main dish

“How you feel about crispy dogs?” asked a friend from San Antonio. We were discussing regional variations of hot dogs, with my favorite bein...

It’s not often that you have two special occasions fall on the same day but every once in a while worlds collide. Like this year—with both D...

When I used to go home to Houston, my first stop after I got off the plane was a restaurant called Amalia’s. It was a Tex-Mex joint and on t...

When I first moved to New York, one of the dishes that was lacking was migas. That Texan breakfast staple of eggs scrambled with fried torti...

This time of year, when most days it’s too darn hot to stand in front of the stove, let alone turn on the oven, I start eating a lot of sala...

“Are you familiar with the pork chop theory?” asked food writer Virginia Willis. I admitted that I was not. “Let me explain,” she said. And ...

For Lent, I gave up beef. Now, I wouldn’t say that I necessarily have a beef-eating problem, but there was a period right before Ash Wednesd...

This week, I’ve been plowing through my book’s page proofs, making corrections and cuts where needed. Unfortunately, I’m a bit of a perfecti...

A friend was in town visiting from Mexico City last week, and we’d planned to get together and cook. Unfortunately, circumstances prevented ...

“Grand Barbecue!” read the headline announcing a large gathering for Senator Sam Houston in the Texas Banner . This was back in 1847, so it’...

I have to admit that I’m not in love with raw oysters. Nope, if I’m going to eat an oyster, I prefer that it be fried. It all began when I w...

When it comes to Super Bowl food, people usually make culinary specialties from the hometowns of the opposing teams. With no disrespect to t...

“You’re not a fan of ‘Friday Night Lights? I can’t believe it!’” said a Texan friend to me, shaking her head. Then there was my native New Y...

When I first moved to New York City and discovered that the Tex-Mex was seriously lacking in this town, I embraced Indian food. Now, if you’...

My grandma thinks I am incapable of making any recipe without chile peppers. And she finds this very amusing. Take our conversation about ho...

If you’re like me, you’ve been sneezing nonstop the past few days. I thought I had a cold until I looked at the calendar and realized what w...

It’s no secret that I love mayonnaise, much to my mustard-loving family’s dismay. But when I was going through my collection of Great-Grandm...

A couple of weeks ago, my mom told me she was going on vacation and I kindly volunteered to house sit for her in Houston. My initial plan wa...

After a full day in the kitchen, I like to take a walk to clear my head. On a recent stroll, I spotted a friend holding court in a neighborh...

We don’t eat pulled pork in Texas. This isn’t to say that pulled pork isn’t delicious, but when you go to a Texas barbecue joint you order b...