Texas Cooking

Texas Hill Country #1

by Lisa Wingate, Johanna Parker (Narrator)

No one is more surprised than Colleen Collins when she's offered a job writing fluffy magazine articles about rural Texas cooking. But after only a few days in the charming little town of San Saline, the big-city reporter is falling for the local residents, and finding it impossible to resist the infuriating True McKittrick, a local boy-made-good whose mere presence makes her feel alive...and at home.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit, Audiobook, Contemporary, Christian Fiction, Contemporary Romance

Audiobook

First published September 2, 2003

About the author

Lisa Wingate is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Before We Were Yours, which remained on the bestseller list for over two years. Her award-winning works have been selected for state and community One Book reads, have been published in over forty languages, and have appeared on bestseller lists worldwide. The group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa and six others as recipients of the National Civics Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life. She lives in Texas and Colorado with her family and her deceptively cute little teddy bear of a dog, Huckleberry. Find her at www.lisawingate.com, on Facebook at LisaWingateAuthorPage, or on Instagram @author_lisa_wingate

Reviews

[Cyndi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute romance. It captures the small town friendliness of Texas nicely. Just so you know, Texas has A LOT of small towns. The vast majority of them are full of friendly people who will make you feel “at home.” Although they will tease you when you don’t understand some of the idioms, they don’t always mean to be exclusive. They just think most people not from Texas are kinda funny.
So, back to the book. Our heroine comes to a small town planning to write an article for a cooking magazine and discovers much more. She finds a tight knit community that is more than happy to let her in so she can find romance with our damaged hero. But, don’t read this hoping for recipes.

[Amanda Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by Lisa Wingate. I had never even heard of her until I bought the 2nd of this series from someone selling some used paperbacks. I picked this one up to read before the one I purchased, and I'm glad to find I enjoyed it. I've been a big fan of Debbie Macomber for the last year or two so I find these to be sort of similar.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure if my enjoyment was watered down by the narrator or by the book itself. I liked the downhome feeling and the city girl out of her element portion but eventually it ended up simply as a "cute story" Cute isn't enough for me. I liked the first and last sections of the book the best. I detected a last inspiration from the author to finish the book. I usually don't want to pick up that in a book.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for BookCrossing a while back and here's what I wrote:

I finished reading this last night, and am quite contented. There's something about a well crafted love story, that can be satisfying, and this one did just that. The depth that Lisa Wingate brought into her story was a welcome surprise. I'd read more of this genere if, like this book, there was less of the heaving bosom and rock hard manhood, and more of the exploration of true heart and true soul.

I have a habit of using little sticky markers to identify passages. There were so many places I wanted to mark, that the book now resembles a pink porcupine.(see somewhat crummy photo with this entry.)

For starters, there is the marvelous discussion of making biscuits as therapy with Mrs H.

"Making biscuits is good therapy. You start out with a bunch of things that taste bad on their own--flour and shortening, dash of salt, and so forth. You mix them all together and get something that looks like it'll always be a mess, then you work on it for a while, until it starts to look better." As she spoke, we kneaded, and my ball of sough started to resemble hers. "Then you roll it out flat." She demonstrated with her rolling pin, and I followed suit. "And you cut it out, piece by piece, until it's all lined up in the pan, orderly and just as it should be." She winked at me as I used the cutter to produce biscuits that were only slightly less professional-looking than hers.

I couldn't help looking at my work and feeling a sense of accomplishment. It really was kind of fun. "Not to bad, If I do say so myself"

Mrs H. winked when I glanced at her. "Kind of gives you faith in the ability of a mess to work into something good."

I am a great cook, and can bake delicious breads and cakes. I am a firm believer in the theraputic nature of bread making, but for some reason am a terrible maker of light and airy biscuits. If urbanite Collie can learn to make biscuits, so can I!

As to peafowl, I grew up around them. What a god-awful shriek for such pretty birds! I always thought they sounded like they were saying "Har-VEY", as if calling for some stray child or husband. The idea of San Saline being hell, with peafowl, made me chuckle.

But this is not a book about loud, but beautiful birds. It is a book about life, and love and learning to live fully. The parts that touched me the most were those that dealt with this. Not just burning passion, but that completely mystical experience when you look at someone and the rest is history. Like looking at the horizon and almost be able to "see tomorrow coming".

Malachi's sermon at after the fish fry at the church was marvelous (he could give my pastor a few lessons.)

"When you look at your bretheren, look with your heart and not your mind. Love with your heart and not your mind. The mind changes like a river, but the heart is lastin' like the sea, God is in your heart."

