Potato salad, Oak Cliff style
My dad’s side of the family loves hard-boiled eggs. They fold them into their salads, plop them into their giblet gravy, and whip them into deviled eggs, dishes that were…
Side dish recipes
Carrot and green onion salad, Hill Country style
In 1976, Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson held a barbecue at her family’s ranch in the Texas Hill Country. It was for old friends and former DC colleagues, and she billed…
Mashed sweet potatoes with chipotle chiles
Growing up, not a holiday dinner or church potluck supper was complete without a casserole dish filled with baked sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows. If you’ve never seen this dish,…
Pumpkin cheese grits
In 1958, Mrs. C. A. Oney submitted a cheese grits recipe to the San Antonio Light. It was a baked dish that called for cooked grits, cheese, milk, and eggs….
Fried potatoes with green chiles
When I was writing my first cookbook, I wanted to include a carnitas recipe that had been on my site. It was adapted from the late cookbook author Diana Kennedy’s…
Hill Country baked beans
There’s a dish known as Austin baked beans. It’s a riff on Boston baked beans with a Texas twist, hence the use of the capital city as a descriptor. Now,…
Creamy cucumber salad
One weekend, friends were getting together for a backyard barbecue. The hosts were providing the main course and they asked their guests to bring a side dish. When discussing what…
Brisket esquites
Some friends of mine have been teaching me how to cook with logs and fire on an offset smoker. The upside is that I’m gaining new skills that I was…
Strawberry and spinach salad
Ripe strawberries, spinach, yogurt dressing, Feta cheese, and a granola croutons are in this welcome salad that’s a Texan classic.
Texas sweet onion pudding
Texas sweet onion pudding is an elegant and savory side dish that takes caramelized onions and blends them with eggs, cream, spics, and herbs.