Here are 100 books that The Homesick Texan Cookbook fans have personally recommended if you like The Homesick Texan Cookbook. Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of AMA: A Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen

Jackie Alpers Author Of Taste of Tucson: Sonoran-Style Recipes Inspired by the Rich Culture of Southern Arizona

From my list on southwestern regional home cooking.

Why am I passionate about this?

Jackie Alpers is an award-winning professional food photographer and author. She is a longtime contributing recipe developer & photographer for The Food Network, Refinery29, TheKitchn, TodayFood, Real Simple, National Geographic, and Edible Baja Arizona Magazine among others. She has been featured in articles for Reader’s Digest, CNN, Good Morning America, The New York Times & NPR. She writes, cooks, and styles recipes from her sun-lit studio in Tucson, Arizona.

Jackie's book list on southwestern regional home cooking

Jackie Alpers Why Jackie loves this book

Josef Centeno honors the food he grew up with in San Antonio. The book is named for his great-grandmother, “Ama´” and the influence of both his family, and his life as the chef of Los Angeles’s Bar Ama permeate the book. “Reimagined” is the word Josef uses to describe his recipes, and I think it’s a perfect descriptor for his particular vision.

Chef Centeno’s taste leans towards acidic, with lots of citrus and vinegars. Words like pickled and vinaigrette appear often in recipe titles and there is no shortage of chiles and salsas. I learn something every time I make a new recipe from this book, which is something I aspire to have my own cookbooks to do for others.

By Josef Centeno , Betty Hallock , Ren Fuller

Why should I read it?

1 author picked AMA as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An Eating the West Award Finalist 2020

Tex-Mex is a delicious, irreverent cuisine that combines the deep traditions of Texan and Mexican cooking. Think meaty stews, breakfast tacos, and tres leches cake. Home cooks will learn how to make them all-in addition to crunchy salads, slow-cooked meats, and fresh cocktails-in this collection of more than 100 recipes from San Antonio native and Los Angeles chef and restauranteur Josef Centeno. Organized into chapters by type of food-including breakfast, vegetables, main courses, desserts, and a super nacho party-this is down-home cooking and grilling at its most inspiring. Presented in a colorful…


If you love The Homesick Texan Cookbook...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Book cover of El Charro Cafe: The Tastes and Traditions of Tucson

Jackie Alpers Author Of Taste of Tucson: Sonoran-Style Recipes Inspired by the Rich Culture of Southern Arizona

From my list on southwestern regional home cooking.

Why am I passionate about this?

Jackie Alpers is an award-winning professional food photographer and author. She is a longtime contributing recipe developer & photographer for The Food Network, Refinery29, TheKitchn, TodayFood, Real Simple, National Geographic, and Edible Baja Arizona Magazine among others. She has been featured in articles for Reader’s Digest, CNN, Good Morning America, The New York Times & NPR. She writes, cooks, and styles recipes from her sun-lit studio in Tucson, Arizona.

Jackie's book list on southwestern regional home cooking

Jackie Alpers Why Jackie loves this book

I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Flores family for hiring me on as a busier/bartender shortly after I moved to Tucson from Ohio in 1993. Carne Seca, albondigas and topopo were all new words to me that have since become embedded in my daily experience.

Carlotta Flores published a cookbook of recipes from the restaurant in 1998 and I reference it often in my own cookbook, Taste of Tucson. It’s a must-have book for anyone interested in learning more about Sonoran style Mexican food.

By Carlotta Flores ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked El Charro Cafe as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Recipes and lore from El Charro Café, a Tucson landmark famous for its vibrant, fresh Mexican food.


Book cover of The Border Cookbook: Authentic Home Cooking of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico

Jackie Alpers Author Of Taste of Tucson: Sonoran-Style Recipes Inspired by the Rich Culture of Southern Arizona

From my list on southwestern regional home cooking.

Why am I passionate about this?

