Renewable Stories: “Learning to Roughneck”
There’s been a recent uptick in activity in the Permian Basin. This week we look back at the last time West Texas was booming.
Andrea Valdez, a Houstonian, received a BA in English from the University of Texas at Austin in 2005 and received her MSJ from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism in 2006. Two days after graduating from Medill, she began working at Texas Monthly as a fact-checker. In addition to dutifully guarding the magazine's integrity, she wrote more than forty columns in a series titled "The Manual," a short lesson on activities every Texan should know how to do. The column has since been turned into a book, How to Be a Texan: The Manual.
Valdez moved to the digital side of editorial in 2011, and in 2014 she became the editor of texasmonthly.com. During her tenure, the site's traffic has increased more than 250 percent and Texas Monthly's social media audiences have more than quintupled. She also helped launch two verticals—TM Daily Post and TMBBQ.com—and had a hand in a major redesign of texasmonthly.com in 2013.
She lives in Austin.
Articles by Andrea Valdez
Introducing Texas Monthly Trove
Revisiting the archives, including our greatest hits, the obscure b-sides, and everything in between.
The Watt Age
A peek at our September cover, featuring Houston's favorite new hometown hero.
Refreshing Texasmonthly.com
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But feel free to give it a new coat of paint.
Robert Earl Keen and Lyle Lovett on the Front Porch
The two musicians, featured on our July cover, talk about Texas’s rich songwriting history and their place in it.
Looking For Love in Magazine Pages
Our June issue, featuring a look back at Urban Cowboy 35 years after its premiere, is on newsstands and texasmonthly.com.
An interview with the Baylor Law student who spent a year doing 63 things that every Texan should do before they die.
Big Bend in High Def
A taste of the majestic vistas Big Bend National Park has to offer.
Guess Who Our Bum Steer of the Year Is
Take your shots before the big reveal tomorrow.
Happiness Isn’t a Destination
Unless it's one of the places featured in our December issue cover story.
Can Marijuana Help Veterans With PTSD?
We asked four people—including a legislator, a doctor, and a veteran—to have an open dialogue about the pros and cons of using marijuana to help people cope with PTSD.
What’s Your Favorite Place in Texas?
Thirteen famous Texans showed us theirs. Now we want to see yours.
Meet Our New Editor-in-Chief
We are beyond thrilled to announce that Brian D. Sweany now holds the top job at Texas Monthly.
First We Said Goodbye to George
Now it's time to see off another pillar in the Texas community: our governor. A look into our July issue, featuring Rick Perry on the cover.
Perry Report Card: Criminal Justice
Yesterday, when we unveiled the cover of our July issue featuring Rick Perry, we also told you about “The Perry Report Card,” an upcoming magazine feature where, as the title suggests, we graded the tenure of the governor on eight areas of public policy. We invited you to weigh…
Rick Perry Exits the Stage
Our July cover features Rick Perry, who is wrapping up his historic tenure as governor of Texas.
Our George Strait Cover
How our creative director captured a moment all Strait fans will know and love.
Trip Guide: Rockport
Plan a summertime weekend surveying the coastal art scene using this guide with tips on what to do, where to eat, and where to stay.
Let’s Go on a Trip Together
Through the magical wonderland that is the May 2014 issue.
This is All You Need to Know about SXSW Interactive’s Keynotes
Here's what you missed while waiting in line for that free burger.
GSD&M’s Brilliant App For People Trying to Avoid SXSW Crowds
The Austin-based ad agency created "Avoid Humans," a web app to point users to the least-crowded restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and general areas of refuge.
We asked three experts in the oil field to come together to discuss that very question and to debate whether this latest boom will treat Texas, and the nation, any better than the last two.
Kenny & Ziggy’s Chicken Pot Pie
A take on the Southern classic from Ziggy Gruber, the owner/chef of Kenny & Ziggy's in Houston.
Halloween Blood Orange Cake
From pastry chef Steven Cak, of Olive and June restaurant, in Austin.
Larry McMurtry Speaks His Mind, Again
Archer City's most famous son tells a writer's group that Blood Meridian "was a little windy" and admits that two of his favorite television shows are The Sopranos and Everybody Loves Raymond.
TX on the Radio: Houston Billionaires Donate $10 Million to Head Start
On Wednesday’s edition of Marketplace, Noel King reported on the recent “philanthropic urge” that has been striking certain people of means during the government shutdown. King points to Houston’s own John and Laura Arnold, who made headlines this week when they donated $10 million from their…
TX on the Radio: The Avenger of Las Mujeres de Juárez
A segment on This American Life tells the story of the vigilante killer in the violent border city, a woman who called herself, Diana, the hunter of bus drivers.
