Award-winning author, chef and food lover Cheryl Alters Jamison has published two new cookbooks that feature a Santa Fe landmark and a high-class Texas staple.  

The books share some beloved recipes and stories from the Plaza Café and the Perini Ranch Steakhouse.  

The café, owned by Leonardo Razatos, has been around for eight decades cooking up American, Greek and Northern New Mexican cuisines. It is known for many dishes including seasonal pumpkin pozole, green chile stew and coconut cream pie — all three you can find in the cookbook.   

The steakhouse, owned by Tom and Lisa Perini, is a family institution that has 40 years of history from its early days as a chuck wagon operation to now a reservation-only affair. Cowboy cooking and hospitable service are its top attributes, but don’t expect to experience them unless you are willing to travel to the small town of Buffalo Gap, Texas.  

On the latest “Conversations Different” podcast, host Inez Russell Gomez is joined by Alters Jamison who reflects on writing the two cookbooks and shares what it was like getting to know both families in the process. She said hearing their stories was among the most fascinating parts of both collaborations.  

In the episode, she also talks about her travels abroad which involve taking a group of people on culinary tours to explore different foods and cultures the world has to offer.  

More information about the cookbooks and the food tours can be found on Alters Jamison’s website excitedaboutfood.com.