"A really feel-good story with vivid characters and setting."

Colleen "Collie" Collins has lost her job, her credibility, her boyfriend and several friends because she told the truth in libel charges against her editor. Stunned at the downward turn her seemingly ideal life has taken, she doesn't put up much of a fight when a friend offers her a freelance job writing a series of articles on Texas cooking. The assignment is a far cry from the fast-paced political news she's used to covering, but the need of a job soon has her traveling the back roads of Texas, going after her first story and on the look-out for rattlesnakes.

True McKitrick, known locally as True the Tractor Man, is one of the first people Collie encounters in her travels. It's in front of his farm implement store that she runs out of gas. In a genuine show of Texas hospitality, he fills her tank, warns her to watch for deer on the highway and sends her on her way.

Collie soon discovers San Saline, Texas, is full of potential story opportunities. From learning about making Cactus Jelly at the local café and mistaking a peacock's cry as a call for help, to being chased by a herd of stampeding goats, Collie soon comes to understand the joy of living in a small community where everyone knows everyone else and things move at a leisurely pace. She encounters True again, and their paths cross more than once, thanks to some matchmaking locals, a contrary rental car and a local newspaper desperately in need of her expertise. Even True's bottle-fed cow, Biscuit, makes a matchmaking attempt.

Before Collie and True have a chance to acknowledge their growing attraction, Collie is called back to D.C., returning to the place she'd left in disgrace as a much sought-after celebrity. Suddenly, Collie has everything she's ever dreamed of, only to discover that her dreams are now full of a small town in Texas with a man named True.

Every now and then a book comes along that touches your emotions and leaves you feeling good. Ms. Wingate's TEXAS COOKING is one of them. Her characters come alive on the pages and her descriptions are so vivid, you'll hear the scratching of the peacocks on the roof and smell the blossoming bluebonnets. I laughed, I cried, and when I read the last line, I couldn't wait to tell everyone about this extraordinary book. You're going to love TEXAS COOKING!

Reviewed by Paula Myers
Courtesy Old Book Barn Gazette
Posted August 19, 2003

Summary

What seemed like a road to nowhere might be leading her straight home...

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 big- hearted residents. And despite her intentions to the contrary, she's finding it impossible to resist the infuriating True McKittrick, 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.