Fish and Seafood

Fish Fry Menu Is Native American And Spanish

Fish Fry Menu Is Native American And Spanish

This fish fry menu includes a rich sauce and a salad.  Fish fry is traditional in the southern US, although the actual frying technique, well, not so recent. The Spanish brought it with them “Between A.D. 900 and 1500 most Native Americans living in Texas […]

Shrimp Etouffee pops with Chile De Arbol

Shrimp Etouffee pops with Chile De Arbol

Shrimp Etouffee always reminds of me how chiles are beloved all over the world. Cajun cuisine adopted Mexican chiles, creating new tastes, and the results are inspired. Chile dulce (bell pepper) is essential to cajun cuisine. Because it has no capsaicin, chile dulce (sweet chile) […]

Spanish Paella Is All About Friendships

Spanish Paella Is All About Friendships

Paella is Spanish for friendship, right? Well, it should be.  Friendships seem to surround Spanish paella, both making it and eating it.  Although it’s famous all over Texas and Mexico, it’s still a Spanish paella, not Mexican. In the late 1800s and through the 1900s, […]

Grouper With Chile Ancho Almond Mole

Grouper With Chile Ancho Almond Mole

Grouper is a very large, some would say gigantic,  fish that can be found in the Gulf of Mexico, close to Texas and Florida. The Spanish name for grouper is mero.  It has a distinctive but mild taste and here I serve it with a […]

Powdered Shrimp Cakes: A Mexican Culinary Heritage

Powdered Shrimp Cakes: A Mexican Culinary Heritage

My amá (mom) served these powdered shrimp cakes regularly during Lent, especially on Good Friday because we were following the Catholic practice of doing penance by not eating meat. We rarely had meat at our table, so the penance part of this was always a […]

The History of Texas Mexican Cooking

The History of Texas Mexican Cooking

I grew up with my ama’s (mom) Texas Mexican cooking.  Texas Mexican cooking just like Oaxaca Mexican, Puebla Mexican and all the other regional styles of Mexican cooking, is best described as comida casera home-style-cooking.  Enjoyed by Mexican American families today, this unique cuisine has […]

Nopalitos Shrimp Gorditas – Cactus Is Perfect Party Dish

Nopalitos Shrimp Gorditas – Cactus Is Perfect Party Dish

Nopalitos shrimp gorditas evoke two very different landscapes of the Texas-Mexico food region:  the Gulf coast and the semi-dessert. The map shows the region of south Texas/northern Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas sharing the Gulf of Mexico.  It remains a cohesive culinary region, sharing the same […]

My Twist On Louisiana Gumbo Will Surprise You

My Twist On Louisiana Gumbo Will Surprise You

Here’s my twist on the classic Louisiana Gumbo dish. “Cultural Appropriation” this is not.  Why?  Because I’m naming boundaries and giving them their due. Also, because cooks are always exploring, always re-imagining dishes, and that’s how cuisine evolves. This recipe is long on technique, so […]

Moqueca Brazil Fish Stew Is Brilliant!

Moqueca Brazil Fish Stew Is Brilliant!

When we first met, some years back, Houston artist, Tony Paraná invited me to a Sunday  party at his home, and we made Moqueca Brazil Fish Stew.  It is  a Northeastern Brazilian seafood dish served in a clay pot. Fish and some shellfish are quickly […]

Texas Mexican Holiday Menu

Texas Mexican Holiday Menu

What a great evening we had last night in San Antonio, Texas!  These chiles, tomates, hojarascas were all delicious.  I want to share this “Texas Mexican Holiday Menu” with heartfelt thanks for the warm reception I received at last night’s event at the San Antonio […]