November 1998
Features
How did Houston supergroup La Mafia get to be the biggest tejano act in the world? By leaving Texas.
Texas’ largest nursing home chain says it provides a “better place to live” for more than six thousand elderly men and women. State investigators tell a much different story.
The magic bullet, the president’s jacket, Oswald’s camera, and other artifacts from the National Archives.
It’s the most intriguing theory of all: two men with the same identity, one a patsy and the other a murderer who got off scot-free.
JFK was killed by (a) the mob, (b) Castro, (c) the FBI, (d) the CIA, or (e) none of the above? Decide for yourself.
A handsome young president, a convertible limousine, a sniper, three shots (we think), and our lives were changed forever. A special report on what is, for many, the defining event of the past fifty years.
Here’s something to be thankful for: chef Grady Spears’s holiday feast, with a deep-fried bird and all the trimmings.
Columns
Austria. The Bahamas. Botswana. Jamaica. Sweden. In each place the U.S. ambassador is a Texan sent there by Bill Clinton, whoÕs as partial to our stateÕs best and brightest (and richest) as LBJ was.
He’s one of the most influential men in American music. So why haven’t you heard of Alan Lomax?
Bruce McGill played D-Day, the biker with the handlebar mustache, in the classic comedy Animal House. Twenty years later, he’s still a character.
Dan Jenkins has just published his eighth novel. It’s called Rude Behavior. Spend a few hours with him and you’ll know why.
With feature-film roles, a chart-topping album, and a successful stand-up career, sitcom star Jamie Foxx is laughing all the way to the bank.
Reporter
Luann Williams, the editor and publisher of Pop Culture Press, isn’t the type who waits for opportunity to knock. “In the mid-eighties I was working at a Memphis record store and loved music magazines,” says the thirtysomething Tennessee native. “I was looking at a couple, and I thought, ‘You know,…
When I graduated from Notre Dame in 1983, I wanted to be a sportscaster. But at the time there were very few women doing that, so I had a difficult time finding a job. I answered some want ads in a broadcasting publication, and one of the advertisements was for…
There’s nothing civil about the debate over The Civil War. Since the announcement in August that the musical re-creation of the War of Northern Aggression was Broadway bound next spring, critics have directed more than a few rebel yells at Houston’s Alley Theatre, where the production originated. As was the…
Hot CDs Distancing themselves further still from their earlier banjo-punk novelties, Austin’s Bad Livers go with what they know on Industry and Thrift (Sugar Hill). There is too much attitude and eclecticism at work to call this traditional bluegrass, yet despite a couple of electric interludes, the musical leanings of…
To the astonishment of water owners and users across Texas, the state Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to the rule of capture, the basis of all Texas underground water law. This much-criticized doctrine allows landowners to pump as much underground water as they want, even if the…
Fifty years ago LBJ won—some say stole—a U.S. Senate runoff. What happened to the South Texas ballot box that saved his career?
Web
Published often in The West News of West, Texas, this recipe comes courtesy of Nita and Freddy Gerik, longtime residents of West who answer the Westfest information line in their home. According to them, Mrs. Jerabek’s recipe is very reliable. Dough 2 yeast cakes or 2 packages dry yeast…
Salad 1 3/4 cups walnut halves or pieces 12 cups baby field greens (salad mix or mesclun) 1 cup sherry vinaigrette (recipe below) 1 1/2 cups (about 8 ounces) Texas goat cheese 1 3/4 cups red seedless grapes, halved freshly ground black pepper to…
Sweet Potato Gratin 3 medium to large sweet potatoes 1 cup whipping cream allspice to taste salt and white pepper to taste 2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and thinly slice potatoes and toss with cream. Place in a greased…
This recipe comes from Dorothy Bohac, Ph.D., President of the Travis-Williamson Counties Czech Heritage Society. She says that “the quality of a kolache is in the texture of the dough. The texture is controlled by the ingredients, particularly the amount of flour used. A baked kolache should be soft to…
Rose Morkovsky Hauger and Ann Morkovsky Adams are Czech sisters who grew up in a large family in San Antonio. Their family farm near Floresville is the focal point of family gatherings and celebrations. They’ve demonstrated their lifetime of kolache expertise in presentations for Texas Folklife Resources around Texas, and…
1 1/2 pounds red onions (about 2 large onions) 1 1/2 pounds yellow onions (about 2 large onions) 4 bunches scallions (green part only) 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as canola 1 1/2 cups balsamic vinegar kosher salt to taste freshly ground black pepper…
4 pounds fresh asparagus 16 pieces smoked bacon kosher salt to taste freshly ground black pepper to taste Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Trim off the woody ends of the asparagus and blanch for 45 to 60 seconds. Plunge immediately into an ice-water bath; when cooled,…
2 cloves garlic 1/4 cup cilantro 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup coarsely chopped rehydrated sun-dried tomatoes (about 1 ounce or .06 pound dry weight) 1/4 cup grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 4 pounds…
Cornbread 1 cup buttermilk 1 egg, beaten 6 tablespoons sugar 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons kosher salt 1/2 cup butter, softened 2 cups fresh corn kernels 1/4 cup seeded and diced jalapeño (2 large jalapeños) 2 1/4 cups cornmeal 1 teaspoon…
Dough 2 cups flour 1/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon kosher salt 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), divided into several pieces 1/3 cup shortening, divided into several pieces 1/4 cup ice water In a food processor combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter…
1 pot hot coffee 1 1/4 cups heavy cream 2 tablespoons powdered sugar 2 tablespoons Kahlua liqueur 8 teaspoons shaved chocolate Make a pot of good strong coffee. In a bowl whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold in the powdered sugar and Kahlua. Put…
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…
Miscellany
American folk art moves into two Fort Worth museums. Plus: Real cowboys take their rodeo drive to Amarillo; a multimedia show brings the Harlem Renaissance to Houston; an Austin symposium looks at women with the write stuff; and in Houston a Texas actress is ballpark frank. Edited by Quita McMath,…
How much did Life pay Abraham Zapruder for the rights to his assassination film?
