TCU Alumni Cookbooks and Food Writing to Savor

Cowtown Comfort

Courtesy of Celestina Blok/Reedy Press

Food writer Celestina Blok ’02 weaves together Fort Worth culinary history with 60 recipes from chefs, bakers, bartenders and more in Cowtown Comfort. Among the offerings are shrimp and grits from Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine, known for its farm-to-table dishes and award-winning wine program; yakisoba from Tokyo Cafe, a family-run Japanese restaurant; and buttermilk pie from Swiss Pastry Shop, an unassuming diner and bakery with a tempting pastry case.

Dinner Tonight

Courtesy of William Morrow

Since 2019, New York Times bestselling cookbook author Alex Snodgrass ’10 has released four titles filled with clean takes on comfort foods. Dinner Tonight focuses on what many of us need most — healthful recipes that are simple enough to prepare on a weeknight. Among the choices are roasted vegetable pita with herby tahini and one-pan coconut-lime chicken and rice.

Indian Instant Pot Cookbook

Courtesy of Callisto Publishing

Data scientist Urvashi Pitre ’89 MS, who founded a customer-relationship management company in Dallas, has written five cookbooks dedicated to the Instant Pot, an appliance with multiple cooking modes. In Indian Instant Pot Cookbook, she shares recipes for quick versions of traditional Indian dishes, including murgh makhani, for which she earned the nickname Butter Chicken Lady.

Food & Philosophy

Courtesy of TCU Press

Published by TCU Press, Food & Philosophy by Spencer Wertz ’65 (MA ’66), emeritus professor of philosophy, features essays on everything from food as art to the five flavors of Chinese cuisine. In his essays, Wertz, who has taught wine appreciation classes and once led a barbecue competition team, also explores historical recipes and symbolism in dining.

Hopped Up

Courtesy of Oxford University Press

Food historian Jeffrey Pilcher ’93 PhD, a professor at the University of Toronto, explores the history of brewing around the world in Hopped Up: How Travel, Trade, and Taste Made Beer a Global Commodity. Beer aficionados will learn how technological, social and cultural factors have impacted the development and enjoyment of beers.

How to Taste

Courtesy of Mandy Naglich

Consider stone fruit, dark chocolate or black tea — in professional taster Mandy Naglich’s How to Taste, readers learn to fine-tune the palate to discern flavors the way chefs, sommeliers and sensory scientists do. Naglich ’12 brings insights into the science of flavor, from judging acidity to understanding why food temperature and even background music can impact taste.

French Pastry Made Simple

Courtesy of Page Street Publishing

After a career in digital marketing, Molly Wilkinson ’09 completed her pâtisserie training at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and made her home in Versailles, where she teaches in-person pastry classes and offers live and video instruction on her website. In French Pastry Made Simple, Wilkinson demystifies éclairs, madeleines, macarons and more for the home baker — including shortcuts.

The Rose Table

Courtesy of Katie-Rose Watson

With an ebullient spirit and solid culinary skills, publicist Katie-Rose Watson ’11 has earned more than 300,000 followers on social media for The Rose Table, where she shares everything from easy appetizer recipes to blueprints for elaborate Disney-themed dinner parties, including menus, place settings, music and more. Her cookbook, The Rose Table, features 70 of her favorite recipes for entertaining, such as rosemary-grilled salmon and chocolate lavender cake.

Table for One

Courtesy of Gabrielle McBay

Private chef and cookbook author Gabrielle McBay ’14, who owns Good Taste, a culinary production company, has counted among her clients celebrities such as Travis Scott and brands including Williams-Sonoma. In Table for One, her third cookbook, McBay shows readers how to cook for themselves in elevated, simple, small-yield recipes like strawberry basil ricotta toast or crispy shrimp fajita tacos.

Texas Landmark Cafes

Courtesy of Great Texas Line Press

In Texas Landmark Cafes, June Naylor Harris ’79 shares statewide restaurant recommendations including diners, barbecue joints, steakhouses and seafood spots. Harris, an award-winning food and travel writer, names such favorites as Cisco’s Restaurant & Bakery in Austin, where she suggests ordering the huevos rancheros with a side of beef picadillo-stuffed mini-bolillo rolls.

Vegan Mexico

Courtesy of Andrews McMeel Publishing

In addition to creating the menus and recipes for Dr. Neal Barnard’s 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart book, vegan chef Jason Wyrick ’96, a Mexican food aficionado who runs a vegan meal delivery service in Phoenix, has written his own cookbooks. In Vegan Mexico, Wyrick shares regional cooking from Oaxaca to Veracruz through recipes including mushroom crêpes in poblano chile sauce.

— Compiled by Laura Samuel Meyn