Jalapeño bacon pull-apart cheese bread
When it comes to comfort, there’s nothing more soothing than the combination of carbs and dairy. Macaroni and cheese, cheese enchiladas, chips and…
Jalapeno corn fritters
On the way to DFW airport a few years ago, I stopped at a restaurant to grab one last bite before I flew…
Pimento cheese stuffed pickled jalapenos
Recently, I’ve been feeling nostalgic for the cafeteria experience. While there are many dishes I’ve enjoyed there over the years, there was always…
Jalapeño salmon patties
When I was in college, a friend went over to a guy’s house one night after a party. They were hungry and he…
Crawfish étouffée, Southeast Texas style
A few years ago, a friend of mine from Opelousas, Louisiana made crawfish étouffée for a group of us. He was sharing a…
Chicken tortilla soup
In the 1930s, a Dallas cooking school advertised its course offerings, stating that it would be teaching how to make tortilla soup. This…
Fritoque, bean and corn chip casserole
My first encounter with fritoque was in Robb Walsh’s “The Tex-Mex Cookbook.” He described it as a bean and corn chip casserole that…
Pigs in jalapeño-cheddar pretzel blankets
Many years ago, a friend from Austin and I were taking the train from New York to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to see another friend…
Jalapeño cheese grits
I did not grow up in a grit-eating family. I’d beg and beg my mother to make grits, but she’d always say, “We…
Borracho black-eyed peas
Every December, I begin to think of new ways to prepare my pot of black-eyed peas. For the past few years, the phrase…