Take a Recipe Road Trip
Illustrations by Courtney Jentzen
When I was little, we took a lot of family road trips. Most of my memories are entwined with the food we ate: boiled lobsters with butter on a summer day in Maine, green chile cheeseburgers in New Mexico, huckleberry-topped pancakes in a coffee shop in Oregon.
This lifelong passion for traveling and eating sparked the idea for the Little Local Cookbooks, a beautiful series of books highlighting food destinations around the country from Portland Oregon to Cape Cod, Maine, Texas, San Francisco, New Orleans and beyond. This year especially, the Little Local Cookbooks became become portals—a way to travel right from our own kitchens, to embark on a road trip of the imagination.
Written by culinary experts, each cookbook is filled with regional recipes, along with illustrations of iconic landmarks and landscapes: a little love letter to its place of origin—intended for visitors and locals alike as a tangible reminder of a place they’d come to know and love.
This spring, we invite you to dive into a Little Local Cookbook, and take your tastebuds on a road trip. The destination is up to you.
A Little Taste of San Francisco
With pastel-pretty Victorians, vintage cable cars, and—of course—the world-famous crimson span of the Golden Gate, San Francisco looms large in the collective imagination. So, too, does San Francisco food. Thanks to the city’s history, as a cultural melting pot, and location, near farms and fisheries, many beloved dishes were born—or perfected—in the City by the Bay. Cook up your own California dream in the spring, in the form of grilled artichokes with herb butter. Or transport yourself to Fisherman’s Wharf by cooking Dungeness crab, then serving it, chilled, with Meyer lemon–herb vinaigrette. And for a nostalgic taste of childhood-at-the-beach, whip up a batch of oatmeal cookies, dip them in chocolate, and use them to make ice cream sandwiches: your very own personal, homemade It’s-Its.
Courtney Jentzen
The top must-see in Portland? Powell’s, a bookstore so vast, it requires a color-coded map to navigate. It’s an appropriate mascot for a city that’s also home to a vibrant arts district and a slew of makerspaces, a city with creativity woven into its DNA. That creativity also shows up in the food scene, thanks to chefs, brewers, and bakers who embrace experimentation to forge surprising, delicious creations. Channel their creativity this summer, by making a butter lettuce salad with summer fruits and hazelnut vinaigrette. Or cook up some hearty, woodsy comfort, in the form of wild mushroom and pancetta risotto. And, since, no taste bud road trip to Oregon would be complete without donuts, whip up a batch of baked apple cider donuts to savor at the end (or beginning!) of the day.
Home to dramatic sandstone spires, towering, stately saguaro cacti, and—of course—the jaw-droppingly grand Grand Canyon, the Southwest has long been a Hollywood darling. Over the years, the region’s dramatic scenery has made star turns in movies and TV shows ranging from Stagecoach to Forrest Gump, The Brady Bunch to classic Wil E. Coyote cartoons. And just as that landscape is so recognizable, so beloved, so too is Southwestern food. Make those favorites in your own kitchen, starting with the perfect margarita. We think it pairs well with anything, but it’s especially excellent with a green chile cheeseburger. End on a sweet note with a classic dish with a Southwestern twist: chocolate chile fondue.
True to its nickname, the Lone Star State is a singular—and independent—place. After all, Texas was once an independent sovereign state, the Republic of Texas, for a decade in the 1800s, and students still pledge allegiance to the Texas flag today. That feisty independent spirit has shaped Texas food as, over the years, chefs and home cooks have melded myriad influences—Mexican, African-American, Native American, Cajun, Creole, British, Irish, German, Czech, Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian, Jewish, and Dutch—to create a cuisine that’s particularly Texan. Pay tribute to the Lone Star State in your kitchen by whipping up a plate of nachos, followed by a hearty batch of Texas chili. (You might even serve that chili over chips, creating your own DIY Frito pie.) And, when you can get a hold of fresh peaches, embark on a most Texan project: make pickled peaches.
The enduring symbol of New Orleans? The second line: a joyous street parade, in which a nattily dressed grand marshal and a brass band lead a group of dancing revelers through the streets. The second line is a vital part of life in the Big Easy, a city with a spirit of celebration woven into its very DNA. Tap into that infectious joie de vivre in your own kitchen, by fixing yourself a sazerac: a sweet, spicy sipper that’ll transport you to the French Quarter. You might pair that cocktail with another NOLA classic, red beans and rice. Then, for a little taste of Mardi Gras, bake your very own king cake—plastic baby optional!
Miles upon miles of sandy shoreline. Harbors filled with colorful boats, their sails flapping in the breeze. Seaside clam shacks hawking clam strips and lobster rolls and fish ‘n’ chips. Everywhere you look, everything in Cape Cod leads back to the sea. Bring in that seaside energy by making that most iconic of Bay State dishes: New England clam chowder. While the soup’s simmering, stir yourself a sweet-tart Cape Codder. Take a sip, and we swear you’ll feel the sea breeze in your hair. End the meal with a classic New England dessert: strawberry-rhubarb crumble.
Dotted with wooden covered bridges and centuries-old dairy farms, laced with two-lane roads, Vermont evokes an earlier era. So, too, do a lot of Vermont recipes, many of which were born out of traditional techniques, harnessed by early native and Anglo residents, as our author Melissa Pasanen explained when we chatted with her about the book. Read all about it, then get a taste of the state’s rich culinary tradition in the form of maple bacon skillet biscuits, a breakfast favorite made like an upside-down cake. Follow those with apple and cheddar hand pies, savory-sweet pies mingling two of Vermonters’ favorite foods. And, for a special, Vermont-y occasion, get your bake on and make a maple cream pie.
Illustration by Courtney Jentzen
Winslow Homer, Andrew Wyeth, John Steinbeck, and EB White—the list of artists and writers who’ve drawn inspiration from Maine goes on and on and on. That’s not surprising, given the state’s rocky coastline, pristine lakes, and snow-capped mountains, which earned Maine its nickname: Vacationland. Read all about the Pine Tree State—and why the lobster there really is the best in the world—in our interview with author Annie Copps. Then take a culinary vacation of your own, with a fresh-made lobster roll. It’s worth special ordering fiddlehead ferns to pickle; that way, you can savor the taste of Maine year-round. Wrap your food road trip with popovers with strawberry-ginger jam: a sweet treat that many vacationers enjoy during high tea on the lawn of the Jordan Pond Home at Acadia National Park.
For more regional recipe ideas, check out A Little Taste of San Francisco, The Little Local Portland Cookbook, The Little Local Southwest Cookbook, The Little Local Texas Cookbook, The Little Local New Orleans Cookbook, A Little Taste of Cape Cod, The Little Local Vermont Cookbook, and The Little Local Maine Cookbook, available on Indiebound and wherever books are sold.