Cookbook Challenge #9: The Homesick Texan

This Cookbook Challenge takes us to the great state of Texas.  Over the weekend, I reached for my copy of The Homesick Texan by Lisa Fain.

The cuisine of Texas

I have been reading the Homesick Texan blog for years now and have always enjoyed Tex-Mex fare, so I put the cookbook on my list as soon as it came out.

Fain is a native Texan who lives in New York.  She found herself longing for the foods she grew up with and was having a hard time finding these dishes on the East Coast.  Eventually she ended up tracking down ingredients and trying to recreate these dishes on her own.  Which led to the birth of her blog so she could share with family and friends.  Which led to a huge following.  Which led to a book deal and this collection of 125 Texas-inspired recipes.

Serving as both the author and photographer, Fain has put together a beautiful book.  It highlights the diversity of the cuisine in Texas, which borrows a little from Mexico, west Texas ranch country, the Gulf Coast, BBQ culture, as well as the deep south. The book is filled with various anecdotes and personal stories about the food and the recipes.  It is really fun, and I am looking forward to cooking my way through this one.    

I have a little retroactive cookbook challenge with this one!  In February, I made the West Texas Asado from The Homesick Texan, and it was absolutely delicious.  You can read about that creation here.

West Texas Asado - a Homesick Texan creation from February

This time, however, I decided to go with a side dish.  I went with the Frijoles a la Charra, which is a popular side dish in Tex-Mex cuisine.  This recipe consists of pinto beans cooked with bacon, tomatoes, both jalapeno and chipotle chiles, and is spiked with a healthy dose of cilantro.

Unlike refried beans which get mashed up, the pinto beans are left whole in this preparation.  The recipe suggests pureeing the bacon, tomato, and chile mixture before adding to the beans to create a velvety texture, but Fain also said you could leave this mixture as is to create a chunkier texture - which is what I did.

The Homesick Texan's Frijoles a la Charra

The pinto beans are delicious and creamy, the tomatoes add a nice zip, bacon adds smoke, chipotles lend more smoke and some spice , jalapenos bring some fresh chile heat, and the cilantro gives some overall freshness.  

An excellent, flavorful side dish that was very easy to make.  And dare I say I would prefer something like this to refried beans?  I really like the whole beans, the different textures, spiciness, and the flavorful liquid that is created.  And I was glad I didn't puree the bacon, tomato, and chile mixture.  I thought leaving that intact is the way to go from a textural standpoint.  There is nothing not to like here.  A yummy accompaniment to my chipotle-glazed meat loaf!

Frijoles a la Charra, along side some chipotle-glazed meat loaf and asparagus

I am really liking The Homesick Texan.  It is a very enjoyable and pretty book, the recipes so far have been easy and delicious, and I am looking forward to trying more creations from the Lone Star State.