"More than simply creating a cookbook devoted to Tucson, food photographer and blogger Alpers, a contributor to foodnetwork.com, has produced a laid-back, approachable entry to Sonoran cuisine. . . A chapter on various spice blends and salsas is a highlight. The collection is enhanced with contributions from local chefs, along with Alpers's own photography, allowing readers to visualize each dish. . . Not just with regional appeal, this cookbook will find a welcome home among anyone looking to recreate Southwestern classics."
—Library Journal
"More of us have spent time in our own kitchens over the past year. For some, that has actually meant a lot of time by the microwave or unpacking the order that was just delivered. But for many others, it’s meant cooking—sometimes from old family recipes and others of a more innovative bent. Jackie Alpers had begun work on her book Taste of Tucson: Sonoran-Style Recipes Inspired by the Rich Culture of Southern Arizona prior to the pandemic, but its collection of recipes from some of southern Arizona's favorite spots offers the chance to make the home kitchen a creative place."
—KJZZ's The Show (Tucson)
"A cookbook can double as a travel guide, helping the reader experience a city or region through its cuisine. . . The tastes of the U.S. Southwest inspired this collection of recipes from the Sonora region. Food columnist and photographer Alpers helps those new to the area's cuisines stock their pantries—staples include beef tripe, chia seeds, and chipotle chiles in adobo—and provides cheerful, encouraging direction for cooks of all levels."
—Publishers Weekly
"In addition to staples like cheese crisps, Alpers has an entire section on Mexican snack foods including El Guero's Sonoran hot dogs, recipes for tostilocos and tostinachos, even a hot dog taco. This sets the book apart from previous Tucson cookbooks, which tend to focus on homestyle Mexican restaurants with servers and combo plates. (Although, the book does have some of that too.)"
—Arizona Daily Star
"Jackie's Happy Plate blogger Alpers celebrates the cuisine of Tucson, Ariz., in this informative debut cookbook. . . Fans of Southwestern cuisine will appreciate this flavorful recipe collection."
—Publishers Weekly
"Taste of Tucson is an inordinately fun and accessible guide to a distinctive regional American cuisine."
—Foreword Reviews
"A bold, colorful collection of recipes that include molletes, an open-faced breakfast sandwich, cream of avocado soup, and shrimp with creamy goat cheese-poblano sauce. Jackie's recipes are packed with a flavor punch and I am eyeing the desert dessert nachos and potato salad with chile-lime vinaigrette and red onion."
—Eat Your Books (blog)
04/06/2020
Jackie’s Happy Plate blogger Alpers celebrates the cuisine of Tucson, Ariz., in this informative debut cookbook. Much of the fare is heavily inspired by Sonoran-style Mexican cuisine, and there are plenty of classics on offer, such as chunky guacamole, arroz con pollo, and Mexican street corn. Other tempting dishes include caldo de queso (potato and cheese soup), calabacitas con queso (cheesy squash with corn and tomatoes), and Sonora-style pico de gallo (fresh fruit and vegetables seasoned with chili and lime). Alpers also includes her own fun fusions, like matzalbondigas (she swaps the meatballs in the soup for matzo balls), and a Thai-Mex slaw spiked with a serrano chile. She also includes visual glossaries and helpful descriptions of staple ingredients, such as fresh and dried chiles (for ancho chilis, she writes, “Dried poblano chile with a sweet, fruity flavor and a mild heat level”) and Mexican-style cheese (cotija, she notes, is “crumbly and salty like grated parmesan”). Along the way, Alpers provides a history of Tucson and considers how the region’s past has influenced its cuisine (for the Cod Tlalpeño with chickpeas, she writes, “Chickpeas were introduced by the Spanish into the Southwest along the Rio Grande by 1630”). Fans of Southwestern cuisine will appreciate this flavorful recipe collection. (Apr.)
"Jackie's delicious book takes me back to Tucson, with each incredibly delicious recipe, tied to stories and wonderful characters. It will connect you to the one and only place that Tucson is. What a delight!"
"A bold, colorful collection of recipes that include Molletes, an open-faced breakfast sandwich, Cream of avocado soup, and Shrimp with creamy goat cheese-poblano sauce. Jackie’s recipes are packed with a flavor punch and I am eyeing the Desert dessert nachos and Potato salad with chile-lime vinaigrette and red onion."
"Taste of Tucson is an inordinately fun and accessible guide to a distinctive regional American cuisine."
"More of us have spent time in our own kitchens over the past year. For some, that has actually meant a lot of time by the microwave or unpacking the order that was just delivered. But for many others, it’s meant cooking — sometimes from old family recipes and others of a more innovative bent.
Jackie Alpers had begun work on her book Taste of Tucson: Sonoran-Style Recipes Inspired by the Rich Culture of Southern Arizona prior to the pandemic, but its collection of recipes from some of southern Arizona’s favorite spots offers the chance to make the home kitchen a creative place."
"In addition to staples like cheese crisps, Alpers has an entire section on Mexican snack foods including El Guero's Sonoran hot dogs, recipes for tostilocos and tostinachos, even a hot dog taco. This sets the book apart from previous Tucson cookbooks, which tend to focus on homestyle Mexican restaurants with servers and combo plates. (Although, the book does have some of that too.)"
05/01/2020
More than simply creating a cookbook devoted to Tucson, food photographer and blogger Alpers, a contributor to foodnetwork.com, has produced a laid-back, approachable entry to Sonoran cuisine. Alpers, who previously worked at Tucson's El Charro Café, the oldest family-owned Mexican restaurant in the United States, begins with a culinary history of the Mexican state of Sonora, which Tucson was originally part of, and its influence on the United States. From there, Alpers notes the influence of Native cultures on Sonoran-style Mexican cuisine and its staples, such as tortillas and hominy. Home cooks will be enticed by chapters such as Beans, Rice, and Calabacitas and Street Snacks at Home, along with varied recipes throughout the book, including huevos rancheros, red pozole, adobe pulled pork, mini chimichangas, and desert dessert nachos. A chapter on various spice blends and salsas is a highlight. The collection is enhanced with contributions from local chefs, along with Alpers's own photography, allowing readers to visualize each dish. VERDICT Not just with regional appeal, this cookbook will find a welcome home among anyone looking to recreate Southwestern classics.—Stephanie Sendaula, Library Journal