Jackie Alpers is an award-winning professional food photographer and author. She is a longtime contributing recipe developer & photographer for The Food Network, Refinery29, TheKitchn, TodayFood, Real Simple, National Geographic, and Edible Baja Arizona Magazine among others. She has been featured in articles for Reader’s Digest, CNN, Good Morning America, The New York Times & NPR. She writes, cooks, and styles recipes from her sun-lit studio in Tucson, Arizona.

Jackie's book list on southwestern regional home cooking

Jackie Alpers Why Jackie loves this book

The Border Cookbook will teach you just about everything you need to know about the many different styles of Southwestern cuisine from the southern border regions. Trailing from northern Mexico to southern California, across Arizona and up through northern New Mexico, the book is organized by recipe instead of region so you can see how ingredients are uniquely utilized. Headers explain the history and regional significance of each dish.

By Cheryl Jamison , Bill Jamison ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Border Cookbook as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Now more than ever, Southwestern food is a hugely popular trend. As ingredients are becoming more readily available to at-home cooks, there is a great demand for simple, delicious, and authentic recipes that bring Mexican and Southwestern food to our own tables.
In their James Beard Book Award-winning cookbook, authors Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison combine the best of Mexican and Southwest cooking, bringing together this large region's Native American, Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo culinary roots into one big, exuberant book-The Border Cookbook. In over 300 recipes they explore the common elements and regional differences of border cooking. They…


If you love Lisa Fain...

Book cover of Coyote Weather

Coyote Weather by Amanda Cockrell,

Coyote weather is the feral, hungry season, drought-stricken, and ready to catch fire. It’s 1967, and the American culture is violently remaking itself while the country is forcibly sending its young men to fight in a deeply unpopular war.

Jerry has stubbornly made no plans for the future because he…

Book cover of Coyote Cafe: Foods from the Great Southwest, Recipes from Coyote Cafe

Jackie Alpers Author Of Taste of Tucson: Sonoran-Style Recipes Inspired by the Rich Culture of Southern Arizona

From my list on southwestern regional home cooking.

Why am I passionate about this?

Jackie Alpers is an award-winning professional food photographer and author. She is a longtime contributing recipe developer & photographer for The Food Network, Refinery29, TheKitchn, TodayFood, Real Simple, National Geographic, and Edible Baja Arizona Magazine among others. She has been featured in articles for Reader’s Digest, CNN, Good Morning America, The New York Times & NPR. She writes, cooks, and styles recipes from her sun-lit studio in Tucson, Arizona.

Jackie's book list on southwestern regional home cooking

Jackie Alpers Why Jackie loves this book

Can a cookbook change the course of your life? Perhaps. I attended art school in the late 1980’s. A favorite Sunday morning diversion was wandering through the aisles of the nearby Book Loft in Columbus, Ohio. One day I came across the Coyote Cafe Cookbook and my life was subtly changed forever. It put the seed of what would grow into a passion for Southwestern cuisine into my being, and it may have been part of the catalyst for me moving to this region. The recipes are intriguing and a little fancy. Cooking from this book is a treat.

By Mark Charles Miller ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Coyote Cafe as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Now in paperback!When Mark Miller opened the doors of Santa Fe'¬?s Coyote Cafe in 1987, the face of American cuisine changed forever. Blending centuries-old culinary traditions with modern techniques, Miller pioneered the emerging Southwestern cuisine, earning accolades and thrilling diners at the Coyote with his robust, inspired cooking. Originally published in 1989, COYOTE CAFE was Miller'¬?s first cookbook, and it has since sold over 200,000 copies, making it one of the best-selling full-color cookbooks ever. Nearly 15 years later, with Southwestern influences entrenched in kitchens across the country, we'¬?re excited to make this landmark book available to a new generation…


Book cover of A Domestic Cook Book: Containing a Careful Selection of Useful Receipts for the Kitchen

Jenne Bergstrom and Miko Osada Author Of The Little Women Cookbook: Novel Takes on Classic Recipes from Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy and Friends

From my list on food and cooking in Victorian America.

