Ruby's handwritten fritter recipe.

Cooking should be fun–at least that’s what Ruby Dee Philippa, Grammy nominated singer-songwriter and lead vocalist for  Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers believes.

And it’s made more fun when home cooks feel confident about what they’re doing.

Toward that end, Ruby Dee offers tips for making her apple fritter recipe:

1. Keep them coming and going fast, or they will brown too quickly.
2. If you make a larger batch, change the oil out.
3. Another way to make them without having to change the oil or set off the smoke  alarm (which we did when she made the fritters for me at her home–listen for yourself) is to start them in the oil for about a minute on each side and finish them in the oven at 400°F for about 2-3 minutes. That’s a lot more busy-work: drop, turn, turn, scoop, place, open oven door, drop, turn, turn, scoop, etc., but then you don’t have to change the oil or burn any fritters– and you still get that oil lusciousness.
4. Or just make small batches!

Ruby and Jorge

If not for a devastating scooter accident that resulted in a brain injury, Grammy nominated singer-songwriter, Ruby Dee Phillipa, might not have written Ruby’s Juke Joint Americana Cookbook: 120 happy-making recipes that reflect her childhood and the many regional cuisines she encountered while touring with her band The Snakehandlers.

Ruby originally wrote out recipes and stories in this book as cognitive therapy after the accident. A few months after starting the process, she realized she had the makings of a book. With deeply rooted drive and passion and the support of her friends, family and husband and band mate and producer, Jorge Harada, the idea for a cookbook became a reality.

Her cooking is like her music: rootsy, earthy, accessible.

From Ruby’s Juke Joint website:

Whether it’s touring with her band Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers or serving up a backyard barbeque, Ruby Dee always has something cooking. From the first taste of her feisty and spicy sound to the last bite of a crowd pleasing dish, Ruby Dee is making fans rave and crave her winning recipes.

As a songwriter and lead vocalist, Ruby continues to write and record, including her band’s most recent release “LIVE FROM AUSTIN TEXAS’, charting for over 10 weeks on the AMA and Texas Third Coast Music charts, and earning the band a well-deserved Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album. This gal knows how to entertain and makes every interaction a veritable feast.

Enter to win a copy of Ruby’s Juke Joint Americana Cookbook.

If Ruby Dee Phillipa, lead singer of the Americana roots band Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers, ever invites you over for some home cooking, do yourself a favor and go.

This Grammy nominated singer-songwriter and author spends as much time–maybe more–in the kitchen as on stage; everything that comes from her culinary explorations hit the right note.

She says she was expected to know how to cook, and spent time in the kitchen with her grandmother–Nanny–learning to make traditional fare.

Upcoming Gigs for Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers

Mar 16: Giddy-Ups – Austin, TX
Mar 16: Austin Live! – Austin, TX
Mar 23: Uncle Billy’s Lake Travis – Austin, TX
Mar 24: Uncle Billy’s Barton Springs – Austin, TX
Mar 30: Rusty’s Austin – Austin, TX

As her interest in food grew, she said she worked her way through the Time Life: Foods of the World series. She admitted that not all of her forays into foreign cuisine were successes, “But that’s how you learn.”

When I visited Ruby at the  home she shares in Austin, Texas with her husband and band mate, Jorge Harada, she taught me how to make apple fritters. The recipe comes from her new cookbook Ruby’s Juke Joint Americana Cookbook, which was inspired by early food memories and regional cuisines she encountered while on tour with the band.

The fritters derive from a childhood memory, are simple to make, and Ruby says they taste like home.

ENTER TO WIN A COPY OF RUBY’S JUKE JOINT AMERICANA COOKBOOK

Share a favorite food memory in the comments section of this story to enter for your chance to win a copy of Ruby Dee’s cookbook. Winner will be drawn at random using random.org.

RULES:

1. Must be 18 years old to enter.
2. Only entries received by 6 p.m. CST Monday March 12, 2012 are eligible to win.
3. Open to persons living in the US and Canada only.
4. Must leave a  favorite food memory in the comments section on this page to be included in the drawing .
5. Only one entry per person/ household / IP address.
6. Must include your name and valid email address to be included in the drawing.
7. Only entries from people who haven’t won anything from Field & Feast in the last three months are eligible to win.
8. Winner will be selected at random after 6 p.m. CST Monday March 12, 2012, and contacted via email by the show’s producer to coordinate mailing of book.

NOTE: These comments are monitored, so don’t fret if you do not see your comment for several hours. It will be time stamped and counted if it meets the criteria.