Tales of Texas Cooking: Stories and Recipes from the Trans Pecos to the Piney Woods and High Plains to the Gulf Prairies (Volume 70)

Publications of the Texas Folklore Society

by Frances Brannen Vick (Editor)

According to Renaissance woman and Pepper Lady Jean Andrews, although food is eaten as a response to hunger, it is much more than filling one’s stomach. It also provides emotional fulfillment. This is borne out by the joy many of us feel as a family when we get in the kitchen and cook together and then share in our labors at the dinner table. Food is comfort, yet it is also political and contested because we often are what we eat—meaning what is available and familiar and allowed.

Texas is fortunate in having a bountiful supply of ethnic groups influencing its foodways, and Texas food is the perfect metaphor for the blending of diverse cultures and native resources. Food is a symbol of our success and our communion, and whenever possible, Texans tend to do food in a big way.

This latest publication from the Texas Folklore Society contains stories and more than 120 recipes, from long ago and just yesterday, organized by the 10 vegetation regions of the state.

Herein you’ll find Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison’s Family Cake, memories of beef jerky and sassafras tea from John Erickson of Hank the Cowdog fame, Sam Houston’s barbecue sauce, and stories and recipes from Roy Bedichek, Bob Compton, J. Frank Dobie, Bob Flynn, Jean Flynn, Leon Hale, Elmer Kelton, Gary Lavergne, James Ward Lee, Jane Monday, Joyce Roach, Ellen Temple, Walter Prescott Webb, and Jane Roberts Wood. There is something for the cook as well as for the Texan with a raft of takeaway menus on their refrigerator.

Genres: Nonfiction

352 pages, Hardcover

First published November 15, 2015

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my usual reading material, but this book was part of a Texas-centric book club in Austin, Texas. I've not yet MADE anything from a recipe, but have enjoyed reading about the food of fellow Texans. If you even wanted to know how Sam Houston made his barbecue sauce, it's there. Several recipes for chili, local favorites, including one from LBJ are there. And my personal favorite, Slang Jang!! Oh, and there's vinegar pie. Never heard of that one. Hugo's scalloped potatoes come with a touching story. And I loved the facsimile of recipe cards, recipes on scraps of paper interspersed in the text. There is something personal about the handwriting of those recipes that gives a wonderful touch to the book. It reminds me of my mother's recipes, many written on the backs of envelopes.

[Mina Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read with recipes, anecdotes, and insight. You learn about canning and the different ways of killing chicken. You learn about what famous Texans liked to eat and the recipes immigrants brought over with them. You also see how women stretched food during the Great Depression and a kid's view of the migrant worker life. It's a book that makes history personal.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, especially when I found an article about Honey
Grove Slang Jang. I was surprised to find my name and a quote in it.