Take a sugar-coated tour through the Lone Star State with more than sixty recipes plus stories of master confectioners all across Texas. This tantalizing tome features a hearty helping of must-eat recipes and must-meet dessert devotees, garnished with their fascinating stories. Southern cookbook author Denise Gee introduces you to local Texan bakeries, the youngest pastry chef in the state, and the proper way to organize a Southern cookie swap. Divided into four tasty Texas regions, this cookbook features the big flavors of sweet treats like Deep Chocolate Meringue Pie, Citrus-Kissed Fig Ice Cream, Deep-Fried Coca-Cola, and Sweet Pineapple Tamales. With more than 60 classic and brand spankin’ new recipes for cakes, cookies, puddings, cobblers, ice cream, pies, and pastries, Sweet on Texas reveals the sweet side of Texan cuisine.
When a stranger who holds the keys to her identity arrives in town, will the girl everyone knows as Brenda come to terms with her past or run again? From New York Times and USAToday bestselling Texas romance author Jean Brashear, another story set in beloved Sweetgrass Springs… All the girl known as Brenda Jones has ever wanted is a home and family, but she's on the run from her past. She works hard and stays to herself, save only for her budding friendship with the equally shy Henry Jansen. Henry wants more than a simple friendship, but he’s convinced she’s too young, too innocent, too sweet. Brenda has a crush on Henry, as well, but she’s underage and terrified of being put back in foster care, where she’s spent most of her life since her mother abandoned her at age eight. She’s been flying under the radar, hiding behind a made-up name while finding a different sort of family and home in the year since she arrived in Sweetgrass Springs—but that’s about to change. When a stranger who holds the keys to her identity arrives in town and takes a job at Ruby’s Diner, will the girl everyone knows as Brenda come to terms with her past or run again, away from the people and the life she's grown to love?
The men in Texas are hard to resist . . . Seattle event planner Allison Lane is an expert at delivering the perfect wedding—even if she might not exactly believe in the whole "'til death do us part" thing. When her father decides to tie the knot with a woman he barely knows, Allison heads to Sweet, Texas, to make sure his new honey is the real deal. What she didn't expect to find at the local honky-tonk was a sexy Southern man as bent on charming her pants off as he is on blowing her "true love doesn't exist" theory all to hell. And they always promise . . . Veterinarian, former Marine, and Sweet's favorite playboy Jesse Wilder takes one look at Allison and knows she's a handful of trouble he can't deny. But even after a sizzling kiss and obvious mutual attraction, it seems Allison has no such problem. When Jesse uncovers her sweet side, can he crush his playboy image, melt her cynical heart, and change her mind about taking a trip down the aisle? Something sweeter
Small town. Big secrets. Welcome to Sweet Ridge. Gage Cooper has always wanted the family cabin. Not only for the oil on the property, but as a way to prove to his father that Gage's past doesn't define his future. When his dad wills the land to stranger Charlotte Wilkinson and all Gage gets is a mysterious key, he's determined to do anything to get his rightful inheritance back. Charlotte Wilkinson never expected to inherit a piece of property in Sweet Ridge, Texas--the Aussie businesswoman is focused on building an environmental analyst career here in the States. But the moment arrogant oil-man Gage Cooper walks into her office accusing her of seducing his father, all plans for selling the property to him fly out the window. Then fate threatens to send her back to Australia and the dueling duo are forced to accept a fake marriage to keep their dreams alive. But as they discover common ground and a surprising chemistry together, suddenly Gage must decide what's worth more: the land he's always coveted or a future with Charlotte. Sensuality Level: Sensual
I Love You as Big as Canada is the perfect addition to any baby's bookshelf! Adorable illustrations and clever rhymes highlight all the places that you and Baby love about your city, state, or country. Combining the evergreen message of love with regional touchpoints, each book features top landmarks for that specific location with all the snuggle-worthy sentiment that baby board books in this category provide.
