For eight busy Texans, labor-intensive dishes are out of the question. To save themselves from overtime, they trust what they do best -- simple and successful dishes.

Last fall, when we published our first "Specialty of the House," we knew home cooking was back in favor. But far from a fad, the no- frills traditions of the American kitchen have turned out to be a standard for the future. For those of us who have moved miles from home, honest and unassuming cuisine is a flashback to the wonder years. In our search for simplicity in life, a straightforward recipe that calls for neither exotic ingredients nor excruciating technique makes cooking a pleasure again. And in this health- conscious age -- when nutritionists hurl the same wrath on triglycerides that Cotton Mather hurled on the seven deadlies -- a little Brown Betty or strawberry shortcake provides that small percentage of sinfulness so necessary to a happy life.

In the latest search for our gallery of home cooks and their favorite dishes, we found that the virtues of Mom-style are being upheld across the state. But Texas, with its wealth of cultures and cuisines, is home to more than meatloaf and chicken à la king. We found a United Nations of cooking on our turf -- from Tex-Mex chicken with a Cajun twist to a recipe for Creole oysters that arrived by way of Mobile, Alabama. There is authentic (really authentic) Italian pizza, and baked shrimp with a Mediterranean pedigree. These are recipes -- some of them written down for the first time -- that get passed from generation to generation, that are family traditions and keepsakes.