[Melissa (Semi Hiatus Until After the Holidays) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soon after newspaper reporter Colleen "Collie" Collins was fired from her D.C. job after refusing to lie under oath during a libel trial, her boyfriend of six years broke up with her. She languishes on the couch for weeks feeling sorry for herself, until her college roommate Laura calls with the offer of a job. The only catch is the task itself - writing a series of articles on Texas cooking for Southern Woman magazine. Collie considers this fluff compared to the business articles she is used to writing, but finally agrees to go forward, with a trip to Texas for research.

Stumbling her way to San Saline, she encounters a series of obstacles. Horror stories about rattlesnakes scare her, and then her rental car breaks down at night outside a tractor dealership in the middle of nowhere. With no cell phone service, a non-functional car, and no one in sight, Collie is at her wit's end, when True McKitrick shows up and helps out. The Hawthorne House Bed and Breakfast is a breath of fresh air, complete with Southern hospitality. There's a hilarious turn of events the next morning, and Collie is introduced to many residents of the town, all with stories to tell about food, family, and friendship.

As the days pass, Collie finds herself more at home than she believed possible. Writing about her experiences is 'like opening a treasure chest filled with wonderful stories and endless possibilities.' Collie and True grow closer, helping each other through funny and frustrating incidents. True enjoys seeing this 'city girl' blunder her way through small town life, and Collie rolls her eyes at True's ignorance of what she considers the 'real world.' But what is True hiding behind his 'aw-shucks' demeanor? When Collie is summoned back to D.C. to give interviews about a big scandal, she quickly falls back into her old lifestyle. Is there hope for Collie and True, or is their relationship doomed because they come from two different worlds?

This is another finely crafted winner from consummate storyteller Lisa Wingate. It's rich in description and memorable characters, full of delicious humor and charm. Collie and True have a wonderful romance, yet both their pasts keep creeping into the idyllic present. Collie is a feisty go-getter, who comes to discover her softer side. True has hardened his cowboy heart, only to have Collie surprisingly break through. The stories told by the different people of the town, and the vivid descriptions of food make Texas Cooking something to savor. I found myself writing different quotes in my journal to ponder over later, thoughts about friendship, life, and love.

The political storyline toward the end seemed out of place and detracted from the heart-warming story for me, with too much time spent on descriptions of the scandal, which didn't add to the plot. But as a whole, Texas Cooking is one of the best love stories I have read this year, one that kept me devouring pages late into the night.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the slightly flowery descriptions of the Texas hill country while listening to this sweet romance. The characters were REAL characters. It was so easy to picture the people going about their rural lives and valuing the little things that city life often passes by in haste. The relationship between the main characters was almost secondary to all the relationships and history in the telling.

[Kasey · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a typical romance than Good Hope Road and Tending Roses, but still one of my favorites because of the bits of wisdom mixed in.

[☼♎ Carmen the Bootyshaker Temptress ☼♎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the sweetness of this book. How friendly all the people in Texas were to Colleen. They made her feel so at home and welcomed. They even joked with her and Colleen learned as well from these people. It was a fun story to read.

[Cait | GoodeyReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

MADE ME SMILE.

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I was out there searching for something light, could make me smile and just be a simple read. A friend recommended this and I wasn’t disappointed. Texas Cooking is nothing special, but it made me laugh, I was into the relationship and I just felt good after reading it.

Many of the remarks and antics in this book had me busting up. It really did feel like being in small town Texas. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the wide open spaces this setting brought on. It made me want to run to the countryside and see some true stars for the first time in awhile.

This romance was sweet natured and full of heart. Honestly, this easily read as a Hallmark movie. I loved Colleen and True’s interactions were cute. They both got to learn about each other and got some laughs and great kissing moments along the way. I love how it worked out and the conflict wasn’t over blown.

A very quick read and romance (took place over a week). I gratefully didn’t find it to be too insta-love because of the way it flowed into the story. The political/scandal happening where Colleen used to work felt out of place at times and kind of stuffed in there to add drama. I’m curious about the other books in this series though so I may check them out.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary romance
- Language: a little
- Romance: kisses / make-outs
- Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of losing a child (by drowning); racism

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

The characters? Lame. The plot? Cheesy. What was there to love about this book? Not much.

Collie Collins (no lie), the protagonist, has been given some pity freelance work writing floozy articles about a few little towns in Texas. Having just emerged on the losing side of a big political scandal in the journalism world, she accepts it begrudgingly. However, when she finally ends up in San Saline and gets to know the residents there, she winds up liking it and the hunky cowboy who runs the local newspaper there. But will she be able to put her big-city, Yankee past behind her to live in Nowheresville, USA, with a man she might love?

