"Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts" blackberry cobbler

I made a blackberry cobbler yesterday after spending time with a new cookbook I recently added to my collection—”Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks” by Crystal Wilkinson (@crystalwilki).

From the publisher: “A lyrical culinary journey that explores the hidden legacy of Black Appalachians, through powerful storytelling alongside nearly forty comforting recipes, from the former poet laureate of Kentucky.”

I think this is the first book in my small kitchen library that would be considered a culinary memoir and it’s really special. Alongside her stories, the author includes recipes and family photos and the result is a beautiful, personal look at one family’s legacy in Appalachia. It’s brimming with love. 

For example, in the “Blackberries, Blackberries” section (which includes “Grandmother’s Blackberry Cobbler”), the author shares memories of picking blackberries alongside her grandparents as her grandfather cared for her family’s cemetery and later preparing the cobbler for her mother. She goes on to briefly discuss the historical importance of blackberries for Black families in the mountain south and its uses in folk medicine and art. 

(This section also includes recipes for Blackberry Jam and Wild Berry Lemonade, but I’m really looking forward to attempting the Chess Pie.) 

Unfortunately, I didn’t have wild blackberries on hand this time of year but even working with this batch got me excited at the thought of warm-weather foraging. To be honest, I’m still working on perfecting my dough and looking forward to practicing this spring. At this point, I’m pretty confident in making biscuits but still need some guidance when it comes to baking bread or crust from scratch. 

I’m especially looking forward to revisiting this one in the summer.