With a bounty of locally grown meats and produce, artisanal cheeses, and a flourishing wine culture, it's a luscious time to be cooking in Texas. From restaurant chefs to home cooks, Texans are going to local dairies, orchards, farmers' markets, ranches, vineyards, and seafood sellers to buy the very freshest ingredients, whether we're cooking traditional favorites or the latest haute cuisine. We've discovered that Texas terroir—our rich variety of climates and soils, as well as our diverse ethnic cultures—creates a unique "taste of place" that gives Texas food a flavor all its own.
Written by one of Texas's leading cookbook authors, Terry Thompson-Anderson, Texas on the Table presents 150 new and classic recipes, along with stories of the people—farmers, ranchers, shrimpers, cheesemakers, winemakers, and chefs—who inspired so many of them and who are changing the taste of Texas food. The recipes span the full range from finger foods and first courses to soups and breads, salads, seafood, chicken, meat (including wild game), sides and vegetarian dishes, and sweets. Some of the recipes come from the state's most renowned chefs, and all are user-friendly for home cooks. Finally, the authors and winemakers tell which recipes they turn to when opening their favorite wines.
This delicious compilation of recipes and stories of the people behind them, illustrated with Sandy Wilson's beautiful photographs, makes Texas on the Table the must-have cookbook for everyone who relishes the flavors of the Lone Star State.

Texas on the Table: People, Places, and Recipes Celebrating the Flavors of the Lone Star State

Cookbooks, Food & Wine

Thompson-Anderson, Terry

Beverages & Wine

University of Texas Press

One taste of the food in Texas on the Plate and everyone will be begging for seconds--native Texan, or not! With her lively, information-packed treatise on the varied cuisine of the Lone Star State, veteran chef and culinary instructor Terry Thompson-Anderson, author of the acclaimed Cajun-Creole Cooking, has done it again--created a classic! Texas on the Plate has all the makings of a timeless cookbook. Chock full of tantalizing recipes, fascinating historical insights, and a thorough culinary exploration of the multi-dimensional population that makes up the state, Texas on the Plate promises to become a kitchen treasure. Dig in and discover why Texas on the Plate is destined to become the definitive book on Texas cooking. 
From Texas Chicken-Fried Rib-Eye with Tabasco Cream Gravy to baked Oysters on the Half-Shell with Cilantro-Chili Sauce, Thompson-Anderson's spirited recipes will knock your boots off! The Executive Chef of Maner Lake Lodge, the private conference center and hunting/fishing lodge of the Halliburton Corporation, Chef Thompson-Anderson knows a thing or two about throwing a good party. In Texas on the Plate she shares her talent, serving up a host of swashbuckling, mouthwatering specialities. Chapters covering everything from "Foods For Grazing" (appetizers), to "Meat, Tame and Wild," to "The Good Stuff" (desserts) display that indefatigable Texas spirit. Texas on the Plate also offers "Soups, Salads, and Breads," details dozens of ways to handle "Things With Wings," and presents a wealth of delectable ways to get it on the plate in "If It Swims." Superlative "Sides"--delicious in their own right--haven't been forgotten. And lovers of the grape will get a unique fix from Thompson-Anderson's delightful, chapter-long tribute to Texas' fast growing wine industry. These wineries have paired their wines with selections from her book. 
With recipes to suit Texans (and Texas-lovers) of every stripe, combined with an inspiring, 4-color photographic journey through the vast Lone Star State, Texas on the Plate turns every meal into a Texas-sized adventure! From 4-star, white tablecloth entries such as Roast Beef Tenderloin with Two-Mushroom Essence Sauce to updated down home Texas favorites like Slow Smoked Brisket with Hellfire and Brimstone Sauce, Thompson-Anderson delivers dishes exuding irresistible Texas appeal. Simple pleasures like Texas Toast and Chile Con Queso with Homemade Tortilla Chips are up for grabs. And distinctive Texas specialties, such as Slow-Smoked Quail on Savory Bread Pudding with Three-Chili Sauce, Wild Turkey or Deer Jerky, and Tequila-Beef Fajitas with Pico do Gallo are demystified. 
Texans of the shore will appreciate Thompson-Anderson's myriad of ways for preparing Gulf Coast shrimp and oysters, while recipes for fish, among them Brazos Catfish with Crawfish Cream and Shark Steaks Grilled in Hoja Santa with Sun-Dried Tomato and Walnut Pesto, will bring out the fisherman in everyone! Urbanite adherents to the high-octane happy hour will find a handful of Texas-inspired pizzas, Wild Mushroom Nachos, and Crabmeat Quesadillas to pair with their cocktails, while entrees such as Grilled Hot Pepper Crabs with Ginger and Garlic and Roast Pheasant with Caramelized Pears on Seared Foie-Gras are equally at home for entertaining and romantic dinners for two. 
From beginning to end, Texas on the Plate does just what its title says it will. This fabulous cookbook brings all the flavors of the Lone Star State--flavors old and new, cowboy and cosmopolitan, German, Mexican, Vietnamese and more--to the table, and piles them up on the plate with true, undeniably Texan style!

Texas on the Plate

Regional & International

Shearer Pub

With over 400,000 copies in print, the success of Terry Thompson-Anderson's Cajun-Creole Cooking is a testament to the appeal of her unique approach to this very special American regional cuisine. 
Now this classic guide has been revised and updated once more to include new recipes as well as tips for reducing fat and calories in many old favorites. The third edition of Cajun-Creole Cooking brings the rich heritage of Louisiana cooking to a new generation of home cooks eager to discover the pleasures of the Cajun-Creole table.

Cajun-Creole Cooking

A guide to the best restaurants in the Central Texas region. Includes recipes.

The Texas Hill Country: A Food and Wine Lover's Paradise

Texans love the morning meal, whether it's bacon and eggs (often eaten in a breakfast taco) or something as distinctively nontraditional as saag paneer omelets, pon haus, or goat curry. A Lone Star breakfast can be a time for eating healthy, or for indulging in decadent food and drink. And with Texas's rich regional and cultural diversity, an amazing variety of dishes graces the state's breakfast and brunch tables. The first Texas cookbook dedicated exclusively to the morning meal, Breakfast in Texas gathers nearly one hundred recipes that range from perfectly prepared classics to the breakfast foods of our regional cuisines (Southern, Mexican, German, Czech, Indian, and Asian among them) to stand-out dishes from the state's established and rising chefs and restaurants.
Terry Thompson-Anderson organizes the book into sections that cover breakfast and brunch libations (with and without alcohol); simple, classic, and fancy egg presentations; pancakes, French toast, and waffles; meat lover's dishes; seafood and shellfish; vegan dishes and sides; and pastries. The recipes reference locally sourced ingredients whenever possible, and Thompson-Anderson provides enjoyable notes about the chefs who created them or the cultural history they represent. She also offers an expert primer on cooking eggs, featuring an encounter with Julia Child, as well as a selection of theme brunches (the boozy brunch, the make-ahead brunch, New Year's Day brunch, Mother's Day brunch with seasonal ingredients, teenage daughter's post-slumber party breakfast, and more). Sandy Wilson's color photographs of many of the dishes and the chefs and restaurants who serve them provide a lovely visual counterpoint to the appetizing text.

Breakfast in Texas: Recipes for Elegant Brunches, Down-Home Classics, and Local Favorites

Main Courses & Side Dishes