The Best Little From-Scratch Bakery in Texas The pastry case in Rebecca Rather's bakery in Fredericksburg is packed with ultra-buttery scones, luscious cakes, cookies the size of saucers, brownies as big as bricks, and fruit pies that look as though they came straight out of Grandma's oven. Since the day Rebecca and her Rather Sweet Bakery and Café came to town, life in this Hill Country hamlet has been even sweeter and the townsfolk now know why she is the Pastry Queen. Everything she makes is a lot like her: down-home yet grand, and familiar yet one-of-a-kind. A native Texan, Rather makes the most of her Lone Star state's varied traditions, whether looking to the kitchens of Texas's Mexican and German immigrants or to the cowboy culture of her own forebears. Best of all, her recipes aren't fussy—one of her best-selling cakes stirs together in a single saucepan. Add in a cupful of Texas attitude and her made-from-scratch-with-love philosophy, and you've got an irresistible taste of American baking. What's best at Rather Sweet? Rebecca's customers all have their favorites (and she is happy to cater to their cravings), but here's just a taste of the perennial best sellers: • Apple-Smoked Bacon and Cheddar Scones • Texas Big Hairs Lemon-Lime Tarts (the only big hair Rebecca has ever had!) • Fourth of July Fried Pies • Peach Queen Cake with Dulce de Leche Frosting • Turbo-Charged Brownies with Praline Topping • All-Sold-Out Chicken Pot Pies • Kolaches (pillowy yeasted buns with sweet or savory fillings) • PB&J Cookies With over 125 surefire tested recipes and 100 photographs that richly capture small-town life in the Hill Country, The Pastry Queen offers a Texas-size serving of the royal splendor of Rebecca's baked goods—courtesy of the rather sweet gal behind the case.
Johnstone Country. Frontier spirit lives here. Young Matt Bodine and Sam Two Wolves became blood brothers on the day the rancher’s son saved the halfbreed’s life, forging a bond no one could ever break. As years passed, a legend grew of the breed and the white man who rode together—and pulled iron faster than anyone in the West... Sweet Apple, Texas, is the deadliest town west of the Mississippi—where getting killed is as easy as ordering a beer. Which is why East Coast big shot Cornelius Standish sends his lily-livered nephew, Seymour, to Sweet Apple. With Seymour out of the way, Cornelius will own the company that rightfully belongs to his nephew. His plan backfires, though, when Seymour is dubbed “The Most Cowardly Man in the West” by a newspaper and the hardcases of Sweet Apple are too proud to kill him. Soon Seymour thinks he’s bulletproof—until an outlaw gang, some Mexican revolutionaries, a train full of army rifles and a team of hired gunfighters all head to Sweet Apple at the same time. Now, Seymour and his border town are sure to get blown off the map. But blood brothers Matt Bodine and Sam Two Wolves are about to get there first—and they’re setting off some fireworks of their own... Live Free. Read Hard.
Illustrations and rhythmic text celebrate edible treats that characterize Louisiana, such as beignets and po boys. Includes facts about the foods mentioned and a recipe for red beans and rice.
When Lisa Fain, a seventh-generation Texan, moved to New York City, she missed the big sky, the bluebonnets in spring, Friday night football, and her family's farm. But most of all, she missed the foods she'd grown up with. After a fruitless search for tastes of Texas in New York City, Fain took matters into her own hands. She headed into the kitchen to cook for her friends the Tex-Mex, the chili, and the country comfort dishes that reminded her of home. From cheese enchiladas drowning in chili gravy to chicken-fried steak served with cream gravy on the side, from warm bowls of chile con queso to big pots of fiery chili made without beans, Fain re-created the wonderful tastes of Texas she'd always enjoyed at potlucks, church suppers, and backyard barbecues back home. In 2006, Fain started the blog Homesick Texan to share Texan food with fellow expatriates, and the site immediately connected with readers worldwide, Texan and non-Texan alike. Now, in her long-awaited first cookbook, Fain brings the comfort of Texan home cooking to you. Like Texas itself, the recipes in this book are varied and diverse, all filled with Fain's signature twists. There's Salpicón, a cool shredded beef salad found along the sunny border in El Paso; Soft Cheese Tacos, a creamy plate unique to Dallas; and Houston-Style Green Salsa, an avocado and tomatillo salsa that is smooth, refreshing, and bright. There are also nibbles, such as Chipotle Pimento Cheese and Tomatillo Jalapeno Jam; sweet endings, such as Coconut Tres Leches Cake and Mexican Chocolate Chewies; and fresh takes on Texan classics, such as Coffee-Chipotle Oven Brisket, Ancho Cream Corn, and Guajillo-Chile Fish Tacos. With more than 125 recipes, The Homesick Texan offers a true taste of the Lone Star State. So pull up a chair-everyone's welcome at the Texas table!
Quiet, sensitive Faith starts middle school already worrying about how she will fit in. To her surprise, Amanda, a popular eighth grader, convinces her to join the school soccer team, the Bloodhounds. Having never played soccer in her life, Faith ends up on the C team, a ragtag group that’s way better at drama than at teamwork. Although they are awful at soccer, Faith and her teammates soon form a bond both on and off the soccer field that challenges their notions of loyalty, identity, friendship, and unity. The Breakaways from Cathy G. Johnson is a raw, and beautifully honest graphic novel that looks into the lives of a diverse and defiantly independent group of kids learning to make room for themselves in the world.