This second book about Texas cooking was in response to the success of Tastes & Tales From Texas...With Love. Many readers of the first book loved the combination of tales and recipes. Often they sent a favorite family recipe and a story or a bit of history about their area, and a book began to take shape. This book fits the way Texans cook. Most Texas cooks lead very busy lives and want recipes for preparing meals that look good, tastwith Texas Hot Jalapeno Cheese: "The hospitaliity of San Antonio's Menger Hotel has been famous since before the Civil War. William Menger, who had operated a brewery since the l840's, found more and more of his customers needed a place to sleep. Menger would wipe his long tables in the bar clean and convert them into makeshift beds. In 1859 he built a hotel adjacent to the Alamo. It quickly became a favorite of the military, and it is said that Teddy Roosevelt did most of his Rough Rider recruiting at the Menger Bar. Step up to the bar today and ask for what T. R. drank and you'll be served a Boilermaker--a stein of beer and a shot of whiskey."