The Tex-Mex Cookbook: A History in Recipes and Photos

I love this book. Has lots of easy to follow recipes for delicious Tex-Mex dishes. I now know how to make authentic Texas chili gravy, Texas red chili and delicious enchilada sauce. The history of how Tex-Mex came to be as we know it today is both detailed and fascinating. There are stories of the important people involved and about how products we know today came to be, such as Pace picante sauce, Fritos and Gebhardt chile powder.

`The Tex-Mex Cookbook' by Robb Walsh, the Southwest's answer to Maine's John Thorne, is a truly remarkable book, in that it presents the history from the beginning, in pictures, narrative, and recipes, of a complete cuisine. The credit for this accomplishment cannot be given to Walsh alone, as part of the ability to write such a history is based on the fact that the `Tex-Mex' cuisine is so young, with many of its defining events happening within living memory. And, no events in this history predate the colonization of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona by the Spanish in the 1500's.One critical `defining moment' in `Tex-Mex' cuisine occurred just thirty years ago, according to the author, when Diana Kennedy, the renowned interpreter of Mexican cuisines identified the style of cooking north of the Mexican border in `The Cuisines of Mexico' as something distinctly not part of Mexican culinary heritage. Having been cut loose from Mexican cuisine by such a distinguished authority left this style of food to establish its own identity.While other writers may not take the `Tex' part of the term literally, Robb Walsh wishes to define the extent of `Tex-Mex' cuisine as truly that which is done or which originated within the boundaries of Texas, or some location very close by. This rules out several popular gringo dishes such as fish tacos so prominent in San Diego. Ground Zero for Tex-Mex cuisine appears to be San Antonio, in the shadow of the Alamo. Only fitting that the defining venue for Tex-Mex eating is the most memorable location in the battle for Texas independence from Mexico. The word `Tex-Mex' was not invented for the cuisine and may not have been applied to the cuisine until Diana Kennedy banished it from Mexican food styles. It began, however, as early as 1581, when the first European livestock arrived in El Paso, enabling the connection between Old World beef and New World corn and tomatoes. This means that `Tex-Mex' cooking style has some direct connection to Spanish influences. It did not emerge purely from Mexican styles of cooking; however, it is obvious that Tex-Mex owes most of its character to staples and basic preparations that were born in Mexico. The fact which makes the book so vibrant and alive is that many of the most interesting events in Tex-Mex cuisine history happened between 1894 and World War II, which means that so many oral and photographic sources are available for the telling.The heart of Tex-Mex cooking is probably the chile, and the soul is probably the dish, chili con carne, or, literally translated `chile with meat'. The story of the differences in spelling for these closely related things is an important part of the groundwork Walsh lays for recounting the history of Tex-Mex. He presents a simple but very useful survey of chiles which includes a careful distinction of fresh from smoked forms and red from green forms, with a clarification that the famous Hatch chile is actually a cultivar of the Anaheim variety and not a truly distinct species. He is also careful to note that the Habanero is just another name for the Scotch Bonnet, an identity ignored by some other writers who should know better.Needless to say, the book also contains many, many chili con carne recipes, most of which follow true Texas tradition and leave out the beans. There are at least two interesting discoveries regarding chili basics. The first is the fact that early chili con carne recipes included pork and the meats were stewed, as one may do in a French daube and not browned. The second tidbit is the fact that there is a special chili die for grinding meat in a hand meat grinder. Never saw that one on Martha Stewart!The book is filled with a mix of recipes, stories, and pictures, all of which lead to an extremely pleasant culinary / literary experience. It makes one with that John Thorne, Jim Villas, and Calvin Trillin would be a little more creative with using pictures to liven up their essays. Kudos to the book designers at Broadway Books, too, for their effective assembly of all the material. It is rare to find a culinary work that gives so much for its modest $18 list price.The single most important value to the book, of course, is in the recipes that never find their way into important Mexican cookbooks by Kennedy and the equally well decorated Rick Bayless. This is not to say Bayless does not endorse this work. The back cover can barely hold his praise for it. I loved the recipes for their obvious authenticity and I was truly happy to have a good source for a Tex-Mex party menu. However, the author's obvious attention to every sort of detail in telling the story of Tex-Mex food is what sells me on this book.As long as you do not grind your own flour and make your own tortillas, almost all of the recipes in this book are relatively simple. You even get the simple recipes for such basics as chile powder and the original Pace salsa. But, even if you want to jump into this cuisine with both feet, the good news is that almost all the special equipment is both simple and cheap, as long as you know the proper techniques. And, this book has them all.Highly recommended for the reader, dabbler, and the zealot. Few books make a culture and cuisine come alive quite so well.

