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Review: "Texas On The Table: People, Places, and Recipes Celebrating the Flavors of the Lone Star State" by Terry Thompson-Anderson with Photography by Sandy Wilson

Texas On The Table: People, Places, and Recipes Celebrating the Flavors of the Lone Star State does exactly what the title suggests in every way possible. Part of that is in the text by Terry Thompson-Anderson. Part of that is by way of the gorgeous photography by Sandy Wilson. The combination works incredibly well from start to finish.

A cookbook that easily doubles as a coffee table book, this massive tome at more than 450 pages features a ton of recipes to take you through every meal every day of the year. Every meal, holiday or otherwise is covered as are snacks and appetizers of all types. The pictures often paired with the detailed recipes tell the tale of the people and the land. Like a lot of cookbook this one does not have anything on fat/salt counts in the recipes or how to adjust any of the recipes based on dietary need.

But, if you are going to eat “Bison Enchiladas with Green Chile Crema, Pickled Red Onion Slaw, and Serrano Pico De Gallo” (pages 282-284) or nearly anything other delectable thing in this cookbook you probably are not really worried about fat or salt intake. You can always finish things up with “San Sabu Texas Pecan Pie” (437-438)  or “Bananas Foster Cream Pie” (page 436-438).

A four page index as well as an eight page recipe index brings this visually stunning book to a close.

Even if you don’t cook or intend to use Texas On The Table: People, Places, and Recipes Celebrating the Flavors of the Lone Star State as a cookbook you will want this one for the photographs and history contained within this excellent book. Published by the University of Texas Press at $45 it pretty much works out to a buck a page. It is well worth it.

Texas On The Table: People, Places, and Recipes Celebrating the Flavors of the Lone Star State

Terry Thompson-Anderson

Photography by Sandy Wilson

http://www.sandywilsonphotography.com

University of Texas Press

http://www.utpress.edu

October  2014

Hardback

464 Pages

$45.00

Material was picked up to read and review via the good folks of the Haggard Branch of the Plano Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

Via Fiction Southeast-- “Through a Glass Darkly: Crime Fiction as a Window on American Culture” by Dennis Palumbo

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Cookbook Review: "Texas Eats: The New Lone Star Heritage Cookbook" by Robb Walsh

With the subtitle The New Lone Star Heritage Cookbook With More Than 200 Recipes it is clear that this cookbook is devoted to Texas food. Texas Eats, broken into several food based parts, is for folk foods and not haute cruise. It also is a history book providing lessons in the history and culture of Texas.

After an acknowledgement page and a two page introduction, the book begins with “Part 1 Lone Star Seafood.”  After a brief introduction to “The Coastal Bend” on page 1 it is onto various chapters relating to seafood.  Along with large sections of history about the region that includes historic pictures, there are the recipes based on Texas history and culture. This is where recipes from “Baffin Bay Seafood Sauce” (page 8), “Grilled Oysters On The Half Shell” (page 21), “Stingaree Barbecued Crabs” (page 41) among others are found. While there are plenty of interesting pictures documenting the history, there are very few pictures of any of the dishes.  Nutritional information beyond the number of serving is also lacking. This same format continues throughout the book.

Starting on page 60 “Part II East Texas Southern” continues the same format as it works through various biscuits, cornbread and other dishes. “Sage Breakfast Sausage” (page 72) is here as is “Country Meat Loaf” (Page 79), “Mama Sugar’s Sweet Potato Cobbler” (page 91), “Mayhaw Jelly” (page 96), and “Pickled Watermelon Rind” (page 100) among others.

It is on to San Antonio and points south and westward in “Part III: Vintage Tex-Mex.” Beginning on page 102 and reflecting the deep Spanish history in the state are recipes for ”Classic Chili Con Carne” (page 111), “Green Rice” (page 115) “Charro Beans with Bacon” (page 133) and various types of taco among other dishes.

