Taste of Tucson: Sonoran-Style Recipes Inspired by the Rich Culture of Southern Arizona

Author/Editor Comments:
"For this book, I collected recipes from local chefs whose recipes are excellent examples of Sonoran cuisine. Some are local classics and old favorites, some are new. All are outstanding representations of Sonoran cuisine at this time, and in this place.
And, because I am a 98.6% Ashkenazi Jew (thanks 23andMe!) from Ohio, I like smoked fishes and knishes and kugel. I also like Cincinnati chili, and chicken fingers. And I like hot dogs - a lot.
This book is about how the evolution of food culture in my community inspired me. I'd like for this book to be a jumping off point in your own cultural evolution and I'm hoping these recipes and ideas inspire you to invent your own recipe creations."

Description for Sales People:

• Author cooks, styles and photographs food in her natural-light studio and documents food & travel on location.
• UNESCO designated Tucson as the first capitol of gastronomy.
• Edited and designed by former Williams Sonoma cookbook developers, this will be gifty and luxe produced.
• Her popular food photography and recipe blog "Jackie's Happy Plate", showcases her culinary adventures as a Midwesterner transplanted to the Sonoran Desert.
• She is especially interested in the emotional, psychological and spiritual relationship that people have with food and drink. Food lends itself to vast symbolism and interpretation and she loves the rituals surrounding it.
• She has been featured in articles for Reader's Digest, CNN, Good Morning America, The New York Times & NPR. Her food blog, Jackie's Happy Plate has been featured in numerous online publications including Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Glamour, Better Homes and Gardens, MSN, Brit + Co. and Buzzfeed Food.
• Well-connected, her photography clients include: Random House, Knopf, Simon & Schuster, The Globe Pequot Press, Quirk Books, Sterling Publishing, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Canyon Ranch Health Resorts, Arizona Tourism, Loews Hotels, NBC/Universal, Epicurious.com, AARP Magazine and The U.S. White House.
• Her book project, Angry Birds; Bad Piggies' Egg Recipes, won "Best First Cookbook in the World" at the 2011 Gourmand Cookbook Awards. The app, released in October, 2012, which she photographed and edited, is the best-selling cookbook app in the USA, China and numerous other countries.
• She is the recipient of numerous awards from American Photography, The Photographer's Master Cup, ASMP and the International Photography Awards (Lucie's).

"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)

RUSA BOOK AND MEDIA AWARD WINNER
MPIBA's EATING THE WEST AWARD FINALIST
AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHY 37 WINNER
IPA INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD WINNER

Named one of the best cookbooks of the year by the Arizona Republic, Phoenix New Times, and Arizona Daily Star

Learn how to make Mexican food the Sonoran way!

"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!"
--Pati Jinich, chef, cookbook author, and host of PBS's Pati's Mexican Table

Award-winning photographer and cookbook author Jackie Alpers shares her own inspired recipe creations in this book as well as recipes for her favorite restaurants' dishes provided by 16 regional chefs, while incorporating the history of the region, the mysticism and lore, and how it has contributed to the food of the people who live there. Building from tried-and-true basics and tutorials on tacos, enchiladas, carne asada, and huevos rancheros, she divulges secrets to making the Tucson area's most unique Sonoran style savories and sweets, including: Chicken Mole Amarillo, Adobo Pulled Pork, Red Pozole, Dark Chocolate and Coffee Figgy Pudding Cakes, and more.

For cooks of all levels, from anywhere in the world. This cookbook welcomes you to bring the Sonoran region's best and most iconic tastes into your own kitchen.

Review Citations:

• Publishers Weekly 04/06/2020 (EAN 9781513262567, Hardcover)
• Library Journal 05/01/2020 pg. 135 (EAN 9781513262567, Hardcover)
• Foreword 04/26/2020 (EAN 9781513262567, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:Alpers, Jackie
Jackie Alpers is a cookbook author, recipe developer, and award-winning food photographer. She writes and photographs a monthly column for FoodNetwork.com and contributes to Food Network Magazine, Refinery29, Real Simple, The Kitchn, and Edible Baja Arizona Magazine. Her work has been featured on Reader's Digest, CNN, and NPR, and her blog Jackie's Happy Plate has been featured in Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Glamour, Better Homes and Gardens, Brit + Co, and Buzzfeed Food. Jackie happily cooks from her kitchen in Tucson, AZ. Visit her at jackiealpers.com and see her blog at jackieshappyplate.com.