November 2001 Issue

How Good Is Your Kid’s School?

Find out in our rankings of nearly every public elementary, middle, and high school in Texas–the most comprehensive and accurate ever done in the state.

By S. C. Gwynne

Tortilla Factories

In April 2001, Texas Monthly ran a feature on tortillas, including a list of local factories in selected cities in Texas where you can buy freshly prepared masa for making tortillas or tamales. Here is an updated list of the factories that were still open for business in November 2001.In

By Texas Monthly

Texas Ranges

In an excerpt from their forthcoming book, Texas Mountains, senior editor Joe Nick Patoski and freelance photographer Laurence Parent celebrate the wild beauty of the state's sierras.

By Joe Nick Patoski

Shipping News: The Best Mail-Order Tamales

Every November and December, the phone calls and e-mails pour into my office: “Where can I order tamales to be shipped to friends?” Here are the best of the companies I’ve ordered from. Each one prices its shipping differently, but overnight delivery runs at least $20 whether you order one

By Texas Monthly

Shelf Help: The Best Store-Bought Brands

Watching tamales being mass produced is a bit like watching sausage being made: it takes the romance out of the process, to say the least. Once you’ve seen the two huge drums mixing the masa and tumbling the mechanically shredded meat—and the extruders ejecting one never-ending tamale from two concentric

By Texas Monthly

Tony Sanchez’s New Deal

The 58-year-old banker and oilman from Laredo is enormously wealthy, has impeccable Texas roots, and–best of all–is Hispanic. Sounds like the Democrats' dream candidate, right? Maybe.

By Jan Reid

How Enron Blew It

The Houston-based energy giant put the pursuit of profits ahead of all other corporate goals, which fostered a climate of workaholism and paranoia. And that was only part of the problem.

By Mimi Swartz

The Shuck Stops Here

Whether you plan to buy tamales or make them from scratch this holiday season, here's everything you need to know about these simple (and simply delicious) gift-wrapped treats.

By Patricia Sharpe

Ghost Town

South Padre Island has changed since part of the Queen Isabella Causeway collapsed. The beach is deserted, hotels have shut down, and commuting is a pain.

By Lavina Tyrrell

Cool It

Looking at the notes I took at Ferré in Dallas, I seem to have written the word “cool” a lot. The decor at this new uptown spot mixes a cool, contemporary loft look and angular motifs from the thirties through the fifties (the light fixtures look as if they came

By Patricia Sharpe

Spaghetti alle Vongole

This is Ferré’s version of the classic Italian recipe for spaghetti with clams in white-wine-and-garlic sauce.

By Patricia Sharpe

“The Count’s Soup”

This excellent recipe for a classy black-bean soup has cognac to give it an extra flavor dimension.Crema Conde (The Count’s Soup)2 cups cooked black beans (Bush’s brand black beans are good if you’re not up to cooking beans from scratch) 4 small tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped 1 small

By Texas Monthly

Texas Tidbits

Instead of simply decorating your tree this holiday season, select your own at one of the many tree farms around the state—and if you're really in the spirit, cut it down yourself too.

By Amanda Ugiansky

Happy Trails

Spend a fabulous weekend in Austin without going near a tourist trap.

By Jennifer Olsen

Chiles in Walnut Cream Sauce

This dish, served in the fall when a fresh crop of walnuts has just come in, makes a spectacular display with its colors of the Mexican flag: red, white, and green.Chiles en Nogada (Chiles in Walnut Cream Sauce)Walnut Cream Sauce1 cup cream 1/2 cup queso fresco or mild feta cheese

By Texas Monthly

Books That Cook

Cooking Fearlessly

By Patricia McConnico

Red Pepper Salsa for Tamales

This recipe was made to go with the corn-and-poblano tamales from Hot Damn, Tamales!, Fort Worth. But it’s a good salsa for many purposes, and a pretty one too.20 Roma tomatoes 2 cloves garlic, peeled 5 red bell peppers, roasted, seeded, and skinned 4 ounces canned chipotles in adobo sauce

By Texas Monthly

Tall Tales

Photographer Laurence Parent and senior editor Joe Nick Patoski talk about climbing, the best shot, and their new book, Texas Mountains.

By Joe Nick Patoski and Laurence Parent

Corn Poblano Tamales

Masa2 cups (1 pound) chilled lard or vegetable shortening 6 cups dried masa harina for tamales 2 tablespoons ground red chile 2 teaspoons cumin 2 tablespoons baking powder 3 tablespoons kosher salt 3 to 3 1/2 cups warm water or chicken stock, and a few tablespoons more if needed Using

By Texas Monthly

Report Card

Executive editor S. C. Gwynne tells the story behind this month's cover story, "How Good Is Your Kid's School?"

By S. C. Gwynne

Roasted Corn Tamales

These polenta-like tamales are a specialty of Cafe Annie’s.2 cups fresh yellow corn kernels (about 4 ears) 2 cups (1 pound) masa harina for tamales 2 cups (1 pound) stone-ground white grits 1 generous tablespoon salt 1 stick (1/4 pound) butter at room temperature 1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) lard

By Texas Monthly

Cranberry and Pecan Tamales

The filling for these sweet holiday tamales is mixed right in with the dough.1/2 cup chilled butter 1/2 cup chilled lard or vegetable shortening 4 cups (2 pounds) dried masa harina for tamales 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 3/4 teaspoons salt 1 cup brown sugar 2 cups dried cranberries

By Texas Monthly

Cucumber Soup

This easy soup can be prepared in about ten minutes flat, not counting the chilling time.Sopa de Pepino (Cucumber Soup)4 cucumbers, peeled and diced 1/4 white onion, peeled and diced 1 garlic clove, peeled and diced 1 1/2 cups milk 1/4 teaspoon salt pepper to taste fresh mint or parsley

By Texas Monthly

Texas History 101

For Prairie View A&M University, diversity has always been a top priority.

