The Mossback Cafe Cookbook

By Thomas Fenske

"The Mossback" first appeared in the pages of Thomas Fenske's novel, THE FEVER, when fictional cafe owner Smidgeon Toll proudly delivered a serving of Huevos Rancheros Especial to Sam, the book's hero. The description of the dish's spicy goodness spurred numerous readers to ask the author, "Is that a real dish?"

Now you can find out for yourself as Smidgeon steps out of the pages of the novel to share this recipe with you, along with many others.

You will love her quirky, homespun wisdom and down-to-earth country cafe cooking as she gives insight into what has made The Mossback a unique and delightful locale in the world of fictional eateries.

Smidgeon explains how to make her awesome biscuits, introduces the cafe's locally famous chili, and provides details about their fork-tender barbecue. She also spins a tale or two as she introduces readers to other favorites like "That BLT" (with its full-sized heap of bacon), the "Double Trouble Dog" (refried beans and guacamole on a hot dog?), and everybody's favorite, the "Best-Danged Buttermilk Pie" you've ever tasted.

As an added bonus, she shares her famous potato salad secret and she might even include a trade secret or two!

So, mosey on in ... there just might be some breakfast tacos or enchiladas lurking in your future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Fenske
• Release date: Mar 18, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370905836

Book preview

Other Books by Thomas Fenske

The Fever

A Curse That Bites Deep

The Mossback Café

Cookbook

A companion book to

The Fever and

A Curse That Bites Deep

By Smidgeon Toll, proprietor

Compiled and published by Thomas Fenske

A few notes:

The recipes are from a US perspective; chili powder refers to a Mexican-style chili powder. For a substitute, try mixing finely ground ancho pepper, salt, and ground cumin.

I did not include recipes for common items like guacamole, refried beans, and salsa. Refried beans and salsa are readily available in most stores. For guacamole, the simpler, the better -- mix well: mashed ripe avocados, a splash of lemon juice, and a splash of salsa; salt to taste. For Salsa, you can also use the less chunky product known as picante sauce.

About heating corn tortillas: some people fry them for a few seconds, but they can also be wrapped in wax paper or a clean kitchen towel and heated in the microwave. If doing 10 or twelve for enchiladas, do them for about a minute in twenty-second intervals, rearranging them after each time. If heating less, reduce the time. The same rule applies for flour tortillas. Just remember, the heating is to make them more pliable for folding and rolling.

The recipes for Chicken Cornbread Casserole and Corn Casserole were both originally developed using a product called Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. The dry cornbread dry ingredients listed are based on substitution recipes.

Another wonderful version of Huevos Rancheros Especial was developed for an episode of the video channel Hilah Cooking (hilahcooking.com).

Also note that there is an awesome and charming Mossback Café in Kingson, Washington. This book has no connection with them, but they are awesome folks, so go visit if you are up that way.

Find more information about Thomas Fenske and his books at:

http://www.thefensk.com

The Fever and A Curse That Bites Deep

are published by Wings ePress (books-by-wings-epress.com))

Both are available in paperback and ebook.

Published by Thomas Fenske

Copyright 2017 Thomas Fenske, Mebane NC, USA

Introduction

The Mossback Cafe is a fictional West Texas café that provides a frequent setting in my first novel, The Fever. It is even more prominent in the sequel, A Curse That Bites Deep. Both books are published by Wings-ePress. This cookbook is an independently published companion book to those two novels.

The term mossback has quite an interesting etymology, with several distinct usages. The most common current definition refers to an older curmudgeonly fellow dead-set in his ways. During the Civil War, men who