Turkey chili Frito pie
When a friend threw a late-fall party, she served turkey Frito pies. Her husband is unable to eat red meat, so the family has become quite adept at replacing beef…
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Cheese grits, Goldee’s style
When working on the Goldee’s Bar-B-Q cookbook, my leftovers situation was out of hand. Barbecue, by design, is a cuisine made for groups. The portions are ample and the ingredients…
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Salsa verde turkey meatballs
Meatballs have been on my mind. A few weeks ago, a friend mentioned he had a new Italian meatball recipe that he wanted to cook with me. He was curious…
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Broccoli grape salad, North Texas style
“Is broccoli salad on the menu?” a woman asked me as we waited in line for barbecue at Goldee’s Bar-B-Q in Kennedale, Texas. There was not, I replied. She shook…
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Green chile blue cornbread
As my kitchen filled with the scent of roasted green chiles and blue corn, I was looking forward to the skillet of cornbread taking shape in the oven. After baking…
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Hot Hatch honey mustard chicken
Whenever I have a serious deadline, I create a new diversion to avoid completing my task. For instance, when I was writing my Queso book, I decided it was an…
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Cherry lime slushy
Iced beverages are a summertime staple in Texas, a tradition that goes back many years. Before at-home refrigeration was widespread, people would shop at neighborhood ice houses to purchase the…
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Sour cherry pudding cake
Recently I’ve begun looking into my ancestors’ roots. This isn’t a new project, but it’s the first time I’ve researched my family’s history outside of Texas. Curiously, I’d never thought…
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Ranchero refried beans
A friend of mine who recently gave up red meat was lamenting she wouldn’t be able to enjoy beans anymore. She said, “How can beans taste good without beef or…
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Ramen noodle salad, North Texas style
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Blue cheese and bacon potato salad
Back in my queso era, I came across a recipe for queso potato salad. It was a blend of Jack cheese and peppers with potatoes that appealed to me in…
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Strawberry butter
A few years ago, it was declared that Dallas’s most iconic dish is strawberry butter. It cited that it had long graced tables at The Zodiac Room, a restaurant in…
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Pizza ranch dressing
My addiction to frozen pizza (I know…) has introduced me to a variety of pies, with some not always being the platonic ideal of the form. Fortunately, bad pizza can…
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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…
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Indian-spiced potato gratin
One of the ways I learned to cook was by preparing the recipes presented to me in my daily media consumption. Thirty years ago, this included reading a paper version…
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Bran muffins
My grandma’s last meal was a bran muffin. This was apt, since eating a warm one was her favorite way to begin the day. She liked to share, and she’d…
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Crawfish queso
On a coastal road trip, I spotted a place outside Corpus Christi with a sign out front that read, “Crawfish queso.” I decided to stop and have a bite. It…
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Sour cream enchiladas, East Dallas style
If your family is like mine, you have a favorite Tex-Mex restaurant. This is the place where you know you can get a large table that will hold everyone, and…
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Salted butterscotch oatmeal cookies
There is one cookie that reminds me of Dallas in the 1970s—a chewy oatmeal cookie laced with caramelized butterscotch chips. When I was young, a plate of these was seen…
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New Year’s Day grits and greens
A few years ago, I woke up on New Year’s Day with a craving for collard greens. While I ordinarily prefer coffee and banana smoothies for breakfast, I went with my urge and prepared a pot….
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Rosemary bacon spiced pecans
In a novel I was recently reading, a character had friends over for dinner. While she cooked she offered her guests bacon rosemary spiced pecans. Her guests loved the smoky,…
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Grandma’s lemon pie
My eldest nephew Austin recently became a high school student. Since he’s been old enough to stand on a chair, he’s been helping his parents in the kitchen. These days,…
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Champurrado brownies
The other day, I saw on a Dallas food forum a request for places that serve champurrado. This is a Mexican beverage that combines hot Mexican chocolate with masa harina…
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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…
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Tortellini loco
The first time I heard of a Tex-Italian tortellini dish, it was referenced on a restaurant menu that has a reputation for this type of fusion. It’s in Lubbock, and…
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