![]() Travel across the state and have breakfast with Van Cliburn, lunch at the world-famous King Ranch, the “eighth wonder of the world,” and dinner with Joan Sutherland and Dorothy and Richard Rogers. Here is a Texas we’ll never know again, peopled by larger-than-life personalities and embellished with a lifestyle of grace and fun. It goes beyond wonderful recipes and invites us to share the hospitality of leading Texans of the 1960s. The Texas Cookbook is a portrait of good food and good company. Her capacity to create experiences and build friendships with everyone whose path she crossed transformed dinners and receptions from the simple to the sumptuous. She traveled widely and well, nurturing a community of artists, politicians, musicians and ranchers across the state. This remarkable woman transformed her family home into one of country’s most elegant restaurants, Green Pastures. Hostess, businesswoman, art patron and supporter, Mary Faulk Koock has attracted people from all walks of life to her great style and love of life through over numerous printings of The Texas Cookbook. Much more than a cookbook, this collection offers a look at a way of life and entertaining, Texas style. Where else can you learn the story behind Slumgullion, a purported concoction of Fort Worth ’s Amon Carter Sr., and friend Will Rogers, or find the recipe for Pepparkakor (Swedish Ginger Cookies) from the Austin area? Other cities with recipes featured are Tyler, Abilene, Rockdale, El Paso, Waco, Columbus, and Corpus Christi. We share in her delight with Persimmon Salad in San Antonio, Cold Breast of Duck with Orange Slices in Houston, and Cebollas Rellenas from the Rio Grande Valley. At the home of friends in Dallas Koock reveals the recipe for Chicken Cannelloni served after an opera. Regional contributions shine in Sauerbraten ( Kerrville ), Salsa Brava ( Brownsville ) and Crawfish Etouffee (Beaumont). But you will also find the unusual in Roasted Wild Turkey (the Hill Country), Fried Apricot Pies ( Fredericksburg ), and Watermelon Rind Preserves ( Luling ). Here is Lady Bird Johnson’s Peach Ice Cream (the LBJ Ranch) and some expected classics such as Lee’s Chili (Amarillo), Venison Roast (the King Ranch), and Black-eyed Peas with Okra (Austin). Fort Worth ’s Van Cliburn enjoys the hostess’s biscuits and offers his own recipe for a whole-wheat variety. Frank Dobie, Walter Prescott, Roy Bedichek, and Mody Boatright. In Austin John Henry Faulk, the author’s brother, savors Quail Pie with J. Scattered among these are the author’s anecdotes from her vast and varied encounters with the famous and influential. Mary Faulk Koock traveled throughout Texas gathering recipes from ranch kitchens and city hostesses. The Texas Cookbook presents recipes ranging from down-home cooking to high-class affairs, from regional favorites to ethnic specialties. Hudgins said about the reprint, “I think kids these days will look at some of these recipes and wonder what lard is.” Let’s hope they have more to say than that! See more of this touching story in the video below.This delightful collection captures the flavor and diversity of the cuisine of the Lone Star State. The reissue of “Our Favorite Recipes” is dedicated to his mother, Florice Hudgins, who he wrote was “a great cook and a better mother”. Hudgins told CNN that ever since his story has gone viral he’s just been posting orders and sending invoices all day every day. Hudgins hoped to bring back positive memories for people who read the book, which he has been selling for $20 each with proceeds going to the Love and Care Ministries Carepack for Kids program which works to feed impoverished children in the local area. Each recipe shows who submitted it which makes this one a piece of local history in addition to a cookbook. However, the original copy is special since it contains notes (presumably in Florice’s handwriting) like “will try” and “good taken to church”. Hudgins sent it to the printers -the same ones who printed the first original book- to be copied and they even mimicked some of the stains on the cover. This group is little known today and Hudgins didn’t find much about them in his research. ![]() The front of the book reads that it was made by Abilene School Food Service Association. ![]() When Hudgins shared his find on social media hundreds of people commented on the recipes and he got the idea that perhaps he could re-issue the book. ![]() Inside old fashioned recipes like peanut brittle, blondies, and strawberry pie line the pages of this nostalgic volume. ![]() The stained cover of this community cookbook, called “Our Favorite Recipes”, features a red schoolhouse. Dusty Hudgins found a recipe book from 1963 in his late mother’s things which was presented to her for for working in the school cafeteria system in Abilene, Texas. ![]()
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