A bit north of section III is the Hill Country and Central Texas which is famous for among other things, its old world heritage. “Part IV:  Old World Flavors begins on page 144 and is devoted to that history and culture. Whether it be “Hill Country Goulash” (page 154), “Claudia Matcek’s Poppy Seed Kolaches” (page 165), or the “Turtle Soup” (pages 174-175) made famous by the Menger Hotel in the late 1800’s there is something to try here.

“Part V County and Western” takes in far Southwest Texas, the Panhandle, and parts of North Texas from Fort Worth north and west. Not only do you look in this section for a chicken fried steak recipe (includes various gravies), but this is also where you look for “Shade Tree Ribs” (pages 212-213), “Lolo’s Brisket Tacos” (page 218), and “Gary Beam’s Stuffed Burgers” (page 230) among others.  This is also where you learn to make the mandatory burger staple “Onion Rings” (page 234) or “Cheese Fries” (page 235) along with a number of dessert recipes.

One can always tell a newcomer to Texas by the way they mispronounce things. They may be able to say “Paris, Texas” right, but will always mispronounce “Mexia.” That is the subject of “Part VI New Texas Creole” with recipes based on cities and towns named for places immigrants left behind when they came to Texas. “Fran Mancuso’s Texas Sugo” on page 258 kicks things off and is quickly followed by various recipes such as “Sicilian Cauliflower Salad” (page 259), “Texas Pho” (Pages 265-266) and “Kaiser’s Steak Tikka” (page 276).

The nearly 300 page book closes with a resource page, a photo credit page, a two page bibliography, and a six page index.

Definite drawbacks with the book are a lack of photographs of the finished dishes as well as a lack of nutritional information.  While there are plenty of suggestions on how to make the variations of various dishes there are no suggestion about how to make healthy versions.

Texas Eats: The New Lone Star Heritage Cookbook With More Than 200 Recipes is a good book that is more of a history textbook than a cook book. The definition of the various regions is somewhat arbitrary, but the explanation of the history of each area and the state as a whole is extensive and detailed.  Sure to please natives and newcomers alike, the book is a valuable resource not just to kitchen cooks.

Texas Eats: The New Lone Star Heritage Cookbook

Robb Walsh

http://foodwaystexas.com

Food Photography: Laurie Smith

Ten Speed Press (Crown Publishing/Random House)

http://www.tenspeed.com

March 2012

ISBN# 978-0-7679-2150-3

Paperback (also available as e-book)

$25.00

Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano, Texas Public Library system.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2012

Review: "Cowgirl Chef: Texas Cooking with a French Accent" by Ellise Pierce

Cooking has always been a part of Ellise Pierce’s life whether it was living back home in Denton, Texas or half a world away in Paris, France. With a relationship under stress and her freelance writing career tanked, she slowly found herself again by cooking. Gradually she built a cooking career by teaching home cooking for other ex-pats living in Paris. This and much more is explained in the introduction to Cowgirl Chef: Texas Cooking with a French Accent.

After the introduction it is on to “Cowgirl Chef Kitchen Basic” where her equipment and ingredients are discussed. That leads folks into” Cowgirl Speak:  A Trail Guide” that covers how to make adjustments for cooking times, sizes, etc.

The recipes start on page 22 with “Chapter One: Appetizers: Old Favorites and New Beginnings.” Whether you want to make the Texas shaped cookies “Texas Killers” (pages 26-27) “Mushroom Tapenade” (pages 42-43) or “Cheesy Rosemary Olive Flatbread” (pages 48-51) among other dishes there is something here that blends Texas cooking with French cooking.  Each recipe has an introduction to it about the background of the recipe, a serving suggestion, and a couple of tips regarding ingredients, freezing options, or other helpful advice. Pictures accompanying the recipe can be of the dish itself, ingredients, of Paris or elsewhere in France providing local color to the recipe being discussed. This same format continues throughout the book.

“Chapter 2:  Cowgirlified Frenchy” begins on page 56 where the author notes, among interesting things, that jalapenos are not available in Paris. Over time she learned not only how to adjust to that, but to blend French Cuisine into her cooking. That gives rise to dishes such as “Cowgirl Quiche” (page 59-61), “Paris Chicken Fricassee” (page 72-75) among others.

