Do It In Texas

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Tex-Mex is a blend of Texican and Mexican. What commonly passes for Mexican food in the United States is essentially Tex-Mex. You will have a hard time finding Tex-Mex in Santa Fe, New Mexico because Santa Fe folks have an entirely different cuisine. The best and most original Tex-Mex eateries are found in the southern and western parts of Texas, notably in San Antonio, Laredo, Del Rio, El Paso, and surrounding areas. Don't get me wrong, you can find some really good Tex-Mex in Dallas and Houston but if you check the family origins, you will see they came from further south and west. In months to come, we will have a feature page on this style of cooking, a blend of cultures, a blend of spices. Tex-Mex has roots in history and in various parts of south and west Texas. If you find yourself halfway between San Antonio and Laredo, you are in Cotulla, Texas. Stop and eat at Uncle Moe's for the best enchiladas you ever put in your mouth and some very good mesquite pit-smoked Bar-B-Q.

I wrote this on Pearl Harbor Day (12/7/05) when it was 23 degrees outside. I could not help thinking about how good a hot bowl of Texas Style Chili was going to taste. Want to make some? Here's how! Pay attention to making Ancho Tea, because it is a base for many great Tex Mex recipes.

      °  2 lb. of chili meat (coarse ground beef) - see note below
      °  4-5 tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil
      °  1 chopped yellow onion & 1 chopped bell pepper
      °  2 tablespoons of minced garlic
      °  1 8 oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes
            (for hot use regular Rotel)
      °  1 small can tomato sauce or catsup
      °  3 ancho chili pods
      °  3-4 tablespoons of chili powder
      °  1 tablespoon each of salt, black pepper, ground cumin

      °  one half teaspoon of cayenne pepper (optional for hot lovers)
      °  5-6 cups of water
      °  one half cup flour

Chili is usually made of coarse ground beef (i.e. chili meat available at most meat markets). It can be made from regular ground hamburger or ground round or chuck, but a coarser grind is better. You can add other meats like venison or lamb to your beef meat mixture. It is essential that your meat have some fat content.

Roast your ancho peppers for about 10 seconds each side under a hot broiler. Set aside to cool. When cool, remove stem and seeds. Place the pods in your 5-6 cups of boiling water. Turn fire off water and let the pods steep like tea. (This is actually called ancho tea).  Ancho means wide.

If you have a large size Dutch Oven great, if not brown your meat in a large skillet. When meat is mostly brown, drain most but not all the grease and throw in the onion and bell pepper and cook on low stirring several times until the vegetables are sauteed. Place the meat/vegetable mixture in your Dutch Oven or a large crockpot on medium. Crock-pot, the Original and #1 Brand Slow Cooker  Add your tomatos, tomato sauce, garlic, chili powder, and other spices.Stir well. Add enough of your ancho pepper tea to slightly cover all ingredients and stir again. Let this mixture simmer on low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring about each 15-minutes. Taste carefully to see if you have it hot enough. Add the cayenne or some tabasco if you like it really hot. Ten or so minutes before serving add the flour a little at a time stirring well to thicken your chili. Chili is great and you can freeze it for later use. I like mine with Ritz Crackers and some cheddar cheese. You will need chili and ancho tea for a lot of Tex-Mex recipes, so get used to making them.

This page is dedicated to good eating, both recipes and good places to eat in Texas. Check out our sponsors and affiliates because we have.

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CULINARY NEWS FLASH!! Sunday January 15, 2006 Debbie hands me potato salad recipe.

No, it is not just any potato salad, but the Vorhie's Fancy German Potato Salad! This one was created by John Vorhies former manager of the Bayou DeSiard Country Club in Monroe Louisiana. I have been using this as a standard side on my Bar-B-Q plates. It goes really good, along with beans, when I prepare any kind of Bar-B-Q. German potato salad goes great with Porkribs.

Ok, here goes, no ingredient list, pretty much as she wrote it down.
"This recipe is my favorite but is flexible depending on individual tastes and is delicious served cold. Peel and boil 5 lbs of potatoes, drain and set aside. Prepare 6-8 pieces of bacon and retain grease. At the same time, boil 4 eggs. Get a large bowl and pour potatoes in while still hot, followed by the bacon grease.Add just enough, but do not make greasy (i.e. grease on the bottom of bowl). Mix. Toss in crumbled bacon, 1 cup of chopped onion green or purple onion, (white or yellow will do) Add  mayo as desired.. Stir. Add 1 cup of diced pickles and a little pickle juice along with a tablespoon or two of Grey Poupon mustard. Stir and taste.  Add sugar, salt, and pepper to get your desired taste. We like ours just this side of sweet, but with lots of pepper. This is the basic recipe, but you can add pimentos for color, black or green olives, finely chopped celery, and finely chopped bell pepper, in addition to other spices; if you like."

ps: Debbie says to get on the feedback forum and let her know if you like this recipe!

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