Foods and Flavors of San Antonio

As an Austinite, it's not as though I'm lacking in Tex-Mex restaurant choices here, but in all honesty some of the best Tex-Mex I eat is when we take one of our frequent weekend getaway trips to San Antonio since it's just 1.5 hours from here. We LOVE the flavors, yet we also love to cook at home. It was long overdue that I got a cookbook that is specifically the San Antonio flavors and specifically Tex-Mex recipes. The cookbook is very extensive at almost 300 pages, some with more than one recipe per page so there is a good chance if you have a favorite Tex-Mex dish, it may be here. Every recipe is quite simple, in spite of many of them tasting quite gourmet. I had no problem locating all ingredients easily in a regular grocery store--there was nothing bizarre or exotic. Here are some examples of recipes we personally like from it: *Enchiladas Verde (a family recipe from a San Antonio tv anchor according the the cookbook, it has chicken, chiles, cheese, sour cream, etc) *Cheese Enchiladas We make this in a hurry, with only 4 ingredients *Green Chile Chili *Corn Chip Chili (it was like a gourmet "frito pie") *Mexican Style Mini Pizza *Black Bean Tortilla Lasagna *Jalapeno Chicken *Poblano Cheese Potatoes *Cheese and Potato Stuffed Poblanos *Quickie Quesadillas *Breakfast Chile Rellenos *Chicken Black Bean Torta *Chipotle-Bean Huevos Rancheros *Watermelon Aqua (this is sooo good for brunch or lunch on the deck; so light) *Avocado Margarita (This sounded too bizarre not to try but there is a reason why avocados are frequently used to make a dessert creamy. This is from Aladaco's Mexican Cuisine, a restaurant in San Antonio and it was GOOD!) *Cinnamon Hot Chocolate (this is often called Mexican Hot chocolate and I made this recipe as it stated which was great and then added chipotle once which was awesome too.) *Cheesey Chiles Cornbread *Shrimp with Chipotle Remoulade Sauce (adapted from Emeril Lagasse. Amazing.) *Churros *Mexican Brownies That's just a sampling of the recipes I personally like...you get the idea. Level: No cooking skill level needed. There are no bizarre ingredients or tricky tasks or phrases. Know going in: For me, these recipes are pretty easy to read and visualize, but if you are one who HAS to have photographs of the dishes, know there aren't any here. There is also no nutritional information but if you are deciding to cook any Mexican food that isn't in a diet cookbook that is no big surprise and you probably aren't worrying about it that night anyway! But, just sayin'... Conclusion: Such a perfect cookbook when we want to cook Tex-Mex. There's no chance of me browsing through this one and not finding something I'm in the mood for, and I often have the ingredients for the dishes already on hand for many of them which is a bonus.

I enjoy many kinds of foods. While in San Antonio, I make sure to go to the Food Networks restaurant and diner picks. I wish each place had a cookbook of their own. I enjoy this San Antonio cookbook because it takes me back to those beautiful places in San Antonio. The smells, food and kind people. The recipes are simple. I especially like all the different types of drinks that one can make. My favorite drink is the horchata drink. This one takes a bit of time, but well worth the taste. At the beginning of the book, the author goes over the places to visit., along with websites. I have highlighted the ones I have already been to and will make sure to go to the ones that I have not been to. I am glad that I made this purchase. I have many more recipes to try and to share.

Foods and Flavors of San Antonio is a compendium of Tex-Mex inspired recipes, sure to delight the palate of anyone eager for authentic dishes worthy of San Antonio's festivals, fiestas, and day-to-day life. From Serrano Omelet to Turkey Tomorrow Tacos, Stuffed Poblano Peppers, Chipotle Salmon, Apple Enchiladas and much more, Foods and Flavors of San Antonio offers a treasury of unforgettable tastes. A welcome addition to regional or ethnic cuisine cookbook shelves.