By Sheetal Nasta

Savory Cheese and Pumpkin-Seed Shortbread Cookies

These nutty, unsweet cheese cookies make a great hors d’oeuvre.Galletas con Queso y Pepitas(Savory Cheese and Pumpkin- Seed Shortbread Cookies)2 cups flour 2 sticks (1 cup) cold butter, cut into small pieces 2 cups (about 1/2 pound) grated mild cheddar or yellow cheese; the original recipe calls for manchego) 1/4

By Texas Monthly

Pork and Raisin Tamales

Raisins give these classic pork tamales a touch of sweetness.Pork Filling3 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut in 1-inch chunks 8 large or 10 medium ancho chiles, enough to make 3/4 cup purée 2/3 cup (5 ounces) lard 1 tablespoon salt 3 tablespoons cumin 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon black

By Texas Monthly

Chocolate Chile Mole Brownies

This recipe does not actually contain mole sauce but does have ingredients that are typical of mole, namely chocolate, chiles, sesame seeds, and nuts. Don’t worry: These chewy, almost caramel-like brownies are not hot, just cinnamony and interesting.1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted 4 ounces good quality unsweetened chocolate 4 ounces

By Texas Monthly

Restaurant Guide

By Patricia Sharpe, Patricia McConnico, Eileen Schwartz and Jennifer Olsen

Hail to the Kinkster

George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and me.

By Kinky Friedman

Deep Singing

DEEP SINGING The Dallas Opera premieres popular composer Tobias Picker’s new English-language adaptation of Emile Zola’s Thérèse Raquin this month, and it will sizzle. Picker, who gained a Texas following with such haunting pieces as Old and Lost Rivers and The Encantadas while serving from 1985 to 1990 as composer-in-residence

By Chester Rosson

Straight Talk

HOLD ON, MR. EX-RESIDENT ABC News veteran Sam Donaldson will be the grand marshal in the Las Palmas Del Sol Sun Bowl Parade in El Paso November 22. Have you been the grand marshal of an El Paso parade before? No, this is a high honor. Let me tell you

By Katy Vine

ATS

By Patricia McConnico, Eileen Schwartz and Katy Vine

Sports

THE CHAMP The Cowboys’ stock may be down (okay, it’s Black Tuesday down), the Rangers may be struggling (okay, struggling like a beached whale), but at least we can brag on the Astros, who at press time were in the thick of the pennant race. Home team or not, though,

By Brian D. Sweany

A Great Weekend

REMEMBER THE ALAMO CITY In San Antonio a prima ballerina takes the stage and beginner mariachis meet their masters November 16-18. But there’s more. Your weekend itinerary: Friday morning after ten o’clock, wander through the McNay Art Museum’s recently refurbished mansion and see “Corot to Picasso: European Masterworks From the

By Katy Vine

Tune In

DEEP SINGING The Dallas Opera premieres popular composer Tobias Picker’s new English-language adaptation of Emile Zola’s Thérèse Raquin this month, and it will sizzle. Picker, who gained a Texas following with such haunting pieces as Old and Lost Rivers and The Encantadas while serving from 1985 to 1990 as composer-in-residence

By Chester Rosson

Straight Talk

HOLD ON, MR. EX-RESIDENT ABC News veteran Sam Donaldson will be the grand marshal in the Las Palmas Del Sol Sun Bowl Parade in El Paso November 22.Have you been the grand marshal of an El Paso parade before? No, this is a high honor. Let me tell you something.

By Katy Vine

Sports

THE CHAMP The Cowboys’ stock may be down (okay, it’s Black Tuesday down), the Rangers may be struggling (okay, struggling like a beached whale), but at least we can brag on the Astros, who at press time were in the thick of the pennant race. Home team or not, though,

By Brian D. Sweany

My Grief, and Ours

When I lost my father to cancer this summer, the greatest comfort I found was in understanding how to grieve. That came in handy on September 11.

By Jim Atkinson

Less Is Moore

For almost four decades, G. A. Moore, Jr. has quietly gone about becoming the greatest high school football coach in Texas history.

By Brian D. Sweany

Dreade Locke

Russell Erxleben and Brian Russell Stearns were first-rate frauds who cheated scores of unsuspecting investors. So how did the prominent law firm of Locke, Liddell, and Sapp get stuck footing a $30 million bill?

By John Spong

A Report Card

Why principals matter.

By Paul Burka

Distress Signal

San Antonio's Clear Channel Communications may dominate Texas' airways, but the way it does business is tuning out to the best things on the radio.

By Joe Nick Patoski

The Plot Sickens

Sandra Brown's latest novel-and her umpteenth best-seller-is called Envy. Funny, that's the last feeling I get when I read her work.

By Mike Shea

Cocina Confidential

What did I do when I wanted to indulge my weakness for cooking classes? I put San Miguel de Allende on the menu.

By Patricia Sharpe

My September 11

Dan Rather reflects on the attack at the World Trade Center.

By Texas Monthly

Keith Graves

Keith Graves draws from the experience of his projects.

By Eileen Schwartz

Playing Around

Michael Hall riffs about his rock n' roll days.

By Michael Hall