Cookbooks Archives

How to Make Papel Picado Tortilla Snowflakes

Sweet and sparkly tortilla snowflakes – an edible version of the popular Mexican folk art, papel picado which will brighten any winter holiday table.

How to Dry & Mill Chile Peppers for Spice Blends

How to dehydrate and grind chile peppers, with recipes for chili powder and custom spice blends using fresh homegrown and/or exotic store bought chiles. Preserve expensive and/or hard to find chiles.

Arroz Con Pollo Recipe – Tucson Sonoran Style

When I asked locals which Tucson centric recipes they would most like to see included in my cookbook quite a few people mentioned arroz con pollo and I’ve always found chicken and rice to be a comforting combo This is a great make ahead recipe for work day lunches. At first glance salsa de chile fresco may look like pureed tomato sauce
but it’s got a medium spicy kick of heat that will convince you otherwise.

Taste of Tucson Cookbook: Shopping Guide

Sonoran cooking resource and shopping guide for the Taste of Tucson cookbook by Jackie Alpers, with lists of ingredients, pantry staples and photography equipment recommendations.

Molletes

These open-faced breakfast sandwiches are made by slathering refried beans onto toasted bolillo rolls and then heaping avocado slices, a fried egg, hot sauce, and lots of cheese on top.

Nachos Supreme Stuffed Bell Peppers

Sweet bell peppers stuffed with creamy nacho cheese, avocado, pickled jalapeños, black beans and crunchy tortilla chips.

Taste of Tucson Cookbook: Meet the Chefs

I first met most of them while on photography and food writing assignment for various publications over the years, and they are a big part of why I wanted to create the Taste of Tucson cookbook.

Strawberry Habanero Infused Tequila

This infused tequila makes a mean margarita or straight-up sipper.

Chorizo, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Taco

I ate this for breakfast every day for weeks while writing my Taste of Tucson cookbook. The fat from the chorizo makes the egg really crispy and adds a lot of flavor without too many extra calories.

Matzoh Molletes Rancheros

This crispy matzo based breakfast is a cross between molletes and huevos rancheros. I used beans from a can and my homemade chiltepin salsa.

Chocolate, Coffee, Pistachio Biscotti with Sprinkles

Biscotti means “twice baked” in Italian. First you form the crumbly dough into one stiff mass and bake it whole. Then you let it cool, slice it, and bake it again at a lower temperature. That’s what gives biscotti an almost cracker-like quality, which goes especially well with coffee. This triple-chocolate double-baked treat is dipped in a dark chocolate coating with sprinkles on top.

Brigadeiro: Brazilian Chocolate Truffles With Sprinkles!

How do you say “delicious” in Portuguese? Brigadeiro, that’s how! These easy-to-make balls are fun to roll in chocolate jimmies. Box them up for the perfect gift.

Fleur De Sel Caramels

Fleur de sel (flower of salt) is a hand-harvested sea salt with distinctive flavor. Look for variations that have a pink or gray tone. You’d think that something with such a fancy-sounding name might be complicated to make, but in fact these sweet and savory bite-size treats are as easy to concoct as they are to devour. Still, if you want to let your friends believe these caramels are a feat of culinary magic, your secret’s safe with me.