Robb Walsh's "Tex-Mex Cookbook" is more than a mere collection of authentic (and excellent) Tex-Mex recipes: it's a loving tribute to the development of Tex-Mex cuisine, Tejano culture, and the pioneering restaurants (and their owners) that launched Tex-Mex into popular American culture and beyond.The book begins, appropriately enough, with a short primer on Tex-Mex in a chapter called "That Loveable Ugly Duckling." Walsh explores the exact meaning of Tex-Mex: is it Americanized Mexican food, or that hybrid blend of Mexican and Indian cooking found only in Texas? The following chapter is a wonderful collection of Tex-Mex dishes (burritos, enchiladas, chimichangas, fajitas, refried beans), ingredients (including a photo guide to fresh and dried chiles) and kitchen tools (which are easy enough to find if you live near a large Mexican (or Hispanic) community: the tortilla press, comal, and molcajete).The recipes begin in chapter two, starting with old-fashioned cowboy breakfasts: cooked pinto beans with a touch of bacon grease, fried onion and garlic, and chiles, Ox Eyes (skillet eggs in hot sauce), migas, nopalitos and eggs, and cowboy coffee (with a touch of cinnamon and orange peel).The remaining chapters explore the development and marketing of chili (including ample vintage photographs of San Antonio's legendary Chile Queens at work), the rise of the Tex-Mex restaurant in San Antonio and Houston, San Antonio puffy tacos, "junk food" Tex-Mex Frito pie, bean dip, nachos, and chile con queso. There are a few sweet desserts to round out your meal, including several praline recipes, cookies, and a decadent chocolate caramel flan cake.The recipes are clearly written and easy to follow, but it's the historical sidenotes and many rare photos that I found so intriguing about this book. There are interviews with pioneering Tex-Mex restaurant owners, tidbits of Mexican and Tejano history and lore, and snippets of WPA reports documenting food in Texas in the 1920s and 1930s, and stories about the Anglo marketing of chili powder, canned tamales, Pace salsa, and chain restaurants like Chili's (complete with vintage advertising and recipe books). The book closes with a look at Tex-Mex's global spread to France (helped along by the 1986 film  BETTY BLUE (37°2 le matin) (DIRECTOR'S CUT) (IMPORT, ALL-REGION) ), South America, Thailand, Japan and the Middle East. And for those who love a good tipple, yes, there's a chapter devoted to the invention of the frozen margarita, fruit margaritas, and sangria.There's something here for everyone, but the health-conscious beware; authentic Tex-Mex is all about the flavor, which includes large amounts of rendered lard (fresh, not store-packaged, hydrogenated, and flavorless) and occasionally Velveeta (chosen for its ability to stay soft after the food cools). There's also some cuts of meat that many Anglos will find unappealing: cow head (used for barbacoa) and beef tongue (menudo, or tripe soup, is curiously absent here). And tender palates beware: Tex-Mex and Mexican food make ample use of the hottest chiles (serranos and habaneros), although you can substitute less-spicy ones (but you'll lose some of the flavor). If you live in a small town, you may have difficulty in tracking down Mexican ingredients such as masa harina, piloncillo, and dried chiles, but Walsh thoughtfully includes several mail-order (and Internet) sources.A fantastic gift for fans of Tex-Mex (what most Americans call "Mexican") food, expat San Antonians, or anyone who's interested in culinary (and regional) history will enjoy the Tex-Mex Cookbook.

Loved variety of recipes listed, easy to follow and read!

Excellent TEXMEX COOKBOOK. I've probably eaten everything in the book. I moved from South Texas and needed a good recipe for so many items. I make so many from memory but I needed this.

I thoroughly enjoyed the history of the various dishes! It gives some perspective and offers inspiration to flex the recipes.The recipes that I’ve tried so far have been better than expected. You have a flavor in mind when you see the ingredients, the volumes and proportions just give the finishing touches. The recipes are fabulous as written!Thanks for the well written book.Much appreciated!

The recipes are clearly laid out with straight forward instructions. The great joy of the book lies in the fascinating photographs and history of this early "fusion" cookery, a treat for cooks and social historians alike.

Great recipies & a great read - my husband insists on at least 1 recipie from this book every month

Includes all the classic Tex-Mex recipes with clear instructions. It’s hard to find really good Tex-Mex outside of Texas but now I can make my own and it tastes just like home!!!

Good mix of history and recipes.

If I wanted a history lesson about "Tex-Mex", I would order a history book. As a chef who only orders cook books to get a base to that style cooking, I need effective recipes...a lot of them. I can then modify to my style and have success. I was cooking for a large event full of Texans with short notice and grabbed this book among others to get some solid recipes going. I was hard pressed to find recipes among all the blah,blah,blah. Don't get me wrong, I respect the culture and the history and I am also interested to hear about it, but don't fill a cook book full of it. It was like the author was short on recipes and filled it with theses extras to score a few more bucks from a thicker book. That said..now that I am done ranting, I got an awesome recipe for a chile puree that I use as a base to one of my sauces and is nothing short of awesome.