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If you grew up in a mid- to large-sized Texas town, chances are your family ate at a Luby’s Cafeteria from time to time, if not weekly. I grew up in San Antonio and have fond memories of going through the line, picking what I liked, and sitting in the crowded, comfortable dining room to…

Cowboy cooking, chuck wagon cooking, campfire cooking … whatever you call it, it wouldn’t be the same without that workhorse, the Dutch oven. Robb Walsh, restaurant critic for the Houston Press, explores the history and current state of this cuisine in his new book, The Texas Cowboy Cookbook: A History in Recipes and Photos (2007,…

Scharffen Berger produces some of the finest chocolate in the world. If you want to find out how they turn the beans from a ripe cacao pod into the rich confection preferred by the world’s best bakers, read the new book by the company’s founders, John Scharffenberger and Robert Steinberg, called The Essence of Chocolate…

Fried pies are a part of the Texas way of life.

As a busy mom, I find easy-to-prepare meals a must. However, I don’t want to sacrifice the flavor and complexity of a take-your-time homecooked meal. That’s what makes Homemade in Half the Time a treasure. This new cookbook by Shea Waggoner (Rodale, 2006) has more than 200 delightful recipes, and a quarter of those use…