Stirring Prose

Initially conceived as a Who's Who of Texas authors, Stirring Prose was born of Deborah Douglas's brilliant deduction that asking authors to write about their favorite recipes freed them from "the big toe-digging constraints of having to talk directly about themselves". Thirty-nine Texas writers offered up a favorite concoction, and their reflections about the recipe's genesis and meaning give revealing glimpses of their personalities and writing styles.Not a traditional cookbook in the Betty Crocker sense, Stirring Prose is distinctively personal. Billy Porterfield reveals his fantasies about a voluptuous restaurant owner and a dream-enhanced recipe for "game hen fricassee with a French New Guinea twist". Sunny Nash gives an enticing snapshot of her grandmother. Bigmama, and divulges the secret to beautiful skin with Bigmama's Mysterious Rose Water Splash. And John Erickson shares his Bachelor Cowboy's Delight, the meal he eats over and over when his wife and children are out of town, and which consists of steak, lettuce salad, and green peas.Some of these recipes, such as Dr. (Larry L.) King's Asian Flu Hot Liquid Life-Saver, almost beg for a "do not try this at home" disclaimer. Others, such as Cindy Bonner's Bohemian Kolaches and Clay Reynolds's Tex-Mex Breakfast, will send readers straight to the kitchen for some serious egg breaking.Each recipe is accompanied by a photograph, a publication list. and an engaging, personalized introduction by Douglas, herself a fine writer.Although not a comprehensive collection of Texas writers (some writers are not yet authors, and some perhaps demurred for culinary or pecuniary reasons), Stirring Prose: Cooking with Texas Authors is adelicious introduction to Texas writers and a virtual dinner party to be enjoyed vicariously.