Grandma’s pumpkin dessert
One holiday season when visiting my family, my grandma made us dessert. While usually she bakes us a pie, this time she had prepared a small square dish of something…
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West Texas black beans with green chiles
When I first moved to Austin in my early 20s, one thing that struck me about the Tex-Mex on offer there was the prevalence of black beans. While the standard…
Brisket chile rellenos
A friend from New Mexico asked me one day which chile pepper I preferred to use in my chiles rellenos. I replied that I usually go with poblano chiles and…
Texas oyster loaf
“In a friendly way, let us suggest to you to take an oyster loaf home to the good wife,” said an ad from The Daily Hesperian out of Gainesville, Texas…
Hopkins County stew
In Northeast Texas, there’s a county called Hopkins that is famous for its stew. The tradition of making Hopkins County Stew harkens back to the late 1800s, when at the…
Fried green chile strips
After a weekend at a friend’s ranch house in the Panhandle, I decided to stay in the area a couple more days. That night in Amarillo, I went to a…
Soft cheese tacos, El Paso style
For a recent project, I was tasked to do taco research. While for some, reading old books, magazines, and newspapers may feel like work, for me it was a joyful…
Cantaloupe and shrimp ceviche
The other day at the store, I was walking past a large display of fruit and a strong whiff of sweet cantaloupe hung in the air. I will confess that…
Smoky macaroni and cheese
When I pulled up to the barbecue cart, I was dismayed to see it shuttered. The posted hours had assured me that it would be open through the afternoon but…
Indian fried chicken
On a visit to Houston last year, a friend suggested I go have fried chicken. While I’m always up for something crispy, I thought it was curious that she would…
