On Food & Culture
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 […]
I love making this queso soufflé for friends. It’s a special recipe that I feature in my new book, “Don’t Count The Tortillas: The Art of Texas Mexican Cooking” published by Texas Tech University Press. Brush aside any fears about making a soufflé and you’ll […]
Gracias, Italy, for inventing this delicious tomato sauce that can be turned into fra diavolo, puttanesca, and any other of the Italian variations. Although It was Mexicanas and Peruanas who first cooked tomato sauces, salsas, Italian tomato sauce is unique because it incorporates olive oil […]
I first made these chipotle turkey tostadas one fall, with turkey leftover from a Thanksgiving feast. The combination of tomato, onion, garlic and chipotle is the basic flavor profile that is used in the classic dish known as “Tinga,” and is served in Puebla and […]