"Foods and Flavors of San Antonio"

This week is all about Gloria Chadwick's newest cookbook, Foods and Flavors of San Antonio. By now, most of you have seen the promotions on this excellent cookbook from other food bloggers: Reeni from Cinnamon, Spice and Everything Nice, Megan from Megan's Munchies, and of course the wonderful and illustrous Tiersa ( I call her Cheffy) from Chef Bliss.

We all believe that Gloria's cookbook is a wonderful representation of the array of Tex-Mex food indicative of the mouth-watering cuisine available in San Antonio. The recipes are simple and easy to prepare, leaving any foodie enthusiast without a reason not to indulge in a cultural delight that is and has been sweeping the nation with the ever increasing numbers of the Mexican-American population.

Gloria is not new to the publishing world. She has published a multitude of books ranging from cooking, to writing, to the metaphysical. She's an outsanding researcher, writer and humorist. Owning one of her books will list you in an elite group of people that recognize the benefits of sharing in her knowedge.

Here's where I come in. I have two Foods and Flavors of San Antonio books to give away. I don't do Twitter and my Facebook page is mostly for family - sometimes it's the only way to keep in touch with hard to reach brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews.



Each day this week I will post in reference to Gloria's cookbook. All you have to do is leave a comment and your name will be dropped in the "hat". Write a post about Gloria's book in your own blog and or put up a picture of the book with a link to her blog and you will get an added opportunity to win a copy of her cookbook. Just drop me a note telling me what you've done.



Tell you what. Since Gloria and I share a love of both chocolate and coffee (oh yeah, and Kahlua) I'll go a step further. The winner of each copy of Foods and Flavors of San Antonio will also receive a copy of my ebook, Mexican Chocolate Recipes. Can't beat that. Two for the price of one. I'm not trying to self-promote here, I just would like to encourage you to experience the joy of cooking Mexican. Gloria's cookbook will help you do that.

The two recipes I have made from Gloria's book are Kahlua Cookies and Kahlua Coffee.
Kahlua Coffee

2 cups hot, strong coffee
1/2 cup tequila
1/2 cup Kahlua
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream

Brew the coffee in a coffee maker.
Add the tequila, Kahlua and vanilla to the coffee in the carafe. Stir well to mix.
Add the sugr and stir until it is completely dissolved. Pour into cups and drizzle in the cream. Serve hot.
Variations: To make Cool Kahlua Coffee, place the prepared coffee in te refrigerator for 20 minutes, then pour into cups and drizzle the cream. Serves 4.

Kahlua Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cups cocoa
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup Kahlua
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 large eggs
Confectioners' Sugar

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, brown sugar and cocoa.
In a separate medium-size bowl, whisk together the melted butter, oil, Kahlua, vanilla and eggs.
Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix well. Chill the dough 12 hours or overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a cookie sheet of lay a sheet of parchment paper on the cookie sheet to prevent sticking. Sprinkle confectioners' sugar on a plate.
Using a melon baller or a small cookie scooper, make 1 cookie at a time rolling it in the powdered sugar before placing it on the prepared cookie sheet.
Place cookies about 1 1/2 inches apart on sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or just until the cookie is set and the centers are not liquid. Do not overbake. When the cookies are cooled, they will puff and crack. Cool 5 minutes on a cooling rack then remove cookies and place on a plate. Do not stack cookies for at least 1 hour.

Yields 3 dozen.

You can enter as many times as you wish, the more the merrier. The winners will be announced on Saturday, May 2nd. Good Luck!