Why are we passionate about this?

Miko and Jenne are librarians who love to eat. Their love of classic children’s literature led them to start their 36 Eggs blog, where they recreate foods and experiences from their favorite books. In 2019, they published the Little Women Cookbook, which required extensive research into the food of the Victorian era.

Jenne's book list on food and cooking in Victorian America

Jenne Bergstrom and Miko Osada Why Jenne loves this book

Until 2000, What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking (1881) was considered the first cookbook authored by a Black American. It was then that historians chanced upon an incredibly lucky finding: a copy of A Domestic Cookbook at the bottom of a box. As far as we know, there’s only ONE copy left of this little 39-page collection of recipes, which was first published in 1866.

Historians and researchers have delved deep into the mystery of author Malinda Russell, but we barely know more than she tells us in her introduction -- a life story laid out in stark, gripping first-person over just two short pages. As a business owner who specialized in pastry, Russell’s book has upended assumptions about 19th-century Black women and African American cuisine. In such a slim volume, she still includes 70+ kinds of cake and comments that “a great many ladies have wished to…

By Malinda Russell ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Domestic Cook Book as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

{Size: 15.34 x 23.59 cms} Leather Binding on Spine and Corners with Golden Leaf Printing on round Spine (extra customization on request like complete leather, Golden Screen printing in Front, Color Leather, Colored book etc.) Reprinted in 2021 with the help of original edition published long back [1866]. This book is printed in black & white, sewing binding for longer life, Printed on high quality Paper, re-sized as per Current standards, professionally processed without changing its contents. As these are old books, we processed each page manually and make them readable but in some cases some pages which are blur…


Book cover of An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace

Anne Biklé Author Of The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health

From my list on microbiomes, gut health, food, and farming.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been enamored with the natural world and how it works. This trait, among others, led me into the fields of biology, natural history, and environmental planning. Even as I witness our species chiseling away at the planet, I find hope and solace. Working alongside the tenacity and resiliency of plants, animals, and soil microbes, I've helped landscapes as large as a river basin and as small as a garden come to life and flourish. Give nature half a chance and she can do wonders.  

Anne's book list on microbiomes, gut health, food, and farming

Anne Biklé Why Anne loves this book

I would be remiss if I didn't have a "food" book from my list. While I have read and liked many such books, Adler's is the top gem. 

As I read her book, I pictured us in my kitchen conversing about how we had modified a recipe to save time, money, or both. We compared notes on the lost art of thrift in the kitchen; how to turn bread heels, beans, and bones into tasty components of a meal. 

Adler shows us that we can be cooks on our terms, in our own kitchens, delightfully free of pretense and convention. May this book free your mind and inspire you to get creative in the kitchen to discover what's possible!

By Tamar Adler ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked An Everlasting Meal as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'The most beautifully written description of what cooking is all about, and what it actually is, with recipes' Nigella Lawson

Through the insightful essays in An Everlasting Meal, Tamar Adler issues a rallying cry to home cooks.

In chapters about boiling water, cooking eggs and beans, and summoning respectable meals from empty cupboards, Tamar weaves philosophy and instruction into approachable lessons on instinctive cooking. Tamar shows how to make the most of everything you buy, demonstrating what the world's great chefs know: that great meals rely on the bones and peels and ends of meals before them.


If you love The Homesick Texan Cookbook...

