The Regal Theater - Smothered Turkey Wings



47th & Grand Boulevard, Chicago, IL  (renamed South Parkway)
Photography:  Lee Russell ,1941

 

 

Opened February 4, 1928 and located in the “Bronzeville” area of Chicago, the Regal was one of the first entertainment complexes that was available for American audiences and also employed African American staff members (other than the musical acts).  With the ability to see Black performers, films, and shows, African Americans were immediately drawn into the theater.

 

Several big names were brought in to perform the popular music of that era. Some of the performers that were brought in include: Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald, The Temptations, Miles Davis, Nat “King” Cole, Duke Ellington, Paul Robeson, the Jackson Five, and several others.

 

The feel of the theater was elegant and formal. Velvet seating, large pillars, and beautifully decorated—the Regal was definitely a site to see. 

 

Before the Regal, blacks (in Chicago) were usually not able to find jobs other than the typical low-income jobs, but new employment opportunities were beginning to come about.

 

The Regal, which eventually had a black manager, hired black entertainment, ushers, dancers (only light-skinned women), and coat checkers which at the time was highly unheard of.

  

 

Chicago-style Smothered Turkey Wings

4 large turkey wings (drums detached)
1/4 c. water
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp kosher salt or seasoned salt
1/2 tbsp pepper 
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 chopped scallion
1/2 cup water
drippings from cooked turkey
1/4 cup flour

 

Thaw wings prior to cooking. Preheat over to 275° F.

Take all seasonings and combined into small bowl. Cover wings with olive oil and place in baking pan (don’t stack wings)

Sprinkle seasoning generously over wings. Pour 1/4 cup water at base of pan with out sprinkling on turkey.

Bake wings for 5-6 hours - to desired tenderness.

When done, remove wings from oven and set aside

Gravy Preparation

Pour drippings from the main pan into a medium sauce pan, add 1/2 cup water. Bring to medium boil and add flour slowly while stirring (with wisk) into pan. When the flour is stirred to desired thickness, lower heat, and allow to simmer for 1-2 minutes. When finished, drizzle gravy over wings in current pan or place in new pan or plate and serve.


Serve with Collards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Miles Davis: South Side Chili Spaghetti



1926-1991

Hometown: Alton, IL

 

 

Most people are unaware that Miles Dewey Davis came from an affluent African American family. His father, Miles Henry Davis, was a dentist. They also owned a ranch in the Delta region of Arkansas near the city of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where Davis's father and grandfather were from. It was in both East St. Louis, Illinois and near Pine Bluff, Arkansas that young Davis developed his earliest appreciation for music listening to the gospel music of the black church.

 

 

 

 

South Side Chili Spaghetti
courtesy timeoutshannons.com

¼ lb. suet (beef fat)
1 large onion
1 lb. ground beef
½ lb. ground veal
½ lb. ground pork
salt and pepper
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin seed
2 cans kidney beans, drained
1 can beef consommé
1 drop red wine vinegar
3 lb. spaghetti parmesan cheese
oyster crackers
beer
1 Box Spaghetti

Melt suet in large heavy pot until liquid fat is about an inch high. Remove solid pieces of suet from pot and discard.

In same pot, sauté onion. Combine meats in bowl; season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, and cumin.

In another bowl, season kidney beans with salt and pepper.

Add meat to onions; sauté until brown.

Add kidney beans, consommé, and vinegar; simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally. Add more seasonings to taste, if desired.

Cook spaghetti according to package directions, and then divide among six plates.

Spoon meat mixture over each plate of spaghetti. Top with Parmesan and serve oyster crackers on the side.

Open your favorite beer and enjoy!

 

Babs Gonzales - Meat Loaf Special



1919-1980  Hometown : Newark NJ
Photo: W. Gottleib

 

Born Lee Brown, Babs was well-known vocalist of the Bebop era, and a regular on the Chitlin Circuit. He is most notable for penning the song "Oop-Pop-A-Da", which was originally recorded and performed by his own band (Three Bips and a Bop), and later made famous by Dizzy Gillespe.

