Booking: 520.465.5214 • Jackie@jackiealpers.com
Salty-spicy-sweet no-bake Sonoran-style Mexican chocolate popcorn treats made with popcorn, pretzels, cashews, Sriracha sesame seeds combined with a cinnamon and red chile spiced chocolate marshmallow cream. Recipe developed for The Silicone Kitchen.
Thin-and-crispy white tortilla pizza with lemon infused ricotta, garlic and parmesan is the perfect palette for lion’s mane and blue oyster mushrooms. Recipe development a feature article on BKW Farms for Discover Marana.
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.
You may know that eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s day brings good luck in the new year, but did you know that Cowboy caviar was invented in the 1940’s by Helen Corbitt, head chef at the Zodiac Room, at the flagship Neiman Marcus Department Store in Dallas, Texas? Cowboy Caviar is the perfect mix of simple cowboy taste and upscale living which is why I had to include my version of the recipe in The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook. Everyone knows the Dutton family needs all the luck they can get.
Read moreHow to dehydrate chile peppers and grind them into chili powder and custom spice blends. Preserve an abundance of homegrown chiles or buy and dry store-bought fresh chiles when they show up at the market. You can save jars of single-variety powder or mix them into custom chili powders and spice blends. Some varieties of chiles can be expensive and/or hard to find, so don’t let a treasure trove of chiles go to waste.
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 Paprika Marinated Chicken. Comedian Jackie Kashian is funny on stage but her chicken recipe is no joke.
Recipe for a lighter version of Sonoran – Mexican style grilled corn on the cob, with chipotle, crema and lime.
My Arizona Cowboy Caviar is 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.
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
Bring the heat to your usual bourbon neat with “The Fire and the Fury Cocktail” a dramatic, hot and spicy whisky cowboy cocktail inspired by the hit series, Yellowstone and served in the same glassware used in the Dutton family home. Get the recipe for this spicy bourbon whisky cocktail infused with lime and chiles served over ice.
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.
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.
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.
BBQ hot wings recipe. Choose your own eating adventure with spice levels varying from hot to insanely hot.
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.
This spicy rattlesnake sausage chowder has a bite, but at least it won’t take a bite out of you. Inspired by Tate Dutton’s brave move in a key episode of Yellowstone. This recipe is reprinted from The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by the Dutton Family Ranch, by Jackie Alpers.
Inspired by ingredients local to the Northwestern U.S. this crunchy, spicy, sweet mixed nut brittle is perfect for holiday gifting. Walnuts, hickory nuts, and hazelnuts are grown in Montana where the television series Yellowstone is set
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.
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.
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!
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.
Sweet bell peppers stuffed with creamy nacho cheese, avocado, pickled jalapeños, black beans and crunchy tortilla chips.
This infused tequila makes a mean margarita or straight-up sipper.
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.
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.
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.
This super-refreshing citrus beer cocktail is served in a chile and salt rimmed glass over ice. It’s kinda like a beer margarita. I love it because it’s a big drink that lasts a long time and it has considerably less sugar and calories than a margarita.
Whatever happened to Rumaki, the Polynesian appetizer served at tiki parties in the 70s? Maybe buffalo-style rumaki will help bring it back.
This no-recipe recipe is my tribute dog to Sweathog, Vinnie Barbarino. This recipe has become very popular since I first created it for my monthly column on the FoodNetwork.com. The people of the Internet have spoken, and they have said that it’s a cross between a pizza and a hot dog, and that is not untrue.
Spicy Ranch French Onion Dip. Two Dips That Live As One, Together At Last!
The cheese crisp is the perfect comfort food. A cross between a Mexican pizza an an open-faced quesadilla, Southern Arizona restaurants started selling the dish more than 50 years ago and it’s become a staple of our local Sonoran style cuisine.
Healthy burrito bowl recipe with quinoa, black beans and avocado tossed in a chipotle lime vinaigrette dressing.
Why isn’t corn used in more desserts? It’s naturally sweet, and the kernels add a nice pop. These paletas are made with sweet corn, cinnamon and Tajin.
This super easy salad dressing recipe is especially good on a Greek salad, cucumber salad or Asian Chicken salad and you can make it right in the bottle if you only have a little bit of Sriracha left.
This Cauliflower coconut “Fried Rice” recipe is vegetarian yet high in protein and keto friendly.
Recipe for healthy breakfast taco cups. Low-carb tortillas filled with eggs, bacon, pinto beans, cheese and salsa.
Ohio meets Arizona! Cincinnati chili cheese nachos. “Cincinnachos” are the best of everything for snacking season. Cincinnati Style Chili, tortilla chips, kidney beans, cheddar cheese, raw onions and jalapenos.
Thai Grilled Chicken Thighs recipe. All of the ingredients for authentic Thai cuisine are available at most grocery stores. Sambal Oelek and Thai fish sauce can be found in most Asian food sections.
An unusual amount of butter and the broth from the potatoes help make the spiciest, creamiest mashed potatoes, biscuits and sausage gravy.
These wings are hot! The spiciness will vary greatly though, depending on the heat of the chili flakes you are using, and the barbecue sauce you select. This recipe also works well for boneless skinless breasts or thighs.
Cute bite-sized vegan appetizer made with veggie dogs and spicy jalapeno sauerkraut filled Fillo cups accented with a dollop of yellow mustard.
