A Bowl of Red

My purchase was perfect. It was the book I wanted autographed and the condition was as described. *****

Frank X. Tolbert's A Bowl of Red is the bible of chili. If you want to cook an authentic bowl of red read this book. If it isn't in this book, you don't need to know it. Plus, you get a grand essay on blackeyed peas (Now often called Texas Caviar), essays on The Gentleman from Odessa Stew and on Farkleberrys, and much more. And what more appropriate ending could you have than Bones Hooks' "Chili Prayer"?

Frank Tolbert's A Bowl of Red started out as a series of columns in the Dallas News but it's hard to define exactly what this book is in terms of form. It's not really a cookbook but I've made terrific chilis from his suggested recipes. It's not even completely about chili, although it starts out with that classic American (not Mexican) dish. Tolbert starts with a rambling history of the origins of chili in Texas cuisine and uses that as a base for wandering around through southwestern cuisine, famous Texas and southern cooks, ghost towns, European immigrants in Texas, the science of chili, chuck wagon chefs and too many other topics to list. His descriptions of the first several World Series of Chili Cookoffs in Terlingua, Texas read like a combination of the Marx Brothers and P.J.O'Rourke. It may be hard to believe but this book is hard to put down. It's one of a kind.

This classic is a must-have for the true chili lover and chili historian. It's the book that revived interest in chili.