Rufus Estes was an African-American chef living in Chicago who published his own cookbook in 1911 titled “Good Things to Eat, as Suggested by Rufus.”
The book, “a collection of practical recipes for preparing meats, games, fowl, fish, puddings, pastries, etc.,” gave Estes the opportunity to share many of the dishes he had created over years as a chef for the Pullman Palace Car Co. and, later, as chef of the subsidiary companies of United States Steel Corp. His book, which is prefaced with “hints to kitchen maids,” is comprehensive, starting with asparagus soup and ending with strawberry syrup. In between, one can find a green melon saute, marbled chicken (a cold dish served unmolded), Boston brown bread, turkey truffles and fresh raspberry pie. There’s even a section of Lenten dishes.
“The recipes given in the following pages represent the labor of years,” Estes wrote in his introduction. “Their worth has been demonstrated, not experimentally, but by actual tests, day by day and month by month, under dissimilar, and in many instances, not too favorable conditions.”
Toni Tipton-Martin included Estes in her new book, “The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks” (University of Texas Press, $45). His recipes, she writes, “illustrate a sophisticated and intelligent style.”
Tipton-Martin writes that when the cookbook was published in 1911, the Chicago Defender described Estes as one of Chicago’s “best-known chefs,” and an autographed copy of the book was auctioned for $11.
Donna Battle Pierce, a Chicago-based food writer and author of the syndicated “Black America Cooks” column, said Estes was well-known in Chicago’s African-American community. He was active in the Appomattox Club, an organization described in a 1999 Chicago Tribune story as a black Republican social club in Chicago.
“One of the pleasures in life to the normal man is good eating,” Estes wrote in his cookbook, “and if it be true that real happiness consists in making others happy, the author can at least feel a sense of gratification in the thought that his attempts to satisfy the cravings of the inner man have not been wholly unappreciated by the many that he has had the pleasure of serving — some of whom are now his staunchest friends.”
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BRUNSWICK STEW
This Brunswick stew recipe comes from Rufus Estes’ 1911 cookbook, “Good Things to Eat, as Suggested by Rufus.” It is written in the narrative form popular for recipes in that day. Estes’ book is featured in “The Jemima Code” (University of Texas Press, $45), an examination of two centuries of African-American cookbooks by Toni Tipton-Martin.
Cut up one chicken, preferably a good fat hen, cover with cold water, season with salt and pepper, and cook slowly until about half done. Add six ears of green corn, splitting through the kernels, one pint butter beans and six large tomatoes chopped fine. A little onion may be added if desired. Cook until the vegetables are thoroughly done, but very slowly, so as to avoid burning. Add strips of pastry for dumplings and cook five minutes. Fresh pork can be used in place of the chicken and canned vegetables instead of fresh.
RUFUS ESTES’ BRUNSWICK STEW
Prep: 1 hour Cook: 1 hour, 10 minutes Makes: 6 to 8 servings
Nancie McDermott included an update of Rufus Estes’ Brunswick stew in her new cookbook, “Southern Soups & Stews” (Chronicle, $24.95). Her version is thinner and soupier than some traditional versions of Brunswick stew, McDermott notes.
1 chicken (about 4 pounds), cut into serving pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 cups peeled, coarsely chopped tomatoes
3 cups white or yellow corn, fresh, frozen, or canned
2 cups butterbeans or lima beans, fresh, frozen, or canned
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup flour
1. Place the chicken pieces in a large Dutch oven or a stockpot and add enough water to cover. Bring it to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Skim off and discard any foam that rises to the surface. After 10 minutes, lower the heat to maintain an active but gentle simmer. Add the salt and pepper and cook the chicken for 35 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, corn, butterbeans and onion. Stir to mix everything evenly into the soup. Cook it for 25 minutes more, until the chicken is tender. Transfer the chicken pieces to a platter to cool, leaving the vegetables simmering in the stew.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the flour with 1/3 cup broth from the stockpot and stir them together. You will have a raggedy bowlful of dough. Using your hands, press and scoop it into a lump and then knead it a few dozen times, until you have a fairly smooth, springy dough.
4. Using a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a big, thin round, a little thinner than pie crust. Cut into rectangles, about 1 inch wide and 2 inches long, and transfer the dough to a large plate or platter by the stove.
5. Remove and discard the skin and bones from the cooled chicken pieces, and pull or chop the meat into big bite-size pieces. Return the chicken meat to the stew and stir it in. Cook it for 5 minutes more.
6. Increase the heat to high and bring the stew to a rolling boil. Drop in the dough pieces one by one, adding them around the pot so that they don’t touch each other. Scoop a little broth up over the dumplings to moisten them. After 2 minutes, stir gently to move the dumplings down into the stew. When the dumplings are tender and chewy like good pasta, remove the pot from the heat. Serve the stew hot or warm.
Nutrition information per serving (for 8 servings): 321 calories, 4 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 75 mg cholesterol, 39 g carbohydrates, 32 g protein, 598 mg sodium, 7 g fiber
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