Vegetarian Tamale Pie with Molé Cómodo

Recipe for vegetarian, Sonoran-style green chile and cheese tamale pie topped with a slightly sweet, easy molé sauce from The Unofficial Elf Cookbook.

“Yellowstone Ranch” Cast Iron Skillet Dinner Rolls

These dinner rolls which are baked and served in a cast iron skillet are right at home on the Dutton family table – a free bonus recipe from The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook by Jackie Alpers.

Parmesan Ranch Macaroni Salad

A festive, creamy buttermilk and parmesan pasta salad adorned with tiny tomato “ornaments” a free preview recipe from The Unofficial Elf Cookbook by Jackie Alpers.

Arizona Cheese Crisp with Green Chile Ranch Salsa

Tucson’s Sonoran style Mexican Arizona cheese crisp made with flour tortillas, roasted Hatch green chile strips and a creamy green chile Ranch salsa. Thank you Fry’s Foods for sponsoring this recipe.

Baked Falafel Pita Sandwiches

Recipe for a healthier, vegetarian falafel pita sandwich made with baked falafel, whole wheat pita, Greek yogurt, and lots of fresh veggies.

“Cake is Not my Downfall”: Jackie Kashian’s Recipe for Paprika Marinated Chicken

Recipe for Paprika Marinated Chicken. Comedian Jackie Kashian is funny on stage but her chicken recipe is no joke.

Linguine With Whole Canned Clams

A meaty yet lighter creamy, cheesy, linguine with white clam sauce made with whole canned clams, greek olives, and tomatoes.

Chipotle Lime Mexican Grilled Corn

Recipe for a lighter version of Sonoran – Mexican style grilled corn on the cob, with chipotle, crema and lime.

Spicy Sonoran-Style Mexican Green Rice

Spicy, Sonoran-style Mexican green rice (arroz verde) recipe made with tomatillo salsa verde, peas and cilantro from the Taste of Tucson cookbook.

Sonoran Salsa Chicken Lettuce Tacos

Chicken slow-simmered in salsa, then shredded for serving in as a filling for tacos, tostadas, enchiladas, and is keto when served in lettuce cups.

How to make the perfect chicken fried steak dinner – includes recipe links to my smoky mashed potatoes, sausage gravy, and garlic butter green beans. Fun fact!: The vintage plate shown in this photograph matches the one from Yellowstone that this meal was served to “Jimmy” on at the 6666 Ranch in Texas.

Pot Roast Braised in Irish Stout Beer

Pot roast with carrots and potatoes braised in Irish Stout beer is similar to recipes brought to the American West by Irish settlers. Inspired by the Yellowstone 1923 TV series. Use as the base for Cara Dutton’s Irish Pasties recipe.

Sonoran-Style Spicy Salsa Verde

This Sonoran-style spicy green rice is like summer in Tucson – dependably hot, greener than you might expect, and full of complexities that must be experienced to be appreciate

Chipotle Chicken Salad Wraps

Southwestern chipotle chicken salad recipe utilizing all of the elements of a great chicken salad: something oniony, something crunchy, something pickled, and something a little bit spicy. This recipe is Paleo, low-carb and gluten free.

Charro Cowboy Beans

Vegan recipe for the saucy, whole Sonoran-style pinto beans that you see cowboys (charros) eating in old Western movies, from the Taste of Tucson cookbook by Jackie Alpers.

Sonoran-Style Red Pozole

This pork and hominy Pozole is a traditional “low-and-slow” braising recipe. It takes about 3 ½ hours to cook from start to finish because pork shoulder is a fatty cut of meat that takes a while to break down. But the pork fat is what gives this soup its richness. My Sonoran-style version of this dish is topped with lots of fresh vegetables and citrus.

“Train Station” Funeral Potatoes

A healthier recipe for the comforting cheese and hash brown potatoes casserole that’s covered in baked sour cream and cheddar potato chips, with a cowboy inspired spin from Yellowstone’s “train station.”

Bison Nachos

Bison are a seminal component of Western American history. The massive bison hunts of the 19th century resulted in their near extinction. With conservation efforts in place, the Yellowstone bison are considered the last truly wild herd of American plains bison in existence. Regenerative bison farms have reintroduced this healthy beef alternative into American food systems.

Sonoran Enchiladas

Recipe for Enchiladas Sonorenses: Flat Sonoran-style enchiladas are unique to the desert Southwestern region surrounding the Tucson/Sonora, Mexico border are small corn masa pancakes covered in red enchilada sauce.

Creamed Corn Chowder with Popped Amaranth

This rich and creamy, charred corn chowder is made with lowfat buttermilk and topped with popped Amaranth which is a gluten-free, ancient grain native to the Western and Southwestern United States that can be popped like popcorn which a nice crunch.

Mushroom, Onion and Acorn Soup

Wild morel mushroom and onion soup with toasted bread and melted cheese inspired by ingredients local to Northern Montana where the TV series Yellowstone is set. From The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook by Jackie Alpers.

