Cooking for a black person

Question

Ok, now before anyone starts thinking Im a racist... I absolutely AM NOT RACIST. I just was wondering if anyone knows what I could cook for my roomate (which is black) that would blow her away. Because she never likes anything I cook. She says "white people food" tastes different to her and she doesnt like it. She never likes my food so I am looking for something I could cook that she would love.

Keep in mind we live in the south, so it needs to be a southern food.

O and please dont make this about race

Im not racist, she's not racist.. we just dont agree on food

Answer 1

HOLY c**p!!!  Your not racist????  Give me a break.  I CANNOT BELIEVE you would ask how to cook for a black person and then in the same breath say you are not racist.  Did I step into a time warp machine and go back in time 40 years without knowing it????????

Answer 2

you can never go wrong with bbq. but if you don't have an area ... then i would go for fried/baked chicken, collard greens, corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, pinto beans/black-eyed peas, stuffin', and mac n' cheese. oh and don't forget the cornbread and fatback!!! just to name a few southern favorites ...

Answer 3

Seems like YOU are the one making it about race!!!!   Not necessary in the least to tell us she's black and you're white.  How about my roommate thinks my food is boring what can I make to really blow her away?

My answer would be what about your food doesn't she like?  Does she like her food spicy?  etc...etc....

Food preferences are subjective.  To each their own.  Figure out what she like and what she doesn't.  You say you want southern?  Does she like collard greens, mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, ham, fried chicken and such...that is what I think of when I think southern food.

Find a great homemade mac and cheese recipe, maybe some easy fried chicken and a sweet potatoe casserole.

Southernliving.com is a good place to start

Allrecipes.com   is also great

Oh, homemade biscuit or cornbread is also some good accompaniments!

Edit

I get what you're saying, different cultures eat differently.  BUT that fact that you over and over and over again point out she's black-you're white and then say I'm not racist proves the simpl fact that you see skin color FIRST and that, my friend, is sad.

And remember YOU have no idea what RACE I am!!!!

Answer 4

go to foodnetwork.com

and chose the shows "Down Home With The Neely's"

or "Paula's Home Cooking"

here are some food she/he might like

Mac &cheese

Collard Greens

Hamhocks and green beans

mashed potaoes

sweet potatoe pie

Answer 5

whats all these folks problems. if you were racist you would only make white people food. but your wanting to make fried chicken, collard greens, pigs feet, watermelon for your roomate, oh and make sure you got puple stuff to drink, if you don't got the purple stuff, you might get away with orange koolaid

Answer 6

Moi non plus je suis pas raciste, la preuve, je suis francais et je te répond    

blond, 1m83 ,yeux bleus,  =====>>e-mail = [e-mail]

Answer 7

Gosh I'm sorry that some people have made it about race.  I totally understand what you're saying.  I had a black commander in the military and I always remember him eating fried chicken, french fries,  and hot sauce on everything.  I think his family usually ate spicy things.  

Good luck!  

Answer 8

I understand what you're both trying to say. You need to add more spices to your cooking like garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder etc(paprika is another spice)

you could even use Lawry's seasoning. Some African Americans tend to season their food a little more than other races. Watch her cook to see what she does.

  

Answer 9

I recommend some sort of decadent, cheesy, delicious mac 'n cheese.

something like one of these recipes:

http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,go...

BTW I suggested this b/c most people have not had it and I think it's easy to cook it very well and it's so decadent and rich that anyone would like it regardless of what they are expecting... :)

Answer 10

Boy people are so uptight. I get it. she doesn't like your food. Make Southern classics, biscuits and gravy, Gumbo, Mac & Cheese-homemade, Greens if you dare. Or just take her out to eat someplace she likes.

Answer 11

Race has nothing to do with it. Why not just ask her what foods she likes? Does it have to be a surprise?

Answer 12

I think it's sweet that you are going to these lengths to cook your room-mate a meal that she will like...those are the kind of things that more people need to do..across racial lines..to improve race relations...but on to your question...

Here are a couple of recipes...the first is for a vegetable side...carrots and onions...I've made it before and it's really good...the second recipe is pork chops (I made this the other night and my family loved it!).  For a starch, you could make some plain white rice, or the pasta-in-a-box...something simple...I hope these help!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Buttery-Car...

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Pork-...

Answer 13

The challenge for us, your audience, is that we don't know what kind of food she likes.  

(Leaving everyone just to respond on stereotypes.)

So why don't you just ask her what kind of food she likes, and then make it for her or, as someone else suggested, with her?

In general, foodtv.com and epicurious.com are both good places to get recipes if you need them.

Answer 14

the more you say you're not a racist...

Why don't you two try cooking together that way you can see how she prepares food, what kind and how much spices she likes, etc.

Answer 15

It probably didn't help with the title of your question being, "Cooking for a Black Person." Next time you might want to consider revising that question. Even though you didn't mean it in a racial context, obviously a lot of the people that have answered you are thinking you are. Whether she is black or not, she is from the south and has different tastes than you. I would consider cooking a meal together. I think you can learn a lot about each others interests. A certain recipe might bring up a family memory. I also wouldn't take it personal if she didn't like something you made, we all have different tastes.