Cookbooks
The following are books I’ve wrote that fall into the cookbook category. Quite a different category from mysteries or historical novels isn’t it?!
As an avid cook all my life, I thought I’d combine my two passions – cooking and writing – and preserve all things food into books.
I hope you find them mouth-watering delicious.
Bon Appétit!
Gourmet on a Hot Plate
Released on November 6, 2018 (Paperback)
Released on November 15, 2018 (e-Book)
After living in a tiny cottage for two years, Judy Alter, a lifelong amateur chef, developed some new ideas for cooking without a stove or a microwave. You won’t find a new idea about the holiday turkey here nor suggestions for feeding that houseful of relatives, but you will find innovative and new ideas for everything from appetizers to light suppers. Most recipes feed two to four. And there’s a web page so that cooking in a tiny kitchen can be an ongoing conversation. Judy has already chosen recipes not in the cookbook to share on the website, and she welcomes your recipes, questions, and suggestions.
Review: “Love cooking? Love the minimalist lifestyle? Your tiny kitchen doesn’t need to limit your gourmet dreams. Judy Alter’s Gourmet On a Hot Plate will inspire you with big ideas to satisfy everyone around the table.” —Susan Wittig Albert, author of Queen Anne’s Lace
Texas is Chili Country
Published by Texas Tech Press
It’s almost chili weather so it’s time to bone up on the history, folklore and cooking of chili. Texans love to eat, and one dish they can’t get enough of is chili—so much so that chili con carne is Texas’s state meal. This seemingly simple staple of Texan identity proves to be anything but, however. Beans or no beans? Beef, pork, or turkey? From a can or from scratch?
Texas Is Chili Country is a brief look at the favored fare—its colorful history, its many incarnations, and the ways it has spread both across the country and the world. The history includes chuckwagon chili, the chili queens of San Antonio, the first attempts at canned chili, the development of chili societies and the subsequent rivalries between them, and the rise of chili cook-offs.
And what would a book about chili be without recipes? There are no-fat recipes, vegan recipes, and recipes from Mexican-American cooks who have adapted this purely American food. Some have been tried, but many are taken on faith. Recipes are included from state celebrities such as Ladybird Johnson, Governor Ma Ferguson, and chili king Frank Tolbert.
E-book: Not available.
Paperback: Available on Amazon
Bake, Love, Write
105 Authors Share Dessert Recipes and Advice on Love and Writing
What do most authors have in common, no matter what genre they write? They love desserts. Sweets sustain them through pending deadlines and take the sting out of crushing rejection letters and nasty reviews. They also often celebrate their successes–selling a book, winning a writing award, making a bestseller list, or receiving a fabulous review–with decadent indulgences. And when authors chat with each other, they often talk about their writing and their lives. Recipes. Writing. Relationships. In this cookbook 105 authors not only share their favorite recipes for fabulous cakes, pies, cookies, candy, and more, they also share the best advice they’ve ever received on love and writing. Contributions by NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Authors, including Judy Alter.
We’d Rather Be Writing
88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips
Have you ever wished you could find more time to do the things you want to do, rather than just doing the things you have to do? Most authors juggle day jobs and family responsibilities along with their writing. Because they need to find time to write, they look for ways to save time in other aspects of their lives.
Cooking often takes up a huge chunk of time. In We’d Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips you’ll find easy, nutritious recipes for meat, poultry, pasta, soup, stew, chili, and vegetarian meals. All of the recipes require a minimum of prep time, freeing you up to read, exercise, garden, craft, write, spend more time with family, or whatever.
Within the pages of this book, you’ll be introduced to authors who write a wide range of fiction—everything from mystery to romance to speculative fiction to books for children, young adults, and new adults—and some who write nonfiction. Some of the authors write sweet; others write steamy. Some write cozy; others write tense thrillers.
Some are debut authors with only one published book; others are multi-published and have had long publishing careers. Some are New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors who may or may not be familiar to you, but being a bestselling author doesn’t mean they still don’t have to juggle their day job along with their writing.
The authors who contributed to this book are a rather creative and resourceful bunch when it comes to carving out time from their busy lives. So in addition to timesaving recipes, within the pages of this book you’ll find timesaving and organizational tips for other aspects of your life. And if you happen to be a writer, you’ll also find a plethora of great ideas to help you organize your writing life.
Cooking My Way Through Life with Kids and Books
Read the story of how cooking has shaped Judy’s life through various wildly different periods—and relish recipes that range from the down-home and quick to the semi-gourmet, from feeding teen-agers to serving dinner for sixteen or hors d’oeuvres for 60.
Recipe for a happy family:
Start with a lot of love.
Mix in some firm rules, respect, a willingness to share, and a willingness to listen.
Season with lots of laughter, more than a few pets, a lot of “extended family,” and frequent meals together.
Stir and mix frequently. Gets better with age.
Judy said of this book, “When good friend Sheila Taylor Wells said, half jokingly, “We should write a cookbook together,” I took her seriously. I think she was probably dismayed at the time, for I immediately sat down and pounded out five thousand words about my childhood. For me, food is also about continuity—and change. I bring to the table today the recipes of my mother, still often used and some, I’m sure, from her mother. I bring a few from my ex-husband’s Jewish tradition. So my cooking preserves the past and carries it on for my children and grandchildren.”
E-book: Not available
Paperback: Amazon
Great Texas Chefs
In Texas, “chef” covers a wide range of cooking styles. Included here are chefs who are heavily influenced by classical training, but there are also chefs who take Southwestern cuisine to a state of high art, chefs who specialize in Tex-Mex and others who cook the traditional dishes of the interior of Mexico and who bring new innovative touches to Mexican cuisine. There are even winery owners who combine their passion for fine wine with a passion for fine food. And what picture of Texas cooking would be complete without chuck-wagon cooking?
This small book is not a comprehensive study of Texas chefs. Because of size limitations, many of the state’s best have been omitted with regret. The chefs on these pages were chosen to represent the styles of food available to the discriminating diner. Most but not all have cookbooks available. All but two have restaurants that beckon the discriminating diner.
Ebook: Not available
Hardcover: Amazon
