Home Cookin' maintains a modest size while delivering exceptional musicianship. Although the roster experiences occasional changes, the caliber of performers stays constant. Brenda Boykin lends her voice to the group's two Blue Dot Records albums, the 1997 self-titled debut and the 2000 follow-up Afrobilly Soul Stew. The earlier release contains well-known standards such as "Since I Met You Baby" and "She'll Have to Go," alongside several originals written by Boykin, including "The Road I Choose" and "Tickle Me." Highly regarded blues guitarist Anthony Paule joins her on both projects, as do bassist Tim Wagar and drummer Tyler Eng. Pianist Jim Pugh, whose prior credits include work with Chris Isaak and Robert Cray, plays on twelve of the debut's fourteen tracks and returns for Afrobilly Soul Stew, which also showcases saxophonist Charles McNeal. Boykin again contributed originals to the sophomore album, among them "Zydeco Gumbo" and "Brown Sugar Baby."
The band appeared at Belgium's Ecaussinnes Spring Blues Festival in 2000 and toured Italy during the same year. A track from the debut was later included on the 1998 Mean Street Blues compilation. Before forming Home Cookin', Paule and Boykin spent nearly ten years together in the San Francisco-based Johnny Nocturne Band. Boykin also regularly collaborates with guitarist Eric Swinderman and has fronted the group Brenda Boykin & the Bad Boys. In 1997 the Bay Area Music Awards nominated her for Best Vocalist. Both Boykin and Paule have additionally released solo recordings.
