On Food & Culture
Chicken poached in a garlic-cumin broth is from Hidalgo, in the central Eastern region of Mexico, the homeland of the great Toltec culture. Toltec art and the huge monuments are well-known and iconic of MesoAmerica, but a lesser known fact is that the region has …
In Chicago I presented a slide show about how cooking is memory, relationship and ethics. I also conducted a cooking workshop to demonstrate how to make gorditas, working with dried chiles, cactus, corn masa, and pinto beans. No lard, thank you. It was a 4-hour …
“Nacho’s” is an original Texas Mexican (not Tex-Mex) dish that was created by culinarian, Ignacio Anaya (nickname Nacho) in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, across the river from Eagle Pass, Texas. It is a thoughtful, beautifully balanced combination of just three ingredients, corn chips, longhorn cheese and …
Riced cauliflower is an excellent “go to” recipe that I recommend you integrate into your basic home cooking reportoire. I sometimes mix it with diced tomato and chile serrano, making “arroz de coliflor a la Mexicana,” and it makes a great buffet dish. This recipe …
Potato and egg breakfast tacos were my lunch staple all through grade school. My mom would make them for all us kids, and send us off to school with these wonderful tacos wrapped inside a brown paper bag. By lunch time they were cold, but …
Mazapán Mexican candy is a cousin of Marzipan, which is made with almonds and sugar. Marzipan originates in Asia and the Middle East. Mazapán is distinctly Mexican in that it replaces the almonds with peanuts, which are of Latin American origin. We add corn, which …
Chile Con Queso is often misunderstood, confused with the so-called tex-mex dip that’s made by combining canned tomatoes, canned chiles, and Velveeta brand cheese. Even the much quoted Diana Southwood Kennedy admits that she thought Chile Con Queso was not Mexican but from Texas. In …
Cazuelitas or Sopes are a part of the Texas Mexican cuisine that exists in the region outlined in yellow (Map of the 1984 Republic of Mexico). Not to be confused with Tex-Mex, Texas Mexican is one of at least 12 related regional cuisines in the …
“Chorizo Country” and egg is a hearty and traditional Texas Mexican breakfast taco. Just ask anyone in central or south Texas. Add some freshly made tomato and Serrano chile salsa and you’ll be ready to save the world! The best breakfast tacos are made with …
These Chile Meatballs are perfect for large parties. Serve them in a crock-pot to keep them warm, and have plenty of toothpicks on hand. Meatballs or Albóndigas, illustrate the dynamism of food pathways, the routes by which foods travel via bird flights, human wars, marriages, …