Page 2 Section II Portland Observer, December 17, 1961
Black man in the kitchen
by Robert Elliott
I f you get invited out to dinner
during the holidays, chances are
that you’ ll sit down to a meal pre
pared by the man o f the house.
A n in fo rm a l survey by K ra ft,
Inc., revealed that surprisingly high
numbers o f Black men are taking
their turn in the kitchen for holiday
entertaining.
M any o f those surveyed learned
their way around the kitchen at a
fairly early age, largely out o f neces
sity. They grew up in single parent
fam ilies or in fam ilies where both
parents worked. The children had to
learn to cook fo r themselves and
their families.
Others learned to cook while stu
dents in college. They found that
cooking th e ir own meals was the
best (and sometimes the only) way
to stretch a meager allowance.
with D e'A lan (nicknamed " D e e '')
and is still able to be on call for the
acting job that may turn up at any
moment.
Mann is, in fact, a very busy ac
tor, but that still leaves him with a
great deal o f time at liberty.
Ironically, M ann’s first adult job
was as a butcher. H e had been
working at it for five years when he
was laid o ff six years ago. Some o f
his friends from am ateur theater
groups helped him get work in tele
vision commercials to tide him over.
He never went back to cutting meat
for a living.
For fast, simple meals, Mann pre
fers to use a toaster oven rather than
a conventional range whenever pos
sible.
" I t costs less, and there isn’t as
much cleanup when i t ’ s o v e r," he
said. " I also like being able to keep
an eye on the food without opening
the oven door all the time. Dee likes
to watch, too.”
For this evening’ s simple meal,
Mann wrapped frankfurters in slices
o f Am erican process cheese food,
inserted them in hot dog buns and
placed them in the toaster oven.
While Dee watched the hot dogs,
his father opened a can o f vegetar-
ian style beans in tomato sauce. He
added a q u arter cup o f barbecue
sauce and warmed them over low
heat. By the tim e the beans were
warmed up, the hot dogs were also
ready.
M ann said that occasionally he
will add chopped raw onion to the
beans in the last two or three min
utes o f coo kin g , or use barbecue
sauce containing onion bits. He
didn’t use either o f those this time
because Dee does not like his beans
that way.
D o u g ’ s hot dogs in cheese can
also be served with all o f the usual
hot dog condiments: onions, mus
tard, barbecue sauce, relish and— if
you like it really hot— jalapeno pep
pers. This tim e, however. Dee felt
he had waited long enough, and he
began to eat without any extra frills.
U nlike the quick and simple ap
proach worked out by Doug M ann,
George W h itfie ld has developed a
laid-back approach to the culinary
arts in which meal preparation and
consumption are deliberate and un
hurried, each to be savored and en
joyed in its own right.
Part o f the difference in approach
may be attributed to the difference
in age and experience. At 28, Doug
M ann has been cooking seriously
N o t all o f the men really enjoy
cooking, but we did discover three
men o f various lifestyles who take
great pleasure in their cooking and
love to share their skill with families
and friends.
Douglas A la n -M a n n is a young
actor who has worked in television
commercials, films and theater. He
eats many o f his meals on the run,
and even when he has time to cook
fo r h im self, he tends to prepare
meals that are quick and easy. Yet,
he finds room to im provise w ith
even the simplest o f meals.
George W hitfield is a member o f
a security force. He shares cooking
chores with his wife, Eugenia, who
also works away from home. Both
enjoy preparing big holiday meals
fo r their children and grand ch il
dren.
Scott Tyler owns and operates a
successful real estate business. It
keeps him m oving around the
country. As a gourmet, he finds that
situation very satisfying. It gives
him an opportunity to sample the
fare at some o f the country’s great
clubs and restaurants. Increasingly,
he finds that few o f them can sur
pass the delights he creates in his
own kitchen.
In spite o f the difference in their
lifestyles, the three men have a num
ber o f traits in common. In addition
to being lovers o f good food, they
are also very positive and u n fla p
pable in their attitudes toward their
lives, their work and their futures.
Doug Mann has great confidence
in his ability to prepare a good meal,
but he keeps the fare relatively
simple for two reasons: He likes it
that way, and he sim ply does not
have the time or the space to explore
the intricacies o f ethnic and gourmet
cooking on the scale he would like.
The divorced father o f an eight-
year-old son, M an n has his hands
D e’Alan and Doug M ann enjoy a father and son talk over their
full juggling his time and com m it
dinner of hot dogs wrapped in a blanket of melted cheese. It is a
ments so that he spends enough time
typical meal for the Manns before they go Christmas shopping.
only since his divorce. H e cooks
when he has to or when he can
squeeze it in. W hitfield, on the other
hand, has one grandchild in college
and two others under the age o f 10.
