Salsa de chile arbol is a roasted, tomato-forward salsa with the zippy and acidic tang of tomatillos, highlighted with the subtle nuttiness of the arbol chiles. It’s a great salsa for drizzling over fatty meats or simply serving up with tortilla chips. With chile de arbol being the basis of the heat in this recipe, […]
Sides, Salads, and Condiments
Creamy Roasted Avocado-Tomatillo Dip
Our creamy, roasted avocado-tomatillo dip is very much like a tangy, dip-able, guacamole. This salsa is also very versatile. The creaminess goes excellent with smoky meats, like arrachera or fajitas. It can also be thinned with a little crema and used like an aioli.
Pico De Gallo
Pico de gallo is a simple, fresh salsa (sometimes called salsa fresca or salsa crudo) that goes well on anything. It’s one of the most common salsas you’ll find north of the border due to its versatility and excellent taste. This salsa is excellent if you want to balance out any fatty or starchy ingredients […]
Braised Collard Greens – Southern Style
To me, braised collard greens are as Tex-Mex as anything else. A pile of braised greens was standard fare in my house growing up. They were cheap and healthy. It was a common occurrence to have a big pile of braised greens next to some stacked enchiladas. This was probably more of a West Tex-Mex […]
Frijoles Negros Refritos – Refried Black Beans
You can buy refried black beans (frijoles negros refritos) in a can if you want, but they won’t have anywhere near the flavor and complexity that you can coax out of them by doing it yourself. If you buy it in a can, you’ll also end up paying substantially more for something that doesn’t taste […]
Hot Water Cornbread
Hot water cornbread is an older cousin to the cornbread that most people are accustomed to today. Maybe it could be considered a distant great-granduncle to the typical stuff since according to Sean Brock, the professor of all things Southern Cooking, it predates regular cornbread quite a bit. Hot water cornbread is a treat not too […]
Cebolla Roja Encurtidos – Pickled Red Onions
Pickled red onions (cebolla roja encurtidos) are a traditional condiment for tacos in Southern Mexico. They add an excellent acidic kick to tacos that include fatty meats like barbacoa, carnitas, and especially cochinita pibil. While white vinegar isn’t the traditional acid used in pickled red onions (sour oranges are), it works just fine and makes […]
Roasted Tomato and Jalapeno Salsa
This recipe is for our workhorse salsa. A rustic, roasted tomato and jalapeno salsa. At any given time, I have at least one jar of it sitting in my refrigerator. We use it for everything from our morning eggs, to chips and dip, to carnitas tacos on the weekend. There are a couple of things […]
West Texas Style Pinto Beans
Growing up in West Texas, I’d never tasted pinto beans with sugar in them. We ate a lot of pinto beans since they were cheap and healthy. They were always a savory side for things like cornbread or enchiladas. I never even tried sweet pinto beans until I moved to the eastern part of the […]
Homemade Brown Sugar
I no longer buy brown sugar at the grocery store. Homemade brown sugar only requires two ingredients and takes only about a minute to complete. It’s simple to do, and if you make only what you need, you don’t have to worry about it drying out on you. All you need is some molasses and […]
