I found this cookbook sitting in the giftshop of the Austin State History Museum and was immediately attracted to the cover. The book was shrinkwrapped, which didn’t allow me to look through it while I was there. I’ve quoted an excerpt of the synopsis, which was the ultimate selling point for me.

Whether you’re hungry for down-home barbecue and Tex-Mex, or you want to try more exotic dishes such as Paella Valenciana and Thai Pesto, Texas Highways has long been a trusted source for delicious recipes that reflect wide-ranging Lone Star tastes. The state’s official travel magazine published its first Texas Highways Cookbook, which has sold 20,000 copies in 1986.

Cooking with Texas Highways samples all the major ethnic cuisines of the state with recipes from home cooks, well-known chefs, and popular restaurants. It offers a varied and intriguing selection of snacks and beverages, breads, soups and salads, main dishes, vegetables and sides, sauces and spreads, desserts, and more.

After I returned from my vacation, I pulled the cookbook out of my suitcase and unwrapped it. Cooking with Texas Highways is very well designed and contains just what the cover promised. The recipes inside this book are very easy to follow.

As a Mexican food lover, I was pleased to find a recipe for tamales as well as a variety of enchilada recipes. I’ll be testing those recipes out, plus some Vietnamese and Thai dishes since I’ve never attempted to cook these cuisines. Look for my results in future posts.