On Food & Culture
Chilaquiles verdes are the proof that making something fast doesn’t mean it must be crass or gross, tasteless or dumb. It’s actually exquisite. Poor people’s food always lays the culinary groundwork for great dishes in a cuisine. The secret to superb chilaquiles is twofold: texture …
Fideo Loco and Fideo are both delicious Texas Mexican American traditions, and I’d like your help with research I’m doing about this culinary heritage. I grew up with fideo and also ate it at cousins’, neighbors’ homes. I’m looking for other stories and experiences. Did …
Chayote is a single seed squash that is native to Mexico and Central America. Its use in Mexican cooking precedes the arrival of Europeans and is documented by writings of Francisco Hernandez, who lived in Mexico from 1550 to 1560. It’s called mirliton in New …
Everybody loves marranitos, those piggy-shaped cookies that almost taste like ginger but no ginger here, it’s the piloncillo that you’re tasting. They are a Mexican bakery icon. They are also a sweet memory, childhood and adult, in Mexican American families of Texas. This cookie recipe …
This tofu salad dressing is tart, complex and a great dressing for this cup made of winter root vegetables and the yuzu persimmon that’s harvested in the fall. Don’t confuse this delicious and nutritious cup with the Waldorf salad which some told me it resembles. …
Turcos are a vintage, delicious treat, part of the Texas Mexican culinary tradition but almost becoming extinct. Rooted in Texas Pecan and also Arab flavors, it’s still found in San Antonio all the way south to the Rio Grande Valley and del otro lado (on …
A holiday tamalada is a community, family event where everyone chips in to make a few tamales for the holidays, just a few, about 50 or 60 dozen. It’s always fun to make bean tamales over a weekend and invite family and friends to your …
These “Tomatillo Leeks” are a nod to the vegan side of Mexican cooking. It’s what I grew up with, mainly, although from time to time we did eat meat. The vegetarian and vegan dimensions of Mexican food are delicious, and if you look at many …
A delicious Mexican favorite, this recipe for Turkey Enchilado, or Guajolote Enchilado, will bring mouthwatering smiles to your family and amigos, amigas. I use only one type of chile, Chile Ancho, because I like the direct flavor and also because this is the dried chile …
FROM MY ARCHIVES: A pecan pie for Thanksgiving. This pecan pie, with piloncillo and a bit of bourbon in it, tastes of celebration and abundance. I wrote about this on Thanksgiving day, and I share the recipe now in preparation for the new year. It’s …