Babs Gonzales’ Meat Loaf Special 

2 lb ground beef

2 large eggs

2 oz applesauce

1 c. bread crumbs

1 medium chopped onion

¼ c. chopped green bell pepper

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 c. ketchup

1 c. chopped tomatoes

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and thoroughly blend the mixture with your fingers. Add a small amount of milk if necessary to maintain moisture.

 

With a large spatula, transfer the meat into a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Press down and form a small shallow indentation length-wise on top of the loaf.

 

Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the pan and pour off excess fat.

 

In a bowl, mix tomatoes with ketchup. Next, spread ketchup and tomato mixture in over the top of the loaf with most of it filling the indentation.

 

Return to oven and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully pour off excess fat.

Club Delisa - Chicken n Rice



5521 South State Street, Chicago, IL

 

While possibly not the most prestigious club on Chicago’s South Side, but Club DeLisa played a major role in the city's association with jazz, blues, rhythm and blues and soul music. 

Club DeLisa was owned by the four DeLisa brothers, and opened inn 1934. In 1941, the original building burned down but was soon replaced with the New Club DeLisa. Nightly entertainment at the club was in a variety-show format. The show featured singers, comedians, dancers, and the DeLisa Chorines, accompanied by a house band that ranged in size from 7 to 12 pieces, depending on the club's revenues. Another less heralded source of revenue was gambling, in the club's basement.

Among the musicians and performers associated with the venue over the years were Red Saunders, whose band was in residence from 1937–45 and 1947–58, Fletcher Henderson, Count Basie, Sun Ra, Johnny Pate, Joe Williams, LaVaughn Robinson, George Kirby, Sonny Cohn, Earl Washington, Leon Washington, Albert Ammons, LaVern Baker, and Reverend Gatemouth Moore (1946–1947 and 1948–1949).

The Club DeLisa closed its doors in February 1958, after the deaths of two of the DeLisa brothers. It was reopened under new ownership as The Club in 1966 where it carried on the musical tradition of Delisa.

 

source: wikipedia.com

Fletcher Henderson & his Orchestra

Fletcher Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. His was one of the most prolific black musical arrangers and a regular performer at Club DeLisa.  

Club DeLisa’s
Chicken n’ Rice 

 4 boneless chicken breasts ½ c. oil
1 c. uncooked white rice ½ white onion (diced)
1 clove minced garlic 1 (8 oz) can Tomato Sauce
2½ c. boiling water salt and pepper to taste 

 

 

 

In a large skillet, add oil and set heat to medium high.

 

Place chicken in skillet. Cook until brown on the outside. Remove chicken, place in a bowl, and set aside. 

Add rice to the skillet, and toast until light brown
(about 1-2 minutes).

Add onion, salt and pepper, and cook for 1 minute or until the diced onions become soft.

Add garlic and continue to cook for an additional 30 seconds.

Add tomato sauce and water then stir well. Bring to a boil.

Add chicken and cover pan with a lid.

Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes or until rice is done and chicken is cooked through. 

 

 

 

Small’s Paradise and Jimmy Smith's Oxtail Stew

 

Smalls Paradise

aka Big Wilts Smalls Paradise

2294½ Seventh Avenue, 
New York, New York 

 

Owned and operated by Edwin Smalls then by NBA legend, Wilt Chamberlain, this venue was one of the premier nightspots in Harlem during the late 1920s. It hosted mainly jazz performers such as Jimmy Smith, Babs Gonzales, King Curtis, and even Jimi Hendrix. Before it closed its doors in 1986, Small’s was considered one of the most successful, prestigious, and longest operating nightclubs in the history of Harlem ever owned by an African American.

 

 

Jimmy Smith’s Oxtail Stew

3 lbs oxtails (separated joints)

salt and pepper
olive oil

2 c. red wine
1 large chopped carrot

1 yellow chopped onion
1 chopped celery stalk

3 whole cloves garlic (unpeeled)
1/2 c. beef stock

1 bay leaf
pinch of thyme parsley
2 sliced turnips

2 sliced parsnips
2 sliced carrots

Rinse oxtails under cold running water then pat dry with heavy paper towels. Sprinkle the tails completely with salt and pepper. 

In a 6-quart Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium high heat.

Add small batches of oxtails at a time, searing them in the hot pan on all sides until golden brown. Remove oxtails with tongs and transfer them to a bowl containing wine. Set aside.

