Cheryl and Bill Jamison, authors
of Texas Home Cooking, are both travel and food writers. Combining
these two passions, the couple hit the open road, and spent two years
traveling the back roads of Texas. They found master chefs, competitors
in county fairs and cooking competitions. They spoke to cattlemen, fishermen,
farmers, and a lot of plain folks who like good food. The result is
a definitive book on Texas cooking that reflects the Jamisons' enthusiasm
for Texas' food and the people who make it. Their zeal is infectious:
get ready to roll up your sleeves and rush to the kitchen..
In a short, but comprehensive introduction,
they introduce us to the down home style that Texans love so much. The
remind us that Texas was a part of six countries at different times,
each leaving its lasting culinary imprint. They have a section devoted
to some of the primary ingredients of Texas cooking - chiles, cattle,
hogs, and the trinity of flavors at the base of much Texan cooking -
cumin, oregano and garlic.
There are 400 -yes, 400- recipes
here, each with an informative, often witty introduction. The Jamisons
will take you from daybreak and a rousing Texas breakfast, to sundown
with a few drinks to wash down the meal. Knowing Texas passions they
have included some football food, and canning recipes. There is barbecue,
of course, and chili, either of which are worth the price of the book.
Not ignoring the profound influence of Mexican cooking, there are also
a number of recipes which the authors call Tex-Mex treasures. The assortment
is inexhaustible.
The book is peppered with sidebars
that offer tasty nuggets of Texas lore and information. The authors,
writing in a style that is as casual and irreverent as Texas itself,
are having fun with these morsels and most evoke a smile even while
giving us data. For example, talking about hamburgers, they tell us
that "Some people don't seem to understand what burgers are all
about. At the "21" Club, New Yorkers pay $24 for a burger
that doesn't have enough grease to oil a paper airplane."
About the authors: Cheryl and Bill
Jamison are also the authors of The Rancho de Chimayó Cookbook,
Smoke and Spice (winner of a James Beard Book Award), The
Border Cookbook (winner of a James Beard Book Award) Sublime
Smoke and Born to Grill.
The Jamisons have kindly shared
these recipes with us:
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