Texas-Style Chile con Carne

Chile Colorado con Carne recipe from The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook. In the season 4 finale of Yellowstone, the bunkhouse gets into a heated debate over whether or not chili has beans. The Unofficial Yellowstone cookbook shares a recipe for both chili with and without beans because Texas where the character “Jimmy” had recently visited, is famous for their Chile Colorado which is made without beans – it’s mainly beef and red chiles, and it is fabulous. Get the chili with beans recipe… and more in The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook.

“6666 Ranch” Pan Roasted Garlic Butter Green Beans

After a hard day’s work at the 6666 Ranch in Texas, Jimmy devoured a plate of Country Fried Steak smothered with gravy and a side of green beans. I’m sharing my recipe for Sheet Pan Roasted Green Beans to whet your appetite… you’ll have to wait for The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook for the main course.

Cara Dutton’s Irish Pasties

Traditionally made with leftover Sunday pot roast, Butte pasties are a beloved Montana via Ireland tradition to this day.

Tri-Colored Smashed Potatoes

These tri-colored smashed potatoes utilize heirloom varieties of produce, which help restore diversity to local agriculture. This recipe is an outtake, cut for space from The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook.

Beanie Weenie Tacos

Is it a hot dog? Is it a taco? Is it Beans & Franks? Yes, it is! My hot dog tacos are made with charro beans and topped with pickled red onion and a special sauce. This recipe is an excerpt from Taste of Tucson: Sonoran Style Recipes Inspired by the Rich Culture of Southern Arizona by Jackie

Sonoran Hot Dogs

Sonoran Hot Dogs are a Tucson, Arizona tradition. This recipe comes from Daniel Contreras whose restaurant, El Guero Canelo was presented with a James Beard America’s Classics Award. This is his version of the Sonoran style hot dog which I am honored to include in my cookbook, Taste of Tucson.

Grilled Sonoran-Style Carne Asada Quesadillas

Grilled flour tortillas stuffed with carne asada, green onions, cheese, & crispy corn tortilla chips for extra crunch! It’s everything you always wanted in a quesadilla but with more crunch!

Spicy, Smoky, Southwestern Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

Because I’ve been known to eat a Thanksgiving meal that consists almost entirely of mashed potatoes and gravy, I replace the cream and some of the butter in the recipe with an aromatic garlic and chile infused broth that I cook the potatoes in, resulting in lighter mashed potatoes that are BIG on flavor.

Sonoran Mexican Street Corn Cups

Recipe for Elote en Vaso. Roasted corn kernels in a creamy, cheesy sauce seasoned with chile, lime and chives.

Old West Style Chili

Old West style spicy vegan chili recipe made with plant-based meat, black beans and mushrooms. Served with vegan shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Arroz Con Pollo Recipe – Tucson Sonoran Style

This Tucson Sonoran style Arroz con Pollo recipe is made with Salsa de chile fresco for medium spicy kick of heat.

BLT Lettuce Wraps

Tomatoes are at their best, and something about the heat and humidity of the Arizona monsoon season makes me almost totally inert and immobile. This is about all I can muster dinner-wise, so I’m lucky that it’s fairly healthy… It turns out that mayo and bacon are better for us than expected, and my versions is also low-carb.

Parmesan & Pepperoni Crustless Pizza

If you bake a layer of Parmesan cheese in the oven it will crackle and pop after a while, turning into a crispy, cheese cracker that’s much tastier than any pizza crust I’ve encountered. I topped this baked cheese crisp (which is a popular dish called Frico in Italy) with pizza spices and toppings before sliding it into the oven. The results: crustless pizza!

Sonoran-Style Chicken Tortilla Soup

Make this Sonoran-Style Mexican chicken tortilla soup from the Taste of Tucson cookbook in 30 minutes or less!

Molletes for Breakfast Anytime

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.

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.

Beef Patty Tacos

Teresa Matias told me that to help satisfy her children’s cries for burgers when buns weren’t handy, she would fold a hamburger patty into a tortilla and fry it. Topped with cheese, lettuce, and tomato, it later became a regular menu item at her restaurant, Teresa’s Mosaic Cafe. Apparently, a lot of moms had the same experience, because the beef patty taco has been standard restaurant fare around southern Arizona since at least the mid-1970s.

Chicken Molé Amarillo Recipe from the Taste of Tucson Cookbook

Nuttier and less sweet than its chocolate based cousin, this version of Molé Amarillo is the personal creation of Chef Suzana Davila of Tucson’s Cafe Poca Cosa. She specializes in these complex sauces, and her recipes are longtime local favorites which is one reason why I wanted to feature the recipe in my upcoming cookbook Taste of Tucson: Sonoran Style Recipes Inspired by the Rich Culture of Southern Arizona. Serve this dish with tortillas and a pretty, salad, as Suzana would.

Sonoran Style Grilled Chicken Drumsticks

There are Southwestern regional influences that vary from New Mexico to Arizona, Texas, and Southern California. Here in Tucson, our regional cuisine is defined by fresh veggies, grilled meats and all of the delicacies that a mid-sized, sunshine filled desert city/college town, 60 miles from Mexico, has to offer. It’s summertime eating all year round.

Comfort Food