According to the author the French are crazy about soups. They come next in “Chapter 3: Souped Up” starting on page 82.  After some soup tips it is onto recipes such as “Smokin’ Tortilla Soup” (page 86-89), “Broccoli-Basil Soup” (pages 95-97) or “Skin & Bones Chicken Stock” (pages 111-112) among others.

Of course when one thinks of soup, salad cannot be far behind. In “Chapter 4: Greens” the topic is salad in many varieties. “Les Halles Spinach Salad” (pages 124-125), “Texas Pickup Salad” (pages 138-140) among other choices are here. By the way, in this chapter you learn the interesting fact that Paris grocery stores close at 8 pm during the week and at 1pm on Sunday.  Puts our 24 hour seven day a week grocery stores in real perspective.

If it is a Texas based cookbook it absolutely must have tacos. Part of the state constitution. Tacos are here in “Chapter 5: Tacos, Tarts, and Tartines” starting on page 152. You can put just about  anything in a taco so give “Corona Beer-Braised Brisket Tacos” on pages 154-156 a try as well as some of the other taco suggestions. You can also try the “Tomato-Ricotta Tart” (pages 171-173), the Tex-Mex Tart” (pages 174-176) or the “Adobo Salmon Salad Tartines” (pages 192-194) among others.

Farmer markets are very big in Paris and there are over seventy of them in the area. That means there is a lot of produce to consider and Ellise Pierce uses what is season to drive her meals.  That is just part of the introduction to “Chapter 6: Riding Side Saddle: Veggies” starting on page 198.  Of course, there are Texas based dishes like “Mom’s Black-Eyed Peas and Jalapeno Cornbread” (pages 208-210) as well as “French Bistro Green Beans” (page 218-219) and “Roasted Ratatouille” (pages 230-231) among others.

Meat, fish and poultry finally get their turn in “Chapter 7: From the Farm and Sea.” Starting on page 234 there are recipes for items such as “Provencal Fish Stew” (pages 248-250), “Gascon-Style Pork Chops with Pepper Honey” (pages 254-256) and “Easy Roast Chicken” (page 264-265) among others. It was also interesting to learn in this chapter that the chicken is the national mascot of France (page 264).

If you still have room for dessert that begins on page 274 with “Chapter 8: Desserts.”  Among other delectable treats here there are recipes for “Grilled Oranges-Vanilla Pound Cake with Strawberries” (pages 279-281), “Watermelon Granita “(page 290-291) and “Peach Croustade” (page 306-309)

“Chapter 9: Tex-Mex” starts on page 310 and is all about home in Texas. The author may be living in Paris, France, but who she is day to day is Texan. Here are the recipes that made up her first cooking class such as “Wheat Tortillas” (pages 312-313), “Holy Guacamole” (page 318) among others including “Texas Chili” (pages 320-321).

The cookbook concludes with a very brief epilogue, a two page acknowledgment section, and a six page index. Unfortunately, there is no nutritional information in the book for those of us who need to pay attention to certain issues.

Despite the lack of nutritional information in the book, overall, this is a very well done cookbook. In addition to the cooking side of things, the over 300 pages cookbook also provides a lot of culture and history information about Paris, France as well as the joys and sorrows of American living abroad. Cowgirl Chef: Texas Cooking with a French Accent is more than a cookbook. It is also a cultural awareness guide and inspirational regarding reinventing yourself and adapting to new situations and experiences.

Cowgirl Chef: Texas Cooking with a French Accent

Ellise Pierce

http://www.cowgirlchef.com

Running Press Books

http://www.runningpressbooks.com

May 2012

ISBN #978-0-7624-4463-2

Hardback (also available as e-book)

336 Pages

$25.00

Material supplied by the good folks at the Plano, Texas Public Library System at

http://www.plano.gov/Departments/Libraries/Pages/default.aspx

Kevin R. Tipple ©2012