Unreality Bites
As ever, Texas looms large in the movies’ imagination—large and largely inaccurate.
As ever, Texas looms large in the movies’ imagination—large and largely inaccurate.
Their film festivals are one of the state’s feature presentations.
Independent counsel Kenneth Starr was born in Vernon, and that’s just one of the many Texas connections at the heart of his investigation of Bill Clinton.
For fifteen years Galveston knew Tim Kingsbury as a civic leader and do-gooder. Then the wife—and life—he deserted back in Ohio caught up with him in Texas.
AIR FORCE WON During the filming of Paramount Pictures’ I Wanted Wings (1941) at San Antonio’s Kelly Field, military aircraft soar overhead during a ground shot. The director angrily orders a general to “get those planes out of the air!”—and is promptly fired.HIGH JINKS Filmed in (and above) four small
Want to see Kuwait, Iowa, and Washington, D.C.? Go to El Paso, Austin, and Houston.
From location scouts to production designers, the most important people you’ve never heard of.
The show-biz establishment loves them almost as much as their parents do.
Recipe for a great new cookbook: Combine a celebrated chef, a veteran food writer, and an innovative approach to contemporary Tex-Mex; serve.
A match made in heaven and blessed by Hollywood.
Texas high school football may be in decline, but filmmakers still want to play.
I wanted to see lightning strike the steel rods that artist Walter De Maria installed in a New Mexico field. I didn’t, but the trip was still illuminating.
Plano’s Steve Harvey has been a successful comedian for years. Now he’s a sitcom star too.
As Sandra Scofield, Shelby Hearon, and Janet Peery are proving, you don’t have to live in Texas to be a Texas writer.
While other high school students spend their afternoons running track or singing in the choir, Diana Fox and Josh Zuniga are perfecting their cha-cha and two-step. Actually, the Missouri City duo is doing those other things too, but much of their extracurricular time is spent defending their title as Teen
I’ve danced all my life, and I really thought that I would eventually open a ballet school. It’s a wonderful discipline and a wonderful release. I started dancing when I was three because I loved the pink tutu and the ballet shoes. I got myself involved—it wasn’t anything that my
The bigger you get, the more people complain about you. That’s the sad fact of life La Mafia is learning to accept. In February the Houston sextet won their second consecutive Grammy, for best Mexican American/tejano music performance, and they’ve just released La Mafia: Hits de Colección, Vol. 1 (Sony
After years of attacking members of the Dallas City Council, journalist Laura Miller wants to be one.
This is a sweet-hot variation on the classic pico de gallo of onion, tomato, cilantro, and serranos.1/8 onion, diced 1 small tomato, seeded and diced 1/2 cup diced fresh pineapple 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 1/2 teaspoon minced habanero chile, or 1/2 tablespoon prepared habanero pepper sauce 1 tablespoon
If you thought you liked refried beans and cheddar, wait until you taste these tortillas stuffed with goat cheese and topped with black bean sauce. (Literally, “enfrijolada” means “beaned,” but “prepared with a bean sauce” gets the idea across better.)12 ounces fresh goat cheese, at room temperature 1 tablespoon chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil 11/2 cups cooked black beans (add just enough cooking liquid to cover the beans) 1 serrano chile, stemmed and minced (remove seeds for a milder sauce) 1/2 cup dark beer salt to tasteIn a large skillet heat the oil over high heat. Add the beans, serrano
Tomato and Roquefort Salad1/4 cup red wine 1/4 cup red-wine vinegar 1/8 cup dry sherry 1 cup peanut oil 1/8 cup olive oil kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 1 medium red onion, peeled and thinly sliced 1 pound Roquefort cheese, less if preferred, crumbled and chopped into
Chopped pecans, toasted with a coating of ancho chile, impart a nutty accent to the already wonderful combination of pork and guacamole. This recipe is even better with “twice-cooked pork,” so remember it when you have leftover pork chops or roast.1/4 cup olive oil 11/2 pounds boneless pork loin, thinly
The nontraditional step of cooking the onion and chiles gives them a full, roasted flavor that goes beautifully with the mellow avocado. Just don’t stand too close to the pan while cooking the chiles, or the fumes will burn your nose.2 teaspoons unsalted butter 2 teaspoons vegetable oil 3 serrano
This tropical margarita is much fruitier and easier to drink than a genuine Mexican margarita. If a frozen drink gives you a headache, omit the crushed ice and serve on the rocks.1 shot (1 ounce) tequila 1 shot (1 ounce) Cointreau 1/4 fresh mango, peeled and chopped 1/2 cup fresh
This gorgeous seafood cocktail is named after Huatulco, the impossibly beautiful seaside resort in the Mexican state of Oaxaca.16 large shrimp, peeled and deveined (leave tails on) salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 6 fresh tomatillos, husked and diced 1/4 onion, minced 1 ancho chile, stemmed, seeded, and
The first film Texas Monthly deputy editor Evan Smith ever saw was A Boy Named Charlie Brown. That was in 1969, when he was only three. But Snoopy, Lucy, and the gang must have had a potent effect because film has been a steady and powerful presence in Smith’s
The Bass Performance Hall is open for business, and the acoustical expectations are high (Fort Worth). Plus: Readers and writers celebrate literary Texas (Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and elsewhere); the nation’s top golfers get in the swing (Dallas and San Antonio); Texas Czechs bounce to the strains of primo
How serious is the fight by suburbs to limit the annexation power of cities? It’s become a matter of life and death. In Kingwood, which was recently swallowed by Houston, opponents of annexation are blaming several deaths in the area on slow response time by Houston ambulances. Annexation is also
IT IS SO REFRESHING to know that lawmen who are hardworking and corruption-free still exist [“The Last Posse,” March 1998]. These men set an example in their profession. They seem so down to earth and determined. These men are truly role models.IRENE REYESSan Benito LOOKING AT THE COVER PHOTO, I
UNTIL A STAR-STUDDED FILM SHOT THEM BACK into the spotlight, the Newton Boys had faded from public memory. Famous during the twenties, the four brothers—Jess, Willis (below left), Doc, and Joe (right)—were part Western desperadoes, part newfangled gangsters. They pulled off dozens of bank and train robberies but, unlike more-notorious