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Chicken Adobo braised in strongly brewed coffee, coconut milk with yams. Even an average cup of coffee shines as a key ingredient in this dish. Finished with a creamy yogurt and coconut milk sauce served over rice. I highly recommend using Illyanna Maisonet’s Adobo spice blend from Burlap & Barrel. This recipe is an excerpt from my Unofficial Elf Cookbook.
Albondigas soup made with matzo balls. Two popular soups together as one – a Jewish-deli Sonoran-Mexican combination.
How to brew a pot of coffee over a campfire with a special ingredient… eggshells! From the Arizona-Mexico borderlands cookbook author Jackie Alpers.
Caldo de Queso, is a Sonora-style cheese and potato soup with green chiles, onions, and tomatoes in a light broth. Recipe by Taste of Tucson cookbook author Jackie Alpers.
Sardine tacos with cabbage, red onion and mustard salsa on homemade blue corn tortillas by Sonoran cookbook author Jackie Alpers.
What’s the difference between cornmeal and masa harina? How is masa used to make corn tortillas? Can cornmeal be used in tortillas? Get the answers and recipe for Sonoran corn tortillas from Taste of Tucson cookbook author Jackie Alpers.
Sonoran-style no-bake Mexican chocolate popcorn treats made with pretzels, cashews, Sriracha sesame seeds, cinnamon and red chile spiced chocolate marshmallow cream Chile powder and cinnamon add some kick to these sweet and spicy no-bake Mexican chocolate popcorn and pretzel treats. Recipe developed for The Silicone Kitchen.
Sonoran style thin and crispy tortilla-crust pizza with exotic mushrooms, lemon infused ricotta, garlic and parmesan from Taste of Tucson cookbook author Jackie Alpers.
Recipe for Sonoran-style goose tacos inspired by Peking Duck. These goose tacos are served on flour tortillas with hoisin sauce, salsa macha, cabbage, carrots and scallions. Food photography for this recipe is shortlisted for the 2025 World Food Photography Awards in the Food Influencer category.
Topped with chunky guacamole and jewel-like pomegranate seeds, these crispy tortilla bites from The Unofficial Elf Cookbook by Jackie Alpers exude holiday joy. Use Jackie Alpers’ Sonoran-Style Chunky Guacamole Recipe or your favorite store-bought version.
Christmastime is officially tamale season here in the Sonoran Desert, and according to my inside sources It’s also tamale season at the North Pole. This vegetarian recipe for green chile and cheese tamale pie with a quick-cooking Molé Cómodo is an excerpt from The Unofficial Elf Cookbook written with Buddy the Elf in mind. It’s a dish fit for any elf – slightly sweet and very chocolatey yet still appropriate for dinner for regular old humans.
How to dehydrate and grind chile peppers, with recipes for chili powder and custom spice blends using fresh homegrown and/or exotic store bought chiles. Preserve expensive and/or hard to find chiles.
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.
Cold gazpacho recipe with chunky fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions and peppers. The colors in the photo are a bit of an homage to Pedro Almodovar’s wonderful film, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), which was the inspiration for me making gazpacho for the very first time, years ago. (Minus the pills and drama.)
Recipe for a lighter version chipotle lime grilled corn on the cob from the Sonoran Arizona-Mexico borderlands cookbook author Jackie Alpers
Sonoran Lentil Cowboy Caviar made with is made with lentils, chile peppers and red onion in a spicy citrus vinaigrette. It’s similar to Texas Caviar made with black eyed peas and the lentils do resemble fish eggs.
Spicy, Sonoran-style Mexican green rice (arroz verde) recipe made with tomatillo salsa verde, peas and cilantro from the Taste of Tucson cookbook.
This crunchy, salty, and spicy no-mayo Thai/Mexican coleslaw is an excellent companion to Sonoran style dishes. It’s inspired by Som Tum (green papaya salad).
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.
Recipe for Sonoran Style hot green tomatillo salsa developed by Patricia Schwabe for her restaurant Penca. From the Taste of Tucson Cookbook by Jackie Alpers.
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.
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.
The topopo, Tucson’s most iconic salad is visually stunning. It’s made to look like volcano in Sonora with lettuce piled on a bean tostada and surrounded with grilled shrimp, Tajin dipped vegetables and cheese. It’s crowned with a green olive and a slice of tomato.
This pork and hominy Pozole is a traditional “low-and-slow” braising recipe. It takes about 3½ 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.
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.
Cubed beef simmered in red chile sauce for enchiladas, tacos, tostadas, salads or burritos. From the Taste of Tucson Cookbook by Jackie Alpers.
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.
This rich and creamy, charred corn chowder is made with 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 adds a nice crunch.
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.
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 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.
Sonoran carne asada, scallions, cheese and crunchy tortilla chips stuffed in quesadillas and grilled. Many years ago, Ben Galaz owner of BK Tacos taught me how to make Sonoran-style carne and cebollas asada. I’m using his recipe though he cooks the meat on a Santa Rita style grill with a wheel to adjust the height of the grate, and I use a Weber Kettle. If mesquite wood is not available, hickory, pecan or cherry are good substitutes.
Sweet and sparkly tortilla snowflakes – an edible version of the popular Mexican folk art, papel picado which will brighten any winter holiday table.
Recipe for Elote en Vaso, Mexican street corn in cups. Pan fried corn kernels tossed in a creamy sauce seasoned with chile and lime. From the Taste of Tucson Cookbook by Jackie Alpers.
This Tucson Sonoran style Arroz con Pollo recipe is made with Salsa de chile fresco for medium spicy kick of heat.
When life gives you lemons, make spicy shrimp ceviche tostadas. A bright and light Sonoran style Mexican treat.
This easy Sonoran style Mexican shrimp cocktail with crisp cucumber, creamy avocado, red onion and hot sauce is ready in about 5 minutes.
Make this Sonoran-Style Mexican chicken tortilla soup from the Taste of Tucson cookbook in 30 minutes or less!
Crispy tofu adds just the right amount of heft and bite to Chile Colorado served on crunchy baked tostada shells.
Sonoran cooking resource and shopping guide for the Taste of Tucson cookbook by Jackie Alpers, with lists of ingredients, pantry staples and photography equipment recommendations.
Molletes are open-faced breakfast sandwiches 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.
Sweet bell peppers stuffed with creamy nacho cheese, avocado, pickled jalapeños, black beans and crunchy tortilla chips.
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.
This infused tequila makes a mean margarita or straight-up sipper.
Wondering what the difference is between different types of tequila and mezcal? Includes recipes for Tequila Citrus Sipper and Paloma cocktails.
Chiltepin salsa is an all-purpose salsa that can be used for dipping, for seasoning, and as a taco sauce. A little goes a long way, so if you prefer a milder salsa, cut the amount of chiles down by a half or a third. This recipe is from the Taste of Tucson cookbook by Jackie Alpers.
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.
This crispy matzoh based breakfast is a cross between molletes and huevos rancheros. I used beans from a can and my homemade chiltepin salsa.
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.
My Sonoran style grilled chicken is made with sweet Hungarian smoked paprika mixed with hot New Mexico chili pepper, some ground unsweetened chocolate (inspired by molés), and a good California red wine blend. Healthy chickens are happy chickens. Look for free range, organic chickens who were raised without added hormones.
