In Delilah’s Everyday Soul, chef Delilah Winder shares the Southern-inspired recipes that helped earn her the devotion of many, including television’s Oprah Winfrey, the NFL’s Donovan McNabb, and music’s Patti LaBelle. Sharing more than 100 of her favorite recipes and the stories behind them, Delilah reaches back to her roots and forward to future generations of soul food lovers with her fun, eclectic recipes. For Delilah, Southern food comes from the heart and touches the soul. The recipes in Delilah’s Everyday Soul are arranged by occasion and accented with special memories, tips, and suggestions for preparing and serving. They feature traditional soul food like Delilah’s delectable fried chicken and strawberry lemonade, and also include more modern renditions of the fare, plus alternative ingredients for those who want to try healthier versions of the spectacular recipes.

Reviews
The soul of a Southern Thanksgiving
Delilah Winder and an old friend collaborate on a feast that draws on family traditions and the tastes of Africa.
By Dianna Marder
Philadelphia Inquirer

"The soul-food queen is in.

"Delilah Winder skipped work at her Reading Terminal and 30th Street Station stalls, she won't be going into her Old City restaurant, Bluezette, and she's not signing any copies of her new cookbook, Delilah's Everyday Soul (Running Press).
Instead, she'll stay in the kitchen of her Voorhees home and show us how to make a true Southern Thanksgiving dinner. We'll start with a fresh, free-range turkey, add cornbread stuffing and giblet gravy. And we'll toss in some stories about the hard times that make us value the good times so much more…."

For the whole article, go to: http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/email/entertainment/dining/16021785.htm

Give thanks for Delilah
Chef Winder shares her ingredients for the perfect holiday meal
JUDITH W. WINNE
Courier-Post

"Chef Delilah Winder of Voorhees has wowed Oprah Winfrey with her macaroni and cheese, and fed less-famous diners a Southern-accented repertoire as rich as her sweet potato cheesecake.
"After 20 years in the food business, the owner of Philadelphia's Bluezette and Delilah's Southern Cuisine takeout stands still hungers for the kind of down-home, just-folks food she learned from her Southern grandmas and Philadelphia mama.
"Ask her about her favorite Thanksgiving leftover meal, and watch as a huge smile appears on her face.
'Sliced turkey with stuffing, sliced bread and gravy with cranberries is my to-die-for leftover turkey meal,' she says without a beat. 'The flavors are great together.'
Winder, 55, is the author, with Jennifer Lindner McGlinn, of Delilah's Everyday Soul: Southern Cooking With Style (Running Press, 2006, $29.95).
The section on Thanksgiving is a groaning board of mouth-watering goodies…."

For the whole article, go to: http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061115/LIVING01/611150301/1004/LIVING

A tasty affair with ‘soulful’ cuisines
By Bobbi Booker
Philadelphia Tribune

"Restaurateur Delilah Winder traded in her life of corporate comfort in 1984 for a chance to explore her culinary creativity and taste buds across the country have applauded her decision ever since. The road to Winder’s success began when she open her one-woman food stand in Philadelphia’s historic Reading Terminal Market. Today, she employs more than 60 people who work in six Delilah’s Southern Cuisine stands. But it wasn’t until Oprah Winfrey tasted Winder’s Mac and cheese that the nation and world were alerted to one of Philly’s longtime treats. Winder’s debut cookbook, Everyday Soul: Southern Cooking With Style (Running Press Book Publishers, $29.95) documents her lifelong love affair with food.
"Everyday Soul is much more than a book of recipes, as it reflects the dual identity Winder has from growing up in both the South and the North. It reads almost like a biography; it’s interspersed with color photographs recalling Winder’s life from childhood summers in Richmond, VA to entrepreneurial success in Philadelphia. From the book’s opening image – Delilah Winder sassily strutting through Old City Philadelphia – to the delectable photos of her signature recipes, each image portrays the passion that Winder’s hip and colorful spirit brings to life and food. Delilah’s food has received numerous accolades, including 100 Favorite Foods by Saveur Magazine and Best of Philly, but it was the ‘Best Mac & Cheese’ declaration by Oprah Winfrey that brought Winder national recognition…."

For the whole article, go to: http://www.phila-tribune.com/channel/lifestyles/110306/delilah.asp

Soul Woman
Don't ask if you've caught Delilah Winder in the middle of something — you have.
by A.D. Amorosi

"Don't ask if you've caught Delilah Winder in the middle of something — you have.
The chairwoman of the African-American Chamber of Commerce dropped a career in business to open two Southern-style eateries (Delilah's) and a swanky multicultural restaurant (Bluezette), and now she's pushing a new cookbook, Delilah's Everyday Soul: Southern Cooking with Style (Running Press, $29.95).
…
"What makes Winder's style so fun for foodies — both serious gourmands and book buyers — is her laid-back, happy-go-lucky approach to family-style comfort plates. We're talking curried goat, braised beef short ribs, blackberry pie, collard greens with cornbread and everything fried.
'Un-highfalutin' aptly describes Winder's style; She uses beer to steam blue crabs, makes meatloaf with shiitake mushrooms and slathers her famous mac 'n' cheese with Gruyere and Asiago. It's down-home with a twist. And a word to the health nuts shaking their heads over her generous use of lard — get over it. 'Those meals were good enough for our parents,' says Winder. 'My grandparents lived to be 99 and 95. I'm 55, and not overweight. I eat this food, and always have.'
"While Everyday Soul covers the cross section of folks who frequent her diner-style nosheries and tonier restaubar, it all comes down to this: Everybody entertains, be it on fine china for swell pals or on paper plates for the fam. And many of us had an inspirational relative who set the table first. Winder, in fact, dedicated an entire section of her new book to her grandmother Catherine. 'That's my favorite chapter, because it's about the love of preparing,' she says. 'I used to just watch her effortlessly and magically make a meal, and within two hours, fill a table with abundance and love.'…"

For the whole article, go to: http://citypaper.net/articles/2006/11/02/Soul-Woman