He has been cooking most o f his
life, he says, and cooking is a major
element o f his lifestyle. H e does it
almost every day.
Because he and his wife work dif
ferent hours, W hitfield does most o f
the shopping and cooking on week
days so that his wife can come home
to a ready m eal. M rs. W h itfie ld
normally does the cooking on week
ends.
During the holiday season, in ad
d itio n to the big, tra d itio n a l
Thanksgiving, Christmas and New
Y e a r’ s Day feasts, there are fre
quent family get-togethers for which
either or both o f the elder W h it
fields may do the cooking.
George W h itfie ld in vited us to
share a typical meal for the Sunday
between Christmas and New Year’s.
He also allowed us to observe his
preparation o f the meal and let us in
on some o f his secrets.
Several years ago, W hitfield was
diagnosed as a diabetic. The discov-
ery dictated a m ajor change in his
lifestyle, especially his diet and food
preparation.
i
"Black Man in the Kitchen"
SPECIAL COUPONS!
H eodeem able a t th a F o llo w ing S a fe w a y Stores:
1100 NE B r o a d w a y -6 4 0 0 N. In te rs ta te - 5 9 2 0 NE U n ion
SAFEWAY
SAFEWAY COUPON
E A 8 Y C HEESE OOGS
WOT
Coupon Good 12/16/81 Thru 12/24/81 At 1100
NE Broadway, 6400 N. Interstate, 5920 NE Union
S liced C heese Singles
Kraft American
8-oz. Pkg., Reg. 41.53
Limit 1 W ith Coupon
/» /ft W /fr /»wft /» f t ZftVft/ftiift /ft /ftT ft/i
NF
V
H
SAFEWAY COUPON
DOUG S TANGY BEANS
Coupon Good 12/16/81 Thru 12/24/81 at 1100 "
NE Broadway, 6400 N. Interstate, 5920 NE Union
i
B arbecue S au ce
A Kraft, Assorted
■ 18 oz Btl, Reg $1.19
I Limit 1 W ith Coupon
SAVORY BEEF ROAST
’¿ '¿ '.’ó'.
£
▼
U
-
SAFEWAY COUPON [BBS k K r 7|
Coupon Good 12/16/81 Thru 12/24/81 at 1100
NE Broadway, 6400 N. Interstate, 5920 NE Union
Ita lia n Dressing
Kraft Salad Dressing
8oz. Bt., Reg 41 02
Limit 1 W ith Coupon
SAFEWAY COUPON
HOLIDAY FRUIT DRESSING
Coupon Good 12/16/81 Thru. 12/24/81 at 1100
NE Broadway, 6400 N. Interstate, 5920 NE Union
Em press H oney
Clover Honey
8-oz. Size, Reg 95C
£
Limit 1 W ith Coupon
U M b ^ T T T T T p W M W IW IH W W M H B fW IlW w C !
iu A u A n tu A n i..
SAFEWAY COUPON
W HITE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
9
k
fc l
S33S|
Coupon Good 12/16/81 Thru 12/24/81 at 1100
NE Br° adw8v' 6400 N Interstate, 5920 NE Union
W h ip p in g C ream
Lucerne Rich & Thick
* /rari Pint Ctn.. Reg. $1.09
BSSagSB
>
Limit 1 W ith Coupon
CHICAGO STYLE CANAPES
SAFEWAY COUPON
\
Coupon Good 12/16/81 Thru 12/24/81 at 1100 '
NE BroadwaY- 6400 N. Interstate, 5920 NE Union
S a n d w ic h Bread
^ ^ ^ N 0 f r g y Mrs. Wright's
^ C * W ^ 3 2 oz. Loaf, Reg. 97C
£
Limit 1 W ith Coupon
B BWhs n
FLORENTINE STUFFED TOM ATOES
k w I ii . «
»r
loMon
(»tfio»«..™,
Itetk of
thym»
SAFEWAY COUPON
V.UUU i z / 10/81 Thru 12/24/81 at 1100
NE Broadway, 6400 N. Interstate. 5920 NE Union
C hopp ed S pinach
Holiday Fruit Dressing and Savory Beef Roest
k
S cott Tyler prepares his onion sandwich canapes. Ha places thin
slices of onion between circles of w hite bread. The edges are spread
w ith mayonnaise and rolled in finely chopped parsley.
f f lq r o w >..I..«
m ., n >.. m m niiwwffiwi!
W hite Chocolate Mousse end Chicago Style
Canapes.
?? -4
Bel-Air Frozen
10-oz. Pkg., Reg 37C
Limit 1 W ith Coupon
~
«