Yeah, that description was terrible. So was the book. Collie was trying to hold on to her serious journalist background through the whole book while being overcome with weird, poetic feelings about the small-town life she found herself in. I think Wingate was trying to show a transformation, but it just made Collie seem a bit bi-polar. Her love interest, a cowboy-turned-newspaper-editor, was rich and hunky and came with a secret past of lost love and disappointment. Altogether, it was unbelievably unbelievable.

Surprisingly, 11/18 people gave it 5 stars on Amazon. I’m guessing these are legit romance novel fans, which I am not. I’ll admit that my taste in books isn’t exactly respectable - chick lit isn’t something to brag about - but this was way below even my standards.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahhh, Lisa Wingate is such a breath of fresh air!

From back cover:

"No one is more surprised than Colleen Collins when she's offered a job writing fluffy magazine articles about rural Texas cooking. The big-city investigative reporter knows nothing about goats, prickly pears, or peafowl, and to make matters worse, she can't even cook. But thanks to a political scandal that cost Collie her job, her boyfriend, and now-with this demeaning assignment-her self-respect, she has no choice but to drag herself out of bed and head to the Texas hill country.

After only a few days in the charming little town of San Saline, Collie finds her affection growing for its bighearted residents. And despite her intentions to the contrary, she's finding it impossible to resist the infuriating True McKitrick, a local boy made good whose mere presence makes her feel utterly alive...and inexplicably at home. Soon, this unlikely romantic pairing is stirring up more than just desire. It's making Collie wonder about the life that once seemed perfect-and the chance of starting over...with a man who's True."

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Someone loaned me this and it was my first exposure to the author. It will be my last, just not my kind of book. I realize that some people love small town life and the Texas scenery sounds beautiful but it's too cute how everyone loves living without modern conveniences. I agree that some people can get carried away by technology but the implication is that if you like creature comforts you're verging on immoral and evil.

The plot and the ending are telegraphed from page one which is true of most books in the romance genre, this one just seemed too heavy handed.

It's the first in the trilogy and I peeked at the first few pages of the next book included with this one, didn't pique my interest.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book- it’s a feel good story and the characters are delightful. It was written in the early 2000s but I enjoyed going back to a time before there was social media and texting. Even in the early 2000s, not everyone had a cell phone (and if they did, it wasn’t always turned on, it was for emergencies only). This was an easy read (although I listened to an audiobook version but it was a quick listen). It can be read or listened to over a weekend. I look forward to checking out other books by the author.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A contemporary romance about Callie Collins, a D.C. newspaper writer, who has come to Texas to write articles on Texas cooking because she's out of work. At first scornful of being in "Nowhere, Texas", she soon grows to love the slow pace of life there--and True McKitrick. When the opportunity of her life back in D.C. comes along, she has a choice to make--to follow her mind or to follow her heart.

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Texas Cooking" is like what Colleen calls her articles about San Saline - fluff. Wingate descriptions of the landscape and the people are so captivating that I want to go there and see for myself.

The first few chapters reminded me of Lynn Austin's "Wonderland Creek". But later, the romance and more fluff took over. The romance is sweet with True being a typical perfect male.

The narrator, Johanna Parker did a great job on the Texan accents - no over-the-top stuff.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colleen a.k.a Collie finds herself without a job, a boyfriend and in a very dark apartment. She's a journalist who did the right thing and is now being sent by an editor friend to Texas to write about food (something she eats, not cooks) and finds more than she ever thought possible.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Typical fluff romance. It was so predictable I had to force myself to finish the book.

[Norma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wingate's Texas series was a disappointment. All three books in the series have the same basic formula fiction plot and ending. I expected more from her after the Tending Roses series.

[Emaly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. It occasionally veered strongly into Sapsville, but at least the main character recognized it. I can relate to a character who is probably sappier that she would like to admit.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet book about a woman from DC who finds herself (literally and figuratively) in a small town in Texas.

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed listening to this novel, great narrator ! If you're in need of a sweet story and happy ending, this is a good choice...

