The Homesick Texan Cookbook

When Lisa Fain, a seventh-generation Texan, moved to New York City, she missed the big sky, the bluebonnets in spring, Friday night football, and her family’s farm. But most of all, she missed the foods she’d grown up with.

After a fruitless search for tastes of Texas in New York City, Fain took matters into her own hands. She headed into the kitchen to cook for her friends the Tex-Mex, the chili, and the country comfort dishes that reminded her of home. From cheese enchiladas drowning in chili gravy to chicken-fried steak served with cream gravy on the side, from warm bowls of chile con queso to big pots of fiery chili made without beans, Fain re-created the wonderful tastes of Texas she’d always enjoyed at potlucks, church suppers, and backyard barbecues back home.

In 2006, Fain started the blog Homesick Texan to share Texan food with fellow expatriates, and the site immediately connected with readers worldwide, Texan and non-Texan alike. Now, in her long-awaited first cookbook, Fain brings the comfort of Texan home cooking to you.

Like Texas itself, the recipes in this book are varied and diverse, all filled with Fain’s signature twists. There’s Salpicón, a cool shredded beef salad found along the sunny border in El Paso; Soft Cheese Tacos, a creamy plate unique to Dallas; and Houston-Style Green Salsa, an avocado and tomatillo salsa that is smooth, refreshing, and bright. There are also nibbles, such as Chipotle Pimento Cheese and Tomatillo Jalapeño Jam; sweet endings, such as Coconut Tres Leches Cake and Mexican Chocolate Chewies; and fresh takes on Texan classics, such as Coffee-Chipotle Oven Brisket, Ancho Cream Corn, and Guajillo-Chile Fish Tacos.

With more than 125 recipes, The Homesick Texan offers a true taste of the Lone Star State. So pull up a chair—everyone’s welcome at the Texas table!

Lisa Fain is a seventh-generation Texan who currently resides in New York City. When she’s not on the hunt for chile peppers, she writes and photographs the popular food blog Homesick Texan, which has been named one of the top fifty food blogs in the world by the Times of London and the Best Regional Food Blog by Saveur. It has also received recognition from the New York Times, Bon Appétit, and Gourmet. Lisa’s writing has appeared in Saveur and Edible Austin and on SeriousEats.com, and her photographs have been exhibited worldwide, with two in the permanent collection of the Library of Congress. An active member of Foodways Texas and the Southern Foodways Alliance, Lisa is also a certified barbecue judge.

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“You don’t have to be a homesick Texan to appreciate Lisa Fain’s evocative, unpretentious prose and her accompanying seriously delicious (and easy to make) recipes.

—Ed Levine, founder, SeriousEats.com

“Finally, the voice and the down-home Texas cooking I love on the Homesick Texan blog is now between hard covers! Lisa Fain has an original voice, and I love her food—completely accessible, honest, and delicious.”

—Michael Ruhlman, author of Ratio and The Elements of Cooking

“The sometimes funny and sometimes poignant memories of this seventh-generation Texan pining for the cooking of her homeland bring The Homesick Texan Cookbook to life. Lisa Fain’s move to Manhattan has given Texans everywhere a great new resource for surefire recipes and Lone Star lore.”

—Robb Walsh, author of Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook and The Tex-Mex Cookbook

“Written with equal parts humor and tenderness, Lisa Fain’s book makes it easy to imagine your kitchen lies deep in the heart of Texas. Her enticing recipes for a wealth of toothsome Texas favorites prove once and for all that nothing soothes the homesick soul like good old Texas cooking.”

—Rebecca Rather, author of Pastry Queen Parties