In the introduction to Soul Food Odyssey, Chef Stephanie Tyson describes her early feelings when people assumed her Sweet Potatoes restaurant was a "soul food" establishment. "Soul food to me was like the boxer George Foreman," she says. "He would stand and go toe-to-toe. It wasn't pretty but he got the job done. Southern food, on the other hand, was more like Muhammad Ali fancier footwork but the same effectiveness. I wanted Ali. I missed the connection that they were both great fighters. Once I got off my high horse, I wanted to know, from a culinary point of view, how do you make what is...