Add chopped carrot, chopped onion, and celery to the pan. Cook the vegetables for about 5-7 minutes or until onions are clear. Add the oxtails with wine back to the pan. Add whole garlic cloves and beef stock. Stir briefly.

Add bay leaf, thyme, and ½ teaspoon salt. Bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 3 hours or until meat is fork tender. About an hour before the oxtails are done, preheat heat oven on 350°F.

Add sliced carrots, parsnips, turnips and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a roasting pan and sprinkle well with salt and pepper. Roast vegetables for 1 hour, or until lightly browned and cooked through.

When oxtails are tender, remove them from the liquid. Skim the fat off the top with a spoon, or a fat separator. Pour the cooking liquid through a mesh strainer into a bowl. Use a rubber spatula to press against the vegetable solids that are caught in the strainer. Discard the solids. 

Return the liquid to the pan and simmer until liquid is reduced by half. Add in the oxtails, and add the roasted vegetables to the pan. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook for about 30 minutes.

 

 

 

Robert's Show Lounge: Pork Chops n' Scalloped Potatoes




Mr Robert's favorite dish was anything with meat and potatoes

 Robert's Show Club/Lounge

6222 South Parkway

Chicago, IL

 

The Robert’s Show Club (also referred to as "Show Lounge") was the epitome of Black refinement. Established in 1954, Herman Roberts introduced the South Side of Chicago to entertainers such as Sammy Davis Jr., Duke Ellington, Dinah Washington, Count Basie, Gene Krupa, and Sarah Vaughan. The Robert’s Show Club was famous for its Mambo and Cha-Cha nights and infamous for its “Jewel Box Review.” This club also help launch the careers of notables as Redd Foxx, Della Reese, George Kirby and Dick Gregory.

 

source:www.hermanroberts.com

 

'The South Side'
Pork Chops and Scalloped Potatoes
Dedicated to Mr. Herman Roberts

 (1/2-inch-thick) bone-in pork loin or rib chops
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 (5-oz) package scalloped potatoes
1 (2-oz) jar diced pimiento, drained
Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper.

 

Cook pork chops in a lightly greased large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 3 minutes on each side or until browned.

Remove pork chops from skillet, and set aside.

Prepare scalloped potatoes in skillet according to package directions for the stove top.

Stir in diced pimiento, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Top with pork chops.

Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. 

Uncover and cook 5 more minutes or until potatoes are tender.

 

Contrary to popular belief, the ratio of White musicians performing on the 'Chitlin Circuit' was significantly higher than Black entertainers performing in White establishments.  Musicians such as Gene Krupa, enjoyed making regular appearances at places like Robert's Show Lounge; making them some of the first "cross-over" acts in music history.

Howlin Wolf - Chicken Casserole

    



                         



Born Chester Arthur Burnett (1910), in West Point, Mississippi (now known as White Station), Howlin' Wolf, was an influential blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, known for his booming voice. He is commonly ranked among the leading performers in “Electric Blues.” A number of songs written or popularized by him are "Smokestack Lightnin'", "Back Door Man", "Killing Floor" and "Spoonful".  Burnett passed away in 1976

 

Chicken Casserole was a big hit on the Chitlin Circuit, espeically in the deep south. If a performer was lucky enough to get themself an invite to someome's house for Sunday dinner, the casserole would be served as the main course with collards, cornbread and potato salad...a huge improvement over the nightly fish or pork chop sandwiches.

3 -4 chicken breasts
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 (1/4 lb) package Ritz crackers
1/2 cup butter 

Preheat oven 350 degrees

Using a large pot, boil whole chicken breasts for about 15-20 minutes or until juices run clear when cut.

Transer chicken into aluminum pan then place refrigerator to cool down enough for safe handling

While chicken is cooling, mix soup and sour cream in large bowl.

Remove chicken from pan, and pull apart or cut into bite-sized chunks then mix with soup mixture.

Crush Ritz crackers in a bowl

Melt butter and mix in crushed crackers.

Place chicken mixture into a casserole dish, top with Ritz mixture, and bake 15-20 minutes or until hot and bubbling.

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