Ginger Bread Recipe

TJ Robinson, owner-chef of TJ's Gingerbread House, dies at age 76

OAKLAND -- The people who knew T.J. Robinson knew she was more than a great chef -- she was a woman who had vivacity for life and a love of the people around her. T.J. Robinson was known for loving everyone; she made every person feel special.

Robinson, owner-chef of T.J.'s Gingerbread House in Oakland, died June 12 in Las Vegas, said her cousin, Arlett Malvo. Robinson, who had been suffering from heart problems, was 76.

Tommie Jean Robinson was born May 25, 1935, in Bastrop, La. As a child, her grandmother taught her to sew and cook; when Robinson moved to the Oakland area at age 12, she brought her grandmother's lessons and love of Creole culture with her.

In 1974, Robinson opened T.J.'s Gingerbread House as a tea store and gift shop. Basing her store on a childhood dream, Robinson turned an old house into a building that resembled a dollhouse and sweet shop.

As the store became more popular, Robinson expanded the house into a full-service restaurant, serving family Cajun favorites like "Pick Your Heart Out Chicken," and "Cajun Comeback Dirty Rice." Though it had only eight tables in its main dining room, T.J.'s Gingerbread House became one of the more popular restaurants in Oakland, serving such clientele as local business people, Oakland City Council members and jazz musician Chuck Mangione, who wrote a song about the Gingerbread House.

"It was an icon," Malvo said. "It was an icon for the local people. We brought Cajun to the community, because there was no Cajun restaurant or Cajun food in the community before Tommie brought the Gingerbread House."

Throughout her career at the restaurant, Robinson was awarded several local and national awards, including being named one of America's Top Black Chefs in 1994.

Despite being located in a neighborhood that went through a significant amount of change -- including three major freeway projects in the area -- the restaurant survived for 36 years. In 2007, Robinson closed the restaurant because of health problems. The building still stands at 714 Fifth St.

"She survived with very little income but a desire to serve the community and put her grandmother's recipes into the community," Malvo said.

Noelle, who goes by one name, worked at the restaurant all 36 years and always referred to Robinson as her mother.

She said Robinson would operate the restaurant as more than just an eatery. Robinson put her heart into everything she did, and cared for people above anything else. Throughout her life, Robinson cared for several young people who considered her as a mother.

Whole-wheat Gingerbread « life, in recipes

This year, I chose a recipe from my old stand-by, The Joy of Cooking .  I’ve yet to make something from this cookbook that hasn’t turned out well, so I figured it was as good a place as any to find a gingerbread recipe.  I also knew I wanted to adapt the recipe to incorporate white whole-wheat flour instead of all-purpose.  I’d had such good results with my Cranberry and White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies , and I wanted to see if I could achieve similar success with gingerbread. The recipe in Joy is designed to be used for both gingerbread people and for building gingerbread houses.  As such, I expected it to be quite hard once it was baked – and I was not disappointed.  What was pleasantly surprising was that it was not at all tough – it was actually somewhat tender and crispy.  And the beauty of it all is that it’s SUPER easy.  I didn’t even use a mixer – just mixed it up by hand and let it rest in the fridge for a bit.   I love finding recipes that don’t require special equipment.  I have some friends who don’t own so much as a hand mixer, and when I discover a recipe that they can easily mix up using nothing more than a saucepan, a mixing bowl and a wooden spoon, it makes me happy.  While I love my stand mixer and my food processor and all of the other various and sundry kitchen equipment that I own, sometimes it’s nice to get back to basics and make a recipe truly “by hand”. Combine butter, sugar and molasses in a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir together until butter melts and sugar is dissolved.  Set aside to cool a bit. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl.  Make a well in the center, and pour in the cooled butter mixture. Stir together using a wooden spoon.  Continue stirring/beating until the mixture forms a ball and cleans the sides of the bowl.   Work in another 1/4 cup or so more flour if necessary to form the ball. Remove dough from bowl and knead 3 or 4 times on the counter, until smooth and pliable.  Wrap well and refrigerate until dough is thoroughly cool. Remove dough from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours. Roll dough out, using a rolling pin, to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out cookies using a cookie cutter and arrange about 1 1/2 inches apart on silpat-lined cookie sheets.

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