Pork and pinto bean guisada
In James Michener’s epic novel Texas, he has a scene where two discuss why beans are not included in Texas chili. The characters conclude that it’s because beans and beef…
Soup recipes
Carne adovada
Many years ago when I wrote about asado, a West Texas stewed pork and red chile dish, I heard from a linguist based in El Paso. He said that grammatically…
Chicken calabacitas stew
For the past few years, I’ve been drawn to creating a dish using chicken and yellow squash. In several of my South Texas community cookbooks, this dish appears in several…
Green chile pork and pinto bean stew
At the Indianapolis 500 race in 1970, Texas and New Mexico were pitted against each other, both on the track and off. In the lineup of drivers was Lloyd Ruby…
Chicken soup with rice, Dallas style
My hairdresser asked me why I lived in Dallas. “You’re not like most of the Dallasites I know,” he said. “In fact, when I first met you, I figured you’d…
Poblano pumpkin soup
One Thanksgiving, my mom served us pumpkin soup in bowls fashioned from hollowed-out tiny pumpkins. It was quite impressive to see, though I found it a bit cumbersome to scoop…
Jailhouse chili, Dallas County style
In 1962, Dallas Morning News columnist Frank X. Tolbert published an article titled, “That Bowl of Fire Called Chili” in the Saturday Evening Post, which was a popular magazine that…
Sopa Tarasca
When reading an old issue of Texas Highways, I came across a recipe for a dish called sopa Tarasca. It was a pureed bean soup that was topped with fried…
Turkey red posole
A friend and I have a running joke. Before I moved back to Texas, I stayed with her for a few days, and during my visit, I went to the…
Black bean chili, Texas style
After being served a Frito pie topped with black beans in Austin at a food conference, I began to ponder the notion of bean chili. Frito pies are traditionally a…