[Shelly Dowdy]

great book. hard to find a stopping point, wanted to just keep reading;

[Rebekah kjos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book about 10 years ago and when I found it again I had to reread it since I didn't remember much about it. I didn't think very highly of it before since it's a romance, but my opinion went up after I read it a second time.
Collie is a freelance writer who has the job of writing a series of articles about some of the local food in small-town Texas. She arrives in her first town (her home base for the articles) and is not impressed by the tiny town. What follows is a series of local stories and recipes, car trouble, friendships, and matchmaking.
What really sets this book apart, and why I loved it so much this time around, are the stories. Collie hears all sorts of stories about the people and community of San Saline, Texas. From the pastor who works a second job to raise money for his baptistery to the women's luncheon that started off as a meeting to get the vote for women, the stories pull you in.
Flowing through Collie's experiences and found stories is True McKittrick, the local eligible bachelor, who Collie doesn't like at first (the feeling is mutual), and who the bed and breakfast owner OF COURSE tries to set Collie up with.
The romance plot was a bit cheezy, but mostly pure fluff. It's got plenty of laughs (and cow kisses), even if the romance goes just a little too fast.
Still, it's a feel-good book that I found myself enjoying more the second time around.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clean christian story that is well written and kept my interest. This is a sweet and charming story, about character growth and development with heartfelt emotion. New to me author, it has plenty of romantic feels but no sex only kissing.
Colleen Collins aka "Collie" a high powered journalist from Washington DC is left blackballed and out of work due to testifying against her employer because she didn't take the blame for his screw up but told the truth. She's lost her longtime boyfriend (he didn't want her disgrace to taint his ambitions). She's lost her job, reputation and has been laying around for weeks hiding and avoiding everyone. She then gets forced to take a short job writing some articles for a southern women's magazine.
Collie the city girl is like a fish out of water in Texas. I love the peacocks and everything about them is TRUE. My neighborhood is lousy with them and yes you get used to them screaming bloody murder and walking on the roof. The locals are so nice to her even though she is a yankee lol. The more she learns about them the more she relaxes and starts to feel a sense of home and finds what her heart wants and needs.

[Zain Effendi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book. It brought me straight back to the 'innocence' of the 90's. I grew up watching romantic comedies and I grew to love the typical cinematic cliches and tropes that made those movies great. We live in such a polarized and dark reality now twenty years into the millenium and I do believe that there has never been a better time in modern society to dive back into the care-free romantic comedies like we had in the 90's. I recently read Lisa Wingate's Before We Were Yours and I was blown away by the prose and general writing skill displayed in the book. I decided I wanted to travel through time with Lisa and get a better understanding of how she ended up where she did, how she became the writer that she became. I started here at Texas cooking and I just loved my experience with the book. If you're looking for a light, happy, and very fee-good-about-life read then I could not think of a better read than Texas Cooking!

[Linda Klager · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colleen Collins' boss was involved in some shady business deals. She was let go from her job.

A dear friend gave her a job in San Saline, Texas. She was to write about various dishes famous to that area. Colleen was working in Washington, D.C. Going to this area in Texas was a real cultural shock. She was given a rental car that constantly had mechanical problems.

I loved all the interesting people in San Saline. I was especially happy to hear about Colleen's great relationship with a black preacher.

The truth was brought out about her evil boss, and she was offered a very lucrative position to go back and start her career again in Washington, D.C. She had mixed feelings because the people in Texas were so "down to earth" compared to the ones in D.C.

[AlegnaB † · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many people associate Lisa Wingate with Christian fiction. I don’t consider this book to be a Christian fiction book, it was not published by a Christian publishing house, and it is not classified as Christian or religious at Amazon. Biblical morality regarding sex is nonexistent; the main female character had lived with her ex-boyfriend for years (with not so much as a hint in the book that there’s anything wrong with that), and the two main characters “sleep together” at the end without being marriage. There are several uses of profanity. In other words, it’s like other secular “clean” romances. I was disappointed in this book.

[Niki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very well-written, beautifully worded story. I listened to the audio version and I really liked the narrator, which is a big deal and a somewhat rare thing for me, and why I tend to stay away from audiobooks in general. But, I wanted something to walk the dog to and this was available. I was a little hesitant at first because I'd seen reviews elsewhere that it was Christian fiction and that's generally not my thing. But the topic was well placed, it just seemed to fit and flow, never coming off as preachy, forced or self-serving. The characters were multi-dimensional and real, and the storyline was sweet without being sappy. Overall, a beautiful and satisfying book.

[Emily Nichols · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got through 75% of the audiobook before I decided it wasn’t worth another 2.5 hours to finish listening to it.

I loved Lisa Wingate’s series set in the Outer Banks that began with The Prayer Box. I had hoped this series would be more like that, but this is much heavier on the romance side of things. Not really my genre.

I do think Wingate does a good job of dropping hints of information that make you want to stick around for the big reveal. I was just disappointed this one was more of a romance than the other books I’ve read by Wingate.

[Niki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always liked any of Lisa Wingate's books that I have read so was happy to come across a few new ones. This is the first in the series Texas Hill Country and I loved it. I read A LOT of romances and actually remember the story line for this book as well as the next one in the series. Usually I have to look at the description to see the story for a reminder. The story is fun and a little unbelievable but enjoyable.