A dish celebrating Black History Month

No matter how good your high school or college American History teacher was, chances are you did not find the study of the Compromise of 1790 as compelling as Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical depiction of it in his hit show, "Hamilton." In Act 2 of the play, the compromise is immortalized by arguably the show's most exciting number, "The Room Where It Happens."

The compromise has been called the "grand-daddy of all political backroom deals" and resulted in the establishment of the country's first national bank in exchange for the designation of Washington, D.C., as our nation's capital. The bargain was consummated over a dinner thrown by Thomas Jefferson for James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and himself.

Jefferson, a believer in dinner-table diplomacy, served an elegant gourmet meal, as was his custom when entertaining guests. Historian Charles Cerami suggests that it likely consisted of five courses, including two entrees, with a different wine to accompany each, including a non-sparkling champagne.

The meal began with a salad served with wine jelly and then proceeded to a first main course of capon stuffed with Virginia ham and chestnut puree served on artichoke bottoms with truffles and cream. Then came the second main course, essentially a New York version of boeuf bourguignon after which came small sweets — meringues, macarons, and bell fritters — all topped off with vanilla ice cream enclosed in a warm pastry resembling a cream puff.

What is not generally known is the fact that this sumptuous spread was prepared by a Black man. He was also a slave. His name was James Hemings, the first American to train as a chef in France. He apprenticed at the royal court in Paris and was perhaps the best trained of American chefs in his time. Owned by Thomas Jefferson, along with his sister Sally (who, historians now know, also catered to the Sage of Monticello's appetite), he was taken to France by Jefferson, who at the time was the American commerce minister to that country, to learn the secrets of haute cuisine in exchange, ultimately, for his freedom.

Thus, Chef Hemings was just the sort of person Black History Month, celebrated every February, was designed to recognize: an African American whose accomplishments have been ignored or neglected. There were many others who, though not formally trained like Hemings, made substantial contributions to what we think of as American cuisine, but they are anonymous. They were slaves who brought with them ingredients and cooking techniques from their native lands and introduced them to the American table, not just in the South, but throughout the country, even in the West, where fully thirty percent of the cowboys were of African descent.

If you like yams, okra, watermelon, black-eyed peas, lima beans, hot peppers and spices, barbecue, cooked greens, or a perfectly cooked ham, you have an African to thank.

Peanut Stew

This dish of West African origin, adapted from Better Homes & Gardens, deliciously utilizes peanuts, a food whose possibilities were revealed by George Washington Carver, an African American.

• 6 green onions
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 3 tablespoons chopped ginger
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 cans (14.5 oz. each) chicken broth
• 2 cups cubed, peeled sweet potato
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 3 cups shredded cooked chicken thighs
• 15 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 3/4 cup chopped peanuts

Thinly slice white parts of green onions and cook in the oil with green pepper over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Add ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, red pepper, salt, and black pepper and cook for 30 seconds. Add broth and sweet potatoes, bringing to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove 1 cup broth and ladle into it the peanut butter and then the tomato paste until smooth. Add this mixture back into remaining broth along with turkey and tomatoes and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in cilantro, top with sliced green onion tops, and peanuts, and serve.