Business
Texas Business Report: Dell Finally Goes Private
A Done Dell After months of delays and deliberations, Dell Inc. shareholders voted Thursday to take the company private in a $24.8 billion buyout from CEO Michael Dell and the Silver Lake Partners investment group. The deal, which is expected to go through by November 1, comes after a…
A BBQ Road Trip Soundtrack
Senior editor Katy Vine, author of the Greatest Barbecue Story Ever Told, put together a BBQ Road Trip soundtrack. It features fourteen songs with a variation of the word “barbecue” in the title, six tracks called “Salt and Pepper,” three boogies, an ode to white bread, and one…
Barbecue Editor Featured Down Under
Our barbecue editor was recently interviewed by Sunrise, Australia’s self-described “number one breakfast show.” The hosts ask him about Texas-style barbecue (and the difference between an Aussie sear and our preferred smoking method), if he is “the Simon Cowell of the brisket,” and his favorite places in Texas. Watch the…
We Have a Barbecue Editor
(Photograph by Chris Wilkins | Texas BBQ Posse) In a move that seems long overdue, today we named Daniel Vaughn as Texas Monthly‘s first barbecue editor. Before people start stamping their feet and cursing that they weren’t hired for this highly coveted position, let me assure you that Vaughn is…
We Have a Barbecue Editor
We've created what may be the most coveted job in the state and hired the best person for the position: Daniel Vaughn, a.k.a. BBQ Snob.
How Bryce Gilmore and Chris Shepherd Celebrated Their James Beard Noms
Bryce Gilmore, of Barley Swine, in Austin, and Chris Shepherd, of Underbelly in Houston, were among the eight Texas chefs, writers, and restaurants nominated for a James Beard Award, the highest honor given in the food world. Garden and Gun magazine recently caught up with the two chefs to…
Texas Teams Shut Out of March Madness
For the first time since 1977, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament won't include a single team from Texas.
7 Food Trailers You Want to Visit
Austin's food truck scene has exploded in both numbers (hundreds of trucks are parked across the city at any given time) and popularity (waits can last up to an hour). With so many choices, it's hard to know which trailers are worth it, so here's our list of seven trucks to hit up during SXSW.
SXSW: Where to Eat
A printable, sharable list of the best restaurants in Austin. Make reservations now.
How to Make Texas Caviar
On New Year’s Day superstitious Texans take out a symbolic insurance policy by helping themselves to a heap of black-eyed peas—a practice that, according to tradition, guarantees one lucky day for each pea consumed. No one knows for certain how this ritual started, but one theory is rooted in horticulture:…
How to Dove Hunt
The Season For many hunters, Labor Day weekend is synonymous with the soft coos of the mourning dove. Every year, roughly 350,000 people in Texas are seduced by this avian siren song and harvest about five million of the four-ounce birds—that’s about 30 percent of the total number shot in…
How to Shoot a .22
Rites of passage dot the path to becoming a true Texan—riding a horse, having your picture taken with Big Tex—but few are as iconic as learning to fire a rifle. Although there are a variety of types, beginners often train with a .22-caliber. “That’s because there’s minimal recoil, and the…
How to Make Chili
A time-tested recipe that anyon who wants to learn how to make chili can use.
How to Ride a Bull
The rules for riding a one-ton bucking bull are deceptively simple. A cowboy must stay on the animal for eight seconds. If he’s thrown off before the time elapses or if he touches the bull, himself, or the equipment with his free hand, he’s disqualified. The maximum score is 100…
How to Deep-Fry a Turkey
Equipment 1 turkey cooker with a propane burner (also called a catfish cooker or crawfish boiler) 1 36- to 40-quart stockpot and basket 1 large turkey injector with needle 1 deep-fryer thermometer or candy thermometer elbow-length oven mitts Cinnamon-Chile Rub 1/2 cup cinnamon 1/2 cup pasilla or…
How to Deep-fry a Turkey
A few things to know before you drop a big bird into a bubbling vat of oil.
How to Do Big Hair
Texas women may not have invented big hair, but they realized long ago the allure of the coiffed crown. Just consider Ann Richards, who made it her trademark and once declared an official Big Hair Day, in 1993. The style is powerful yet elegant, bold but surprisingly down-home. As Gail…