Book cover of Temple of Dreams: A Novel of Now and Then

Temple of Dreams by Carolyn Mathews,

Homeless following the death of his adoptive parents in a car crash and the subsequent loss of their farm tenancy, Seb decides to enrol as a residential student at the Asklepios Foundation, a College of Natural Medicine, boasting a sanctuary modelled on an ancient Greek healing temple. Spending a night…

Book cover of My Key West Kitchen

Ellen Kanner Author Of Miami Vegan

From my list on books to help you run away to Florida, but without the hurricanes.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a fifth generation Miami native, and Miami is my bad boyfriend. The traffic, the construction, the daily drama, and let’s not forget hurricanes—it could all make you crazy. But Miamians are never dull. We are passionate about everything. I kinda love that about us. While you may associate my city with glitz and bling, what’s glamourous about Miami happens naturally. It’s the water, the glorious weather, fresh ripe mangoes and avocadoes right off the tree, and our vibrant multicultural community. With this Shepherd list, and with my cookbook Miami Vegan, I want to give you a delicious taste of the tropics, a taste of my home. Without the hurricanes.

Ellen's book list on books to help you run away to Florida, but without the hurricanes

Ellen Kanner Why Ellen loves this book

Chef Norman Van Aken is one of the first chefs to celebrate South Florida’s delicious mix of cultures and cuisines and bring that party to the plate. He’s also an exuberant, wild writer and raconteur (I mean, the guy started out as a carnie, okay?).

While he’s perhaps best known for his seminal cookbook New American Cuisine, I prefer this more recent book, written with his son. Here Norman doesn’t go for cheffy, elaborate recipes—he presents Key West living and eating in all its laidback, sweaty, and slightly wacky splendor.

Recipes like Five Bros. Black Eye’d Pea Bollos, and Forbidden Fruit Cocktail are doable for most home cooks and give the tropical flavor of the Keys. So does his delicious storytelling. It’s like catching up with your favorite bro over a couple of beers..

By Justin Van Aken , Norman Van Aken ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked My Key West Kitchen as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Award-winning chef Norman Van Aken has been cooking in Florida for 40 years. My Key West Kitchen is his love letter to Key West, where he first found the passion to cook, and where the unique cultural makeup of the island influenced his cuisine today. Follow Chef Van Aken as he strolls through Key West, reminiscing and re-creating dishes from little joints" and restaurants both past and present. Organized by well-known Key West neighborhoods, the chapters include Duval and Downtown Crawlin'," Places in the Hoods," Places on the Water," and Around Town These Days." In each, Norman includes recipes for…


Book cover of How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

Deana Gunn Author Of Vegetarian Cooking with Trader Joe's Cookbook

From my list on cooking vegetarian for easy and delicious meals.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a cookbook and children's book author and co-owner of Brown-Bag Publishers, a small independent publishing company since 2007. I love good food, and I have a passion for creating (and using!) recipes that are easy and result in delicious, healthy meals that appeal to the whole family. I’m the author of the bestselling Cooking with All Things Trader Joe's which was the first in the popular 10-book Trader Joe's cookbook series. I live in a small surf town in California with my husband and four kids.

Deana's book list on cooking vegetarian for easy and delicious meals

Deana Gunn Why Deana loves this book

This cookbook by Mark Bittman re-energized the vegetarian movement over a decade ago (and was updated on its 10th anniversary). Think of it as the “Joy of Cooking” for vegetarians, covering all foods and techniques from A-Z. The recipes are straightforwad and approachable, making them perfect for beginner cooks as well as experienced home cooks. Favorites are Vegetarian Pho, Paella with Tomatoes and Eggs, and Curried Potatoes.

By Mark Bittman ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How to Cook Everything Vegetarian as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Ten years ago, this breakthrough cookbook made vegetarian cooking accessible to everyone. Today, the issues surrounding a plant-based diet-health, sustainability, and ethics-continue to resonate with more and more people, whether or not they're fully vegetarian. This new edition has been completely reviewed and revised to stay relevant to today's cooks: New recipes include more vegan options and a brand-new chapter on smoothies, teas, and more. Charts, variations, and other key information have been updated. And, new for this edition, the recipes are showcased in bright full-colour photos throughout. With these photos and a host of recipes destined to become new…


Book cover of A Place at the Table

Kerry M. Olitzky Author Of Strangers in Jerusalem

From my list on bringing Muslims and Jews together.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a rabbi and educator who lives in the midst of a large Jewish community and a large Muslim community. But up until about 10 or so years ago, I had no Muslim friends. My wife and I set out to change that. (She formed the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom and I benefited as a plus one.) I am also the author of nearly 100 books, a growing number of which are for children and some focus on the relationship between Muslims and Jews. 

