Tex-Mex sloppy Joe sandwich

The other day, I was in a taqueria eating a sandwich stuffed with a spicy, saucy picadillo that was rich with tomatoes and chiles. It was delicious, but it was also a bit of a mess as the meat kept sliding out of the bun every time I took a bite. Finally, I gave up on using my hands and grabbed a knife and a fork. While I was tucking into the sandwich, it reminded me of something but I couldn’t figure it out. Then it occurred to me: this was a Tex-Mex sloppy Joe.

Ah, the sloppy Joe—that much loved sandwich often found at tailgates, school cafeterias, and the homes of busy families. Despite its popularity, it’s not a sandwich I indulge in very often, though when I was a kid mom used to make them for Saturday lunches. I asked her why we ate them every Saturday and she said because they were quick yet good.

And it’s true—they're are a snap to make, but their sweet and savory flavor belies their simplicity. Plus there’s also an adventure in every bite—will the meat stay in the bun or land in your shirt? This sandwich definitely lives up to its name.



That said, while the sandwich isn’t very neat, some say actually it was named after a Havana bar popular in the 1940s and not its less-than-tidy appearance. The bar was called Sloppy Joe's, and as the story goes, its cook took some leftover picadillo and tossed it with a spicy tomato sauce. He then placed the meat between in a bun and called it a Sloppy Joe in a nod to his employer.
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Dr Pepper oatmeal cake with a coconut and pecan topping

Isn’t January supposed to be a healthy month, a time when you renew your gym membership, eat soups and salads and have a piece of fruit for dessert? That’s what I always thought, but since New Year’s Day I’ve had at least eight people email me and ask: “How do you make a cake with Dr Pepper?”

While I hadn’t had one since I was a kid, I seemed to recall that we would take a chocolate sheet cake recipe and substitute Dr Pepper for the water. This is the advice I gave people over email and they replied that indeed it worked. Now, if there were so many queries about Dr Pepper cake, I figured this cake was worthy of discussion. I’m usually not very organized, but I penciled onto my calendar for this week’s post: “Dr Pepper cake.”

I wondered, however, if there were other options available. While researching, I found a curious recipe in The Dallas Morning News that combined Dr Pepper with oatmeal. It seemed unusual but the end result was wonderful—a tender, flavorful cake topped with a buttery coconut crunch. I loved it, as the spices kept you warm and the oatmeal made you feel virtuous. This Dr Pepper cake was a perfect cake for January.



Then something changed.
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Buttermilk potato soup with bacon and roasted jalapeno

My grandma calls me her good cook. She’ll say to her friends when I visit, “I don’t have to be in the kitchen because my good cook is here!”

Usually, she lets me cook whatever I want. But the last time I visited she wasn’t feeling well and she requested that I make her one thing—potato soup.

“Are you sure you want potato soup?” I asked. I explained to her that I’d never made it before and I didn’t have a recipe. “There’s a great sweet potato soup recipe on my blog that I can make for you,” I said.

She said no, she wanted potato soup with regular Russet potatoes, not sweet. She told me that her mom used to make potato soup when she was young and she had a craving. I asked if she had my great-grandmother’s recipe and she said she did not. “You’re my good cook,” she said. “I know you can do it.”



With no recipe, I looked through her refrigerator for inspiration. Most soups start with a base of aromatics such as celery and onions, so I threw those into a pot and cooked them in bacon grease left over from breakfast. I also added garlic, chicken broth and a mess of peeled and cubed potatoes. After I brought everything to a boil, I let it simmer for a while until the potatoes were soft.
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