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My Favorite Recipes

While I try to keep a good variety going in my meal planning, some recipes have a tendency to make it to my table pretty often. Below are some regulars in our house.

11 Salsa to Master Your Taco Game – I think, with my roots in West Texas, no meal is complete for me if there isn’t some salsa on the table. You can try making one of these 11 salsas on your next taco night. If you’re putting together a feast, make several.

East Texas Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya – This jambalaya recipe can feed an army. Not only can it feed them, it’ll make them happy. Just remember, there ain’t no tomatoes in jambalaya and it shouldn’t be soupy. That’s my opinion, at least. It’s even better with a big splash of Chiltepin Pepper Sauce on top.

Texas Toothpicks with Arbol Crema – When you have a big get-together, appetizers are a great way to bring everybody together and manage different appetites. It’ll keep you from having to serve dinner too early. This easy-to-make appetizer will keep everybody happy until the main event.

Sopa de Tortilla – This recipe is perfect for our house because I like to make a double batch on the weekend, then freeze the leftovers in meal-sized containers. On a weeknight, all I need to do is microwave the frozen container, shred a little cheese, slice up an avocado, and crumble some store-bought tortilla chips for a quick dinner.

Homemade Tasso – I like to keep tasso ham in my freezer to toss into a pot of beans, a batch of scrambled eggs, or some jambalaya. It’s easy to make, tastes great, and is about the cheapest cut of meat you can find at the store (pork shoulder). It’ll take a simple dish and make it explode with flavor for very little money.

Cookbooks

As a self-taught cook, I’ve relied heavily on cookbooks over the years to sharpen my skills and technique in the kitchen. With more than 140 cookbooks and counting, it’s become an obsession.

Find out which cookbooks get the most wear and tear in my kitchen.

Texas Culture

Texas is a unique state in the U.S. Just ask us, we’ll tell you all about it. What most people don’t understand though is that the cultures vary widely from one region of the state to the other.

From the Acadian settlers near Beaumont, to the Vietnamese people in Port Arthur, to the Spanish families in the Rio Grande Valley, to the German immigrants in Central Texas, all the way to West Texas, where the culture has more in common with New Mexico than Austin, Texas is a culturally diverse place.

Texas History

Texas also has a long and proud history, being parts of several different nations and, at least briefly, being a nation unto itself, extending all the way into what is now Wyoming.