Key Moments in Mexican Food History
From 3500 BC, when indigenous peoples in Mexico and Central America began cultivating chiles, to 2010, when the Culinary Institute of America opened an expanded campus in San Antonio.
Articles by Texas Monthly
Oatmeal Pudding
1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups quick oats 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup brown sugar Bring 3 3/4 cups water and the salt to a boil. Stir in oats, vanilla, and brown sugar. Consistency should be rather thick. Spray 5 custard cups or decorative molds with nonstick spray.
Raspberry Pancakes
Recipe from chef Kenneth Mills, Natura Cafe, Dallas. 1/2 cup nonfat yogurt 2/3 cup 2 percent milk, room temperature 2 tablespoons melted butter 2 egg whites 1/2 cup unbleached white flour 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 3 tablespoons raspberry…
Desert Duty: On the Line With the U.S. Border Patrol
Read an excerpt from the new book by Bill Broyles and Mark Haynes.
Pamela Colloff talks about reporting on an eighteen-year-old murder case and interviewing Anthony Graves, who was sent to death row for the crime.
35 People Who Will Shape Our Future
Lance Armstrong tops our list of the dreamers and doers leading the way in science, sports, politics, music, art, food, education, and, of course, Dallas shopping.
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Join Texas Monthly at the Texas Book Festival
TEXAS MONTHLY is proud to be a sponsor of the Texas Book Festival, which is held in Austin on October 16 and 17. For a complete listing of events, check out the official schedule. To see which sessions TEXAS MONTHLY editors and writers are participating in, see the schedule…
Beans and Corn Bread
Two recipes for this classic dish, excerpted from "Texas Home Cooking" by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison.
1999 Bum Steer Awards
A year of asking-for-it Aggies, badass broccoli, contraband coffee, Death Row decor, extrapolating elephants, faux feet, god-awful gimmickry, humongous heavyweights, incomparable ironers, judicial jimjams, kaput kowtowers, lame-brained liberals, moping millionaires, NASA ninnies, off-putting officials, prize-winning pignappers, quasi-comic quipsters, red-handed rapscallions, scarfable sod, theoretical thongs, ungodly ungulates, vomiting vegetation, wild-eyed window-breakers, xenophobic Xanthippes, Yankee yahoos, and zapped zealots.
Jessica Simpson
TEXAS MONTHLY ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS/ Basic Overview Of Bum Steers NAME: Jessica Simpson Level 1 Reality Comprehension DIRECTIONS. Read the story. Then read each question and fill in the circle for the answer you choose. DITSY DOLLY Once upon a time there was…
Chicken and Dumblings
Recipe from Cafe 290, Hwy 290 East, Manor. Chicken Stock 1 gallon of water 2 whole chickens 1 1/2 cubes of chicken bouillon 1/2 bunch of chopped celery 1/4 pound of butter Start with a gallon of water in a large pot. Place two whole chickens…
Man of Letters
Forty years after the publication of John Graves's Goodbye to a River, a keepsake volume of correspondencebetween the author and J. Frank Dobie, among others chronicles its journey from an idea for a magazine article to an instant literary classic.
Grilled Oysters With Vietnamese-Style Dipping Sauce
Recipe from Bryan Caswell, owner of Reef, in Houston.
Spicy Shrimp With Sriracha Citrus Rémoulade
Recipe from Bryan Caswell, owner of Reef, in Houston.
Smoky Redfish With Citrus Ginger Slaw
Recipe from Bryan Caswell, owner of Reef, in Houston.
If you’ve never read or seen Lonesome Dove . . .
The opening scenes of Lonesome Dove take place at the Hat Creek Cattle Company, a small ranch in Lonesome Dove, Texas, just north of the Rio Grande. Hat Creek is operated by two old Texas Rangers, the taciturn Woodrow Call and the talkative Augustus “Gus” McCrae. Among their hands are…
Curtis “Trey” Roark, Bingo Caller
Roark, who grew up in Houston, has been calling games at the Bingo Barn in Bryan for two years. He will graduate in December from Texas A&M University with a degree in political science. I was a college sophomore looking for a summer job when I read in the student…
The 2007 Bum Steer Awards
It was a year of aggrieved actors, banned boobs, Cuban commodes, DeLay denial, errant Elmo, frisky floaters, grouchy governors, hung hoopsters, immigration insensitivity, job-seeking judges, klobbered Karl, Longhorn lushes, miffed musicians, nude no-no’s, ousted Osteens, peeved passers, quarreling queens, riled Rangers, subpar sheriffs, tiny “terrorists,” unseemly URLs, vice presidential violence, wiseacre W., x-asperated x-wives, youthful yakkers, and zoo zeal.
David Lee Garza, Acordeonista
The moment that members of the tejano band David Lee Garza y Los Musicales saw a poster by San Antonian John Dyer, they knew they had found the photographer for their next album. “We wanted more than just a face on a cover,” says bassist Richard Garza, “and his poster…
The Best of the Texas Century—Business
Paul Burka on Santa Rita No. 1, Jordan Mackay on Humble Oil, and Brian D. Sweany on the inventor of the century.
Celebrity Cravings
A few notable Texans tell us about the burgers they can’t do without.
The Best of the Texas Century—Culture
Anne Dingus on Lonesome Dove, Chester Rosson on Scott Joplin, Michael Hall on Buddy Holly, Don Graham on Giant, John Morthland on Ornette Coleman, Eileen Schwartz on Greater Tuna, Jennifer Olsen on Conan the Barbarian, and Michael Ennis on the painter of the century.
