LaBelle Cuisine: Recipes to Sing About

"From the time I was a little girl, I knew there were two things in this world I wanted to do: sing and cook." So says singer-diva Patti LaBelle, whose first cookbook, LaBelle Cuisine, confirms her passion for good food and her skill at producing it. A truly devoted cook (she travels with pans and hot-sauce stashes), LaBelle offers more than 100 recipes in the great Southern soul-food tradition--homey dishes such as Say-My-Name Smothered Chicken and Aunt Hattie's Scrumptious Sweet Potato Bread. LaBelle fans and those seeking simple yet savory fare for everyday and casual entertaining will relish the book.

In chapters including "Sensational Salads," "Soups and Sandwiches," "Perfect Poultry," and "To-Die-For Desserts and Bread," LaBelle weaves easy-to-do recipes with warm food reminiscences. Whether describing a backstage barbecue resulting in a building-wide fire alert, her undying love of canned sardines, or the soulful Sunday dinners of her youth, LaBelle's voice is, as ever, memorably her own. The recipes, many of which include tips called Patti's Pointers, represent not only a personal culinary heritage, but also a kind of cooking in danger of dissolution. LaBelle's Over-the-Rainbow Macaroni and Cheese, among other recipes, should remind readers that that heritage is alive, well, and in very good hands. --Arthur Boehm