Cowgirl Chef: Texas Cooking with a French Accent

Caterer and food blogger Pierce (cowgirlchef.com) follows in the wake of Homesick Texan Lisa Fain’s success in writing wistfully about the Texan food she left behind when moving to Paris to join her charming boyfriend. Putting aside Pierce’s claim of having “created a unique cuisine,” the reader can see what fusion food looks like in its infancy, when immigrants reach toward their comfort foods with the only ingredients and tools they can find in their new, foreign homes. Pierce’s recipes include Tex-Mex classics such as homemade chorizo, tacos al pastor, and tortilla soup; French classics such as mushroom tapenade, eggplant caviar; and a wide range of simple French dishes lightly adapted to satisfy the Texan palate. Pierce makes her mother’s cornbread in madeleine molds, throws chorizo and minced habanero into her Paris chicken fricassee, and invented the Parisian breakfast taco in the form of her Cowgirl quiche. Although simple and more classic than creative, the recipes are solid and should satisfy readers looking for a glimpse into a Texan expat’s home cooking. (May)