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 how to defrost and roast a whole goose, and shred the meat for tacos or sandwiches with step-by-step instructions.
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.
“Bye Buddy hope you find your dad.” A frosty, blue ice cream float recipe inspired by Mr. narwhal’s famous scene in the classic Christmas movie, Elf. This recipe is from The Unofficial Elf Cookbook by Jackie Alpers.
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.
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.
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.
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 a healthier, vegetarian falafel pita sandwich made with baked falafel, whole wheat pita, Greek yogurt, and lots of fresh veggies.
Recipe for Paprika Marinated Chicken. Comedian Jackie Kashian is funny on stage but her chicken recipe is no joke.
A meaty yet lighter creamy, cheesy, linguine with white clam sauce made with whole canned clams, greek olives, and tomatoes.
This snack is best eaten very late at night, preferably after attending a party of some other festive gathering. It’s easily assembled and pleasant to look at, even when blurry.
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.
After extensive research I found out what Buddy The Elf really puts on his breakfast spaghetti in one of the memorable food scenes in the movie,”ELF.” This recipe is from The Unofficial “Elf” Cookbook by Jackie Alpers.
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.
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.
Easy recipe for Watermelon Moonshine inspired by the Lainey Wilson song featured on Yellowstone. Made in a mason jar and served with lime to cut the burn.
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.
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.
How to make Beth Dutton’s famous “2 scoops of ice-cream, 3 shots of vodka” smoothie from the Yellowstone TV series from Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook.
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 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 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.
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 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.
Recipe for Mediterranean style grilled octopus served with scallions, romaine and fresh tomatoes in a light citrus vinaigrette from The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook by Jackie Alpers.
BBQ hot wings recipe. Choose your own eating adventure with spice levels varying from hot to insanely hot.
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.
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.
Shop for products from the Yellowstone TV series as seen in The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook by Jackie Alpers. This comprehensive list includes ingredients featured in the cookbook, cookware and plates and glassware used as props on Yellowstone, 1883 and 1923, and cooking resources.
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.
Recipe for Irish soda bread with blueberries and currants inspired by 1923 from The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook author 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
A Yellowstone tribute recipe to the villain Roarke drinking a green smoothie after naked yoga. This is the same drinkware used on the show! The recipe was developed from carefully analyzing all of the ingredients shown on Roarke’s kitchen counter and my conclusion is that he (or the Yellowstone prop person) can make a pretty decent green smoothie. Note: the photo is a recreation of the scene – at this point in the show he had put on a bathrobe. We didn’t get to see him naked.
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.
Dry-fried asparagus is charred and crispy on the outside, and tender on the inside. It has direct contact to the pan without oil or butter. Asparagus grows wild in Montana where the Yellowstone TV series is filmed.
Traditionally made with leftover Sunday pot roast, Butte pasties are a beloved Montana via Ireland tradition to this day.
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.
The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook’s Montana Mule cocktail is made with whisky and sarsaparilla and served in a copper mug.
A cocktail recipe from The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook author Jackie Alpers for Gin & juice – Yellowstone Style! With ingredients local to the Dutton family ranch. Drinks from the Yellowstone Bunkhouse: The Red Domino Cocktail.
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
How to perfectly grill corn in the husk for campfires or cookouts using a grill or fire pit. The secret is soaking the ears first.
The Bee’s Knees is a prohibition era, honey-sweetened gin cocktail featured in the speakeasy scene in Yellowstone’s 1923.
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 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!
Sweet and sparkly tortilla snowflakes – an edible version of the popular Mexican folk art, papel picado which will brighten any winter holiday table.
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.
Recipe for Elote en Vaso. Roasted corn kernels in a creamy, cheesy sauce seasoned with chile, lime and chives.
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.
I’m fascinated by the idea of roasting an entire head of cauliflower, so when I came across these adorable baby cauliflower at the market the wheels started turning. They make a visually stunning side dish, perfect on cold winter nights. You can substitute one large cauliflower if you can’t find the little ones.
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.
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!
Bake a little sunshine into your life with these bright and happy two-ingredient pizza flavored cheese crisps.
Make this Sonoran-Style Mexican chicken tortilla soup from the Taste of Tucson cookbook in 30 minutes or less!
Festive enough for New Year’s Eve, this pretty appetizer only takes about 5 minutes to make. Bacon infused caviar adds a unique smokiness that will intrigue your guests and is fairly inexpensive, but any decent quality caviar will do. The one-ingredient parmesan crisps are a savory, no-carb alternative to blini.
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.
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.
Learn how to make homemade sprinkles in custom colors using the royal icing method. From the author of the Sprinkles cookbook.
Meet the chefs that contributed to the Taste of Tucson Cookbook.
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 matzo based breakfast is a cross between molletes and huevos rancheros. I used beans from a can and my homemade chiltepin salsa.
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.
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.
This hibiscus agua fresca isn’t too sweet, so you can drink it all day long and even into the night (perhaps with vodka!) It’s healthy too.
A Tucson Sonoran craft cocktail made with Earl Grey tea and whisky muddled with pomegranate seeds, finished with bitters and fresh ground pepper.
Making authentic cowboy steaks is really easy. When I asked Bryan Keith, the Grill Master from Pinnacle Peak Steak House if he had any additional tips he said, “Put some love in it!”
The Moistmaker Thanksgiving Leftovers Sandwich inspired by Friends: “The One Where Ross Loses it Over a Sandwich,” with a dinner roll soaked in gravy in the center, turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce, proving that Monica is a culinary genius.
Recipe for Shakshuka made with leftover Thanksgiving stuffing. Be sure to make extra-extra stuffing for Thanksgiving so that you can make my Skillet Stuffing Shakshuka the next morning with the “leftovers”
Waffles made with leftover candied sweet potatoes are a fun Thanksgiving leftovers brunch recipe that is sure to please.
Recipe for pumpkin pie spiced baked oatmeal casserole infused with bits of actual leftover pumpkin pie.
A recipe for black spaghetti carbonara with mushrooms that is spooky looking, yet elegant enough for a Halloween themed adult dinner party.
Walnuts taste even better in pesto than pine nuts. Spinach linguine keeps this easy pasta recipe a lovely shade of green.
A modern, flavor-packed, one-pot tuna noodle casserole recipe made with healthy ingredients.
Whatever happened to Rumaki, the Polynesian appetizer served at tiki parties in the 70s? Maybe buffalo-style rumaki will help bring it back.
Beer, cheddar cheese, and pretzels — what more could you want? How about that it’s only got two ingredients and you can make it in ten minutes or less?
I marinated myself a flank steak using my mom’s recipe from the 80s, adding in some Mexican oregano and extra citrus to #sonoranize it a bit so now it’s an Ohio meets Tucson recipe.
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.
