Review: The Homesick Texan's Family Table

Title: The Homesick Texan's Family Table: Lone Star Cooking from My Kitchen to Yours
Author: Lisa Fain
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: April 1st 2014
Source: Netgalley & Ten Speed Press

★★★★★

Four and a half stars, rounded up.

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The Homesick Texan's Family Table: Lone Star Cooking from My Kitchen to Yours is a collection of home style recipes of the dishes that make Texan food so damn delicious. Featuring sweet, spicy, and savory recipes, there's bound to be something for everyone tucked away in this collection.

The first thing that sticks out to me in this book is the pictures. The photography is really well done, and it made me hungry just flipping through it. If that's not a sign of a good cookbook, than I don't know what is. The beginning of this book also features an introduction to Texan food, a guide to peppers, and what tools of the trade are best to have on hand while making these dishes. Not being from Texas (though I have visited and I loved it), this was really helpful.

The recipes are sorted according to course, making it easy to navigate and construct a Texan meal from salad to dessert. The fact that each recipe comes with a personal story about family or friends of the author gives every single plate a really homey quality to it. It really does feel like you have a trusty Texan family member guiding you through your cooking. It's a nice touch.

There are way more recipes in this book that I'd love to try than not, although I have to admit the amount of peppers used in this book is really high. I know that it's Texan, but as someone who wants only a skosh of peppers, if that, it stuck out to me a lot. My girlfriend's dad is essentially allergic to flavor (he doesn't eat even the mildest spices), so it'll be just more food for me and her!

A few of the recipes that I'm most looking forward to preparing are Pecan Lime French Toast Casserole, Steak Fingers with Jalapeno Cream Gravy, Turkey Enchiladas with Sweet Potato Chipotle Sauce, and Peach Ice Cream. Doesn't that all sound delightful? There's way more where that came from!

If you like spice, southern/Texan cooking, or just cooking for your family, this is a book that you should have on stand by. Thanks to Netgalley and Ten Speed Press for my chance to review this title.