Great Escapes: Lodging
Austin Street Retreat, 408 W. Austin Street (one block north of Main), Fredericksburg (830-997-5612, fax 830-997-8282; www.fbglodging.com). Double occupancy $125 (breakfast not included). No telephones in some rooms; no televisions; hot tubs with handheld showers only. Children allowed in Maria’s only. No smoking indoors, no pets. AE, DS,…
Great Escapes: Points of Interest
Alamo Village, 7 miles north of Brackettville on FM 674 (830-563-2580; www.alamovillage.com) Alibates National Monument, 419 E. Broadway, Fritch (806-857-3151; www.nps.gov/alfl) Alley Oop Fantasyland Park, 1000 Parkside (on the west side of town), Iraan Barnard’s Mill Art Museum, 307 SW Barnard Street, Glen Rose (254-897-7494) Big…
Tomball state representative Allen Fletcher is on his way to a second term. His former business associate may be on his way to the federal penitentiary.
Orange-Glazed Muffins
Muffins 4 eggs 11/2 cups sugar 1/2 cup olive oil zest of 3 oranges 11/2 cups sour cream 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 pound cake flour (about 37/8 cups unsifted cake flour; you may substitute…
Gourmet Breakfast
Orange-Glazed Muffin With a hint or two, you might guess that these decadent orange muffins are made with sour cream. But would you ever imagine that the secret ingredient is olive oil? The flavor doesn’t intrude, it just adds a subtle richness. Recipe from Cipollina, Austin. Smoked-Salmon Omelet with…
Fruit-and-Nut Granola
Fruit-and-Nut Granola 12 ounces plain granola of your choice (about 3 cups) 3 ounces pistachios (about 1/2 cup), roughly chopped 3 ounces slivered almonds (about 1 cup) 1/2 ounce dried apples, diced (about 1/8 cup) 1/2 ounce dried apricots, diced (about 1/8 cup) 1/2 ounce…
Healthful Breakfast
Fruit-and-Nut Granola No retro granola, the Houstonian’s classy version updates the multigrain cereal of the sixties with almonds, pistachios, and a medley of dried fruits, including cranberries, currants, and apricots. Recipe from The Houstonian Hotel, Club and Spa, Houston. Scrambled Egg Whites With Shiitake Mushrooms and Roma Tomatoes The…
Mexican Breakfast
Cinnamon-Pumpkin Empanadas The incredibly flaky, yeasty crust of these empanadas is so good—and so easy to make—that you’ll immediately abandon all other recipes. The pumpkin filling, also a breeze, is traditionally Mexican. Recipe from Esperanza’s Cafe (Joe T. Garcia’s Bakery), Fort Worth. Potato Pancakes With Sour Cream-Chipotle Sauce Most…
Potato Pancakes With Sour Creamy Chipotle Sauce
Sauce 2 teaspoons prepared chipotle sauce 1/3 cup sour cream (low-fat if desired) 1 tablespoon milk 1 tablespoon chopped chives (optional) Whisk ingredients together. Warm in a pan or microwave oven before serving. Potato Pancakes 2 3/4 pounds unpeeled red potatoes 4 large eggs, lightly beaten…
Cinnamon-Pumpkin Empanadas
Pumpkin Filling 1 15-ounce can pumpkin 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional) 1/4 teaspoon ginger (optional) 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (optional) Mix ingredients together and set aside. Empanada Dough 1/3 cup water 1/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt…
The 2005 Bum Steer Awards
It was a year of: Alamo amour, bollixed Bush, cheeseburger chagrin, dissed Davy, egregious ethics, film flops, guileful gynecologists, hibiscus hullabaloo, in-flight idiocy, jiggling Janet, konservative kross-dressers, laughable liposuction, microphone mishaps, numskull name-nabbing, opinionated obits, pot parfaits, Qaeda qualms, reckless Rather, streaking solons, tasteless Tecate, UT users, vulgar veeps, Wicca watchdogs, X-pensive X-crement, yoga yoke, and—zounds!—zero tolerance.
2005 Bum Steer Awards
Better close off the balcony too Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, of Houston, requested that a corridor in her Washington, D.C., office building be closed off for eight hours so that she could meet privately with singer Michael Jackson. 4—6 minutes to high cholesterol An eighteen-wheeler overturned on Houston’s…
The Bottom 10
10. The Alamo The film was as big a disaster for Disney as the 1836 battle was for its valiant defenders—a commercial and critical flop that, unlike the original, is better forgotten. 9. The Texas Longhorns baseball team They lost twice at the College World Series: once on the field…
The Quaid Family Circus
Over the past two years, veteran actor Randy Quaid and his wife, Evi, have transformed themselves from a pair of artsy eccentrics into a tin-pot update of Bonnie and Clyde. Though the Houston native and his wife of twenty years haven’t engaged in any homicides or bank robberies, they…
The 2010 Bum Steer Awards
It was a year of accomplice apes, bedraggled Bugattis, Christlike Cheetos, dim-witted deli-owning Democrats, egregious errata, fatal foreplay, gun-toting golfers, heartless high school hoopsters, ignoble implants, jackass judges, killer Kims, laughingstock legislators, miniature museum mummies, nincompoop ne’er-do-wells, overwhelming odors, pandering Perry, quazy Quaids, reassuring Riddle, shameless Stanford, territorial T. Boone, useful urine, vituperative vixens, weaponized waitresses, x-alted XXX clubs, yolky yahoos, and zero-tolerance zealots.
Hill Country Growers and Producers
Goat Cheese: Wateroak Farms, 8187 Water Oaks Lane, Bryan; 979-279-2373. Call for hours. Also available at Bryan-College Station and Austin retailers. Herbs: Generation Farms, 1109 N. McKinney, Rice; 903-326-4263. Call or go to susantaylortours.com for hours. Also sold at many supermarkets. Honey: Lone Star Honey/Walker Honey Company, 8060 E.