Kerry's book list on bringing Muslims and Jews together

Kerry M. Olitzky Why Kerry loves this book

There are so few young adult novels that demonstrate positive relationships between Muslim kids and Jewish kids. This one succeeds masterfully.

The main characters in the story come from very different backgrounds and seem to share little in common. Their friendship grows slowly, and eventually they learn to trust one another. This story shows both the risks and rewards of such a friendship. With taking risks, there can be no reward.  

By Saadia Faruqi , Laura Shovan ,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked A Place at the Table as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

A timely, accessible, and beautifully written story exploring themes of food, friendship, family and what it means to belong, featuring sixth graders Sara, a Pakistani American, and Elizabeth, a white, Jewish girl taking a South Asian cooking class taught by Sara’s mom.

Sixth graders Sara and Elizabeth could not be more different. Sara is at a new school that is completely unlike the small Islamic school she used to attend. Elizabeth has her own problems: her British mum has been struggling with depression.

The girls meet in an after-school South Asian cooking class, which Elizabeth takes because her mom has…


If you love Lisa Fain...

Book cover of Marriage and Fatherhood in the Nazi SS

Marriage and Fatherhood in the Nazi SS by Amy Carney,

When I was writing this book, several of my friends jokingly called it the Nazi baby book, with one insisting it would make a great title. Nazi Babies – admittedly, that is a catchy title, but that’s not exactly what my book is about. SS babies would be slightly more…

Book cover of Small Victories: Recipes, Advice + Hundreds of Ideas for Home Cooking Triumphs

Molly Stevens Author Of All about Dinner: Simple Meals, Expert Advice

From my list on cookbooks for everyday meals.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have spent my entire working life teaching others how to cook – in the kitchen, in the classroom, and through my cookbooks and countless magazine articles – and I can sum up all my cooking lessons into one word: Cook! The more you cook, the more confidence you gain – and the more joy and success you will experience. But where to start? My best advice is to find a few cookbooks that you trust - ideally ones that offer plenty of explanation. From these, select several dishes that sound appealing and commit to learning to make them by heart. With repetition, you will learn to cook without relying on the recipes, and you’ll be well on your way to becoming a more confident — and intuitive — cook.


Molly's book list on cookbooks for everyday meals

Molly Stevens Why Molly loves this book

The premise behind this jubilant and personal collection is that cooking is "simply a huge and often very fun puzzle of piecing together techniques with different ingredients." Throughout the 98 recipes (everything from breakfast to mains, from drinks to dessert), Turshen highlights essential techniques (labeled as "small victories") and then offers inventive ideas and inspirations for creating other dishes (called "spin-offs"). It's a cookbook designed for anyone looking to become a more relaxed, confident, and creative cook. Turshen's love for cooking and feeding others is infectious, and her down-to-earth approach makes it easy to be swept along. 

By Julia Turshen ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Small Victories as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"I can't wait to cook my way through this amazing new book!" - Ina Garten (Host of Barefoot Contessa)

"Simple, achievable recipes..." - Chef April Bloomfield (Owner of The Spotted Pig)

This cookbook of more than 400 simple cooking recipes and variations from Julia Turshen, writer, go-to recipe developer, co-author for best-selling cookbooks such as Gwyneth Paltrow's It's All Good, and Dana Cowin's Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen, and author of her cookbooks Now & Again and Feed the Resistance. The process of truly great home cooking ideas is demystified via more than a hundred lessons called out as…


Book cover of AMA: A Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen
Book cover of El Charro Cafe: The Tastes and Traditions of Tucson
Book cover of The Border Cookbook: Authentic Home Cooking of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico

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