Chicken gorditas

Every spring I get an itch to return to Texas as it just might be the best time of year to be there. The bluebonnets and other wildflowers are in bloom, the temperatures are mild, and after winter there’s an overall sense of joy throughout the state, perhaps best reflected in San Antonio’s celebration known as Fiesta.

Fiesta occurs every April and it lasts for about two weeks. The festival was started in 1891 as a way to honor the heroes of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto, from the Texas Revolution in 1836. It’s a rich and complex festival with a royal court, parades, pilgrimages, and countless other events.

If you ask any homesick San Antonian what they miss most about their hometown, you’ll usually hear a tale about Fiesta. And while there are many traditions surrounding the celebrations, the thing people discuss the most is the splendid array of foods.



On offer at Fiesta are tacos, kebobs, queso flameado, tamales, sopapillas, Mexican corn, and more. But the dish my friends deem the most beloved are the gorditas—round, thick masa cakes that have been fried, split in half, and then stuffed with a variety of fillings. I had friends from San Antonio in college who would skip classes in order to make the six-hour drive just to get their fix. They are that good.
Read more »

Strawberry cobbler

According to a spring 1957 issue of the Claude News, the Business Women’s Club of this Texas panhandle town got together for a luncheon meeting. On the menu were roast beef, chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, vegetable salad, rolls, corn muffins, and (if you had any room after such a feast) strawberry cobbler for dessert.

When I go through Texas newspapers from the past, I’m always struck by how people’s local gatherings, whether for business or for pleasure, were considered newsworthy. If you dig around the archives, you’ll find stories about forty-two parties, ice cream socials, civic group meetings, and a host of other reasons for people to find time to spend with each other and enjoy some good food.

While the articles always conjure up charming images of people enjoying each other’s company, my favorite thing is reading about what our Texas ancestors shared at the table, such as the strawberry cobbler served in Claude all those years ago. While these days cobbler may not be the most common way to serve this beloved spring fruit, it’s definitely a dessert that deserves more consideration.



The past few weeks I’ve been hearing about my friends in Texas going on strawberry-picking excursions and while we have seen some decent days here in New York (though as I write this it is once again freezing outside), it will probably be a month before we see fresh, local strawberries at the market. Early spring is like this, and a trip to the farmers market can be confusing as the trees are in bloom but on offer are the same lumpy potatoes and heads of cabbage that have been on display for the past few months.
Read more »

Dr Pepper pulled brisket

The first time I recall having brisket, it wasn’t the smoked hunk of beef that many people associate with Texas. No, instead it was an oven brisket prepared by my grandmother. While normally our pot roasts were made with chuck along with lots of potatoes and carrots, this roast of brisket had been slowly cooked in a tomato-based sauce. It was tender, juicy, and delicious.

Recently, a friend in New York was lamenting that their briskets never tasted anything like the briskets they ate at home. I asked what was the problem and he said that he didn’t have a yard and therefore he didn’t have a smoker, and without those two things his brisket wasn’t as he wanted it to be.

Being in the same situation I know how he feels, yet there are plenty of oven briskets being made in Texas, too, so it’s never been that much of an issue for me. As long as you can reconcile that the two slabs of beef will not taste the same, then you can appreciate the unsung glories of a brisket not cooked outside on a smoker but instead slowly roasted in an oven.



While I’m a fan of thick, juicy slices of brisket served with mashed potatoes, sometimes when I make a brisket in the oven, I’ll shred the beef and then use it in tacos, enchiladas, or nachos. I have several different ways that I like to prepare brisket, though I recently slowly cooked my brisket in a smoky, sweet sauce made from Dr Pepper and chipotle chiles and it turned out superb.
Read more »

The Homesick Texan's Family Table is published!

So, I spent the past two years working on another book and today it’s published. Would you like to see a preview?

Like my first book, there are over 125 comforting Texan recipes made with fresh, seasonal ingredients. There are also lots of stories and full-color landscape photos of Texas. To get a sense of how it's organized, here’s the table of contents, with a cow.



And here are some more cows. (While it may appear to the contrary, not every photo is of a cow. There are also bluebonnets, windmills, big sky, and numerous other photos taken across Texas. And, of course, lots of food.)



The recipes in this collection are inspired by old family favorites. This is Texan comfort food for any occasion, at any time of day. For instance, when we have the time, my family and friends love to linger at the breakfast table, so I’ve included lots of recipes for morning meals, such as Pecan Lime French Toast Casserole, Bacon and Molasses Breakfast Sausage, Breakfast Enchiladas, and Potato Chorizo Breakfast Tacos, which are made even better with homemade sausage, tortillas, and salsa.


Read more »