low Country and examinations of Southern musical tradition, Meals, Music, and Muses is a heritage cookbook in the tradition of Edna Lewis’s A Taste of Country Cooking.

Between Harlem and Heaven: Afro-Asian-American Cooking for Big Nights, Weeknights, and Every Day

by Veronica Chambers, Alexander Smalls, JJ Johnson

Winner of the James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook

“Between Harlem and Heaven presents a captivatingly original cuisine. Afro-Asian-American cooking is packed with unique and delicious layers of flavor. These stories and recipes lay praise to the immense influence the African Diaspora has had on global cuisine.”― Sean Brock

In two of the most renowned and historic venues in Harlem, Alexander Smalls and JJ Johnson created a unique take on the Afro-Asian-American flavor profile. Their foundation was a collective three decades of traveling the African diaspora, meeting and eating with chefs of color, and researching the wide reach of a truly global cuisine; their inspiration was how African, Asian, and African-American influences criss-crossed cuisines all around the world. They present here for the first time over 100 recipes that go beyond just one place, taking you, as noted by The New Yorker, “somewhere between Harlem and heaven.”

This book branches far beyond "soul food" to explore the melding of Asian, African, and American flavors. The Afro Asian flavor profile is a window into the intersection of the Asian diaspora and the African diaspora. An homage to this cultural culinary path and the grievances and triumphs along the way, Between Harlem and Heaven isn’t fusion, but a glimpse into a cuisine that made its way into the thick of Harlem's cultural renaissance.

JJ Johnson and Alexander Smalls bring these flavors and rich cultural history into your home kitchen with recipes for...
- Grilled Watermelon Salad with Lime Mango Dressing and Cornbread Croutons,
- Feijoada with Black Beans and Spicy Lamb Sausage,
- Creamy Macaroni and Cheese Casserole with Rosemary and Caramelized Shallots,
- Festive punches and flavorful easy sides, sauces, and marinades to incorporate into your everyday cooking life.

Complete with essays on the history of Minton’s Jazz Club, the melting pot that is Harlem, and the Afro-Asian flavor profile by bestselling coauthor Veronica Chambers, who just published the wildly successful Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson, this cookbook brings the rich history of the Harlem food scene back to the home cook.

“This is more than just a cookbook. Alexander and JJ take us on a culinary journey through space and time that started more than 400 years ago, on the shores of West Africa. Through inspiring recipes that have survived the Middle Passage to seamlessly embrace Asian influences, this book is a testimony to the fact that food transcends borders." ― Chef Pierre Thiam

The Contemporary African Kitchen Home Cooking Recipes from the Leading Chefs of Africa

by Alexander Smalls, Nina Oduro

As featured by NBC's Today Show, Harper's Bazaar, Forbes, and Vogue France

'A cookbook to be dipped into for inspiration for intimate late-night suppers and pull-out-the-stops buffets. It is a book to read, to cook from and to savor that will delight the mind and the tastebuds.' - Jessica B. Harris, Ph.D., food historian, lecturer, and author of High on the Hog

Experience Africa's vibrant food culture with 120 recipes from the continent's most exciting culinary voices

Meet the culinarians who are setting the new African table. James Beard Award-winning author Alexander Smalls presents a vibrant library of home cooking recipes and texts contributed by 33 chefs, restaurateurs, caterers, cooks, and writers at the heart of Africa's food movement.

Organized geographically into five regions, The Contemporary African Kitchen presents 120 warm and delicious dishes, each beautifully photographed and brought to life through historical notes, personal anecdotes, and serving suggestions.

Home cooks will discover a bounty of diverse, delicious dishes ranging from beloved classics to newer creations, all rooted in a shared language of ingredients, spices, and cooking traditions. Learn to make Northern Africa's famed couscous and grilled meats; Eastern Africa's aromatic curries; Central Africa's Peanut Sauce Stew and Cocoyam Dumplings; Southern Africa's fresh seafood and street food; and Western Africa's renowned Chicken Yassa.

With text contributions from experts including Pierre Thiam, Selassie Atadika, Anto Cocagne, Coco Reinarhz, and Michael Adé Elégbèdé, the essay and recipe contributors to this ground-breaking survey are at the heart of the food movement of Africa, making it an essential addition to every cook and food lover's library.

Inviting, instructive, accessible, and exciting, The Contemporary African Kitchen brings the conversation about Africa's cuisine into homes around the world.

Chefs and countries featured: Zein Abdallah (Uganda); Agatha Achindu (Cameroon); Eric Adjepong (Ghana); Ikenna Akwuebue Bobmanuel (Nigeria); Clara Kapelembe Bwali (Zambia); Akram Cherif (Tunisia); Agness Colley (Togo); Moustafa Elrefaey (Egypt); Arnaud Gwaga (Burundi); Mohamed Kamal (Egypt); Kudakwashe Makoni (Zimbabwe); Dieuveil Malonga (Republic of Congo); O'miel Moundounga (Gabon); Mwaka Mwiimbu (Zambia); Joseph Odoom (Ghana); Forster Oben Oru (Cameroon); Thabo Phake (South Africa); Mostafa Seif (Egypt); Mogau Seshoene (South Africa); Sifo Sinoyolo (South Africa); Mame Sow (Senegal); Sophia Teshome (Ethiopia); Pierre Thiam (Senegal); Roze Traore (Côte d'Ivoire); Matse Uwatse (Nigeria); Alfonso Videira (Angola); Nana Araba Wilmot (Ghana); Rubia Zablon (Kenya).

When Alexander Graced the Table

by Denene Millner, Alexander Smalls

Four starred reviews!

From James Beard Award–winning chef Alexander Smalls, New York Times bestselling author Denene Millner, and award-winning illustrator Frank Morrison comes a “vibrant visual narrative” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) of family, traditions, and the little moments shared at the dinner table that make all the difference.

There is nothing young Alexander looks forward to more than Sunday Dinner, the special time after church when the whole family gathers dressed in their Sunday best and ready to share in the best meal of the week.

For the first time, it’s up to Alexander to contribute a dish for the table, something warm and satisfying, with just the right amount of sweetness—something that the whole family will love and, most of all, will make his dad proud. It’s time for Alexander to spread that Sunday joy!