Guacamole

When I was younger, I would love to go to the local "Mexican"restaurants and order guacamole. At first I thought it looked gross, I mean it was green and icky. Then I tired some. I was converted forever. Guacamole is something that you can put on just about any food. It is a great appetizer or topper to any dish. When I made it for this blog, I put it on top of a corn tortilla and refried beans, topping the entire thing off with tomatoes. I made a Tex-Mex pizza, or a chapula. The guacamole was my favorite part of the recipe. I used a recipe from, The Tex-Mex Cookbook by Robb Walsh (page 167).

El Fenix Guacamole Salad:
4 ripe avocados
2 tomatoes, parboiled, peeled, and minced
1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 garlic powder
1 jalapeño chile, seeded, minced
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 onion, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil

Scoop out the avocado flesh and combine in a food processor or molcajete with the other ingredients. Serve in iceberg "cups"with shredded lettuce, chips, and molcajete sauce on the side.



Variations:


1) Mash 4 avocados and blend with 1 teaspoon garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

2) Mash 3 avocados and combine with 2 chopped tomatos, 1 chopped onion, and salt.

3) Chop 2 avocados and mix with 1/2 cup Spanish Sauce, juice of 1/4 a lemon, and salt.

I loved the second variation but they all looked so good! In The American History Cookbook by Mark Zanger (page 430) there is an interesting story behind their guacamole recipe. G. Gordon Liddy was a former FBI agent who was sentenced to five years in prison for breaking into the Democratic Party headquarters. After being released and submitting the recipe to the book he was quoted saying, "This I learned from the Chicanos in prison. These ingredients were used because they were what could be smuggled out of the mess hall."

6 ripe avocados
4 eggs
3/4 cup prepared salsa
1 bag tortilla chips, or ,
Sliced raw vegetables (celery, carrots, red and green peppers)
Equipment: Knife and fork smuggled from the prison mess hall, potato masher, egg slicer.
1. Boil eggs 15 minutes. Cool in cold running water and shell.
2. Halve avocados and remove the large seed.
3. Mash the avocados in a large bowl.
4. Mix in the eggs and salsa.

I really want to try all of the recipes. With the different guacamole recipes, it is easy to see how the food of a culture evolves as the people evolve and adapt to their environment as in the Gordon Lidddy story.

The Chili Queens

Most Americans have tried chili at some point, and we even have an entire restaurant chain named Chili's, but where did chili really come from?

The first soups that we were considered chili were made by the Mesoamericans. They might have only used chilies and meat, but it made for a very tasty meal. Around 200 years ago, a new generation of settlers started a new tradition. At different times during the day, often at dusk, women would come from their homes and set up stalls in the town plaza of San Antonio. These women were the chili queens. At times they were like ghosts, as their stalls only appeared on certain days, at certain times, for certain reasons. They were the backbone of the emerging Tex-Mex culture and fed everyone, from cowboy to tourist (NPR).

The chili stands of San Antonio were famous, and so were the chili queens. In 1894, the San Antonio Daily Express described "the ever attentive, always jolly, çhile queen.' They are 'good fellows'these çhile queens' and are able and willing to talk on any subject that may be named from love to law. As a general rule they are bright, bewitching creatures and put themselves to much trouble to please their too often rowdy customers..." These chili queens became famous for their stands and food. People would travel for miles to get their favorite chili. The Daily Express also said that "every class of people in every station and position in life who has come to this city visit the places (chili) stands) and partake of the piquant eatables..." Some of the chili queens were so good that they earned enough money to set up shop in the front rooms of their homes. These cafes were called fondas. They later became full blown restaurants, and Tex-Mex was born (Walsh 45-7).

I decided to make a classic chili queen's recipe from The Tex-Mex Cookbook (page 49):

Lady Bird Johnson's Pedernales Chili:

4 pounds chili meat (beef chuck ground through the chili plae of a meat grinder or cut into 1/4-inch dice)
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 cups canned whole tomatoes and their liquid
2 to 6 generous dashes of liquid hot sauce
Salt


Sauté the meat, onion, and galric in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook until lightly colored. Add the oregano, cumin, chili powder, tomatoes, hot sauce, and 2 cups hot water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for about 1 hour. Skim off the fat while cooking. Salt to taste.

When I made this recipe, it was super hot. While I enjoyed it, my other taste testers said it was good as long as they had a glass of water close by. I had to add a little extra water to cover all the meat but this recipe was delicious! One person said after their taste buds calmed down, it was really pretty good." Coming from him, that was a huge compliment to the food. Lady Bird Johnson was known to have made a mean pot of chili and her recipe here proves that. During the ranch era, the Dutch oven was introduced to the settlers and it allowed the cooks to brown the meat before adding it to the chili. It improved both the color and the flavor, which made the classic recipes even better. One can still make a more traditional just chile and meat chili where one doesn't brown the meat but over time Tex-Mex has evolved to embrace the new techniques.

Cowboy Beans

In the southwest there is a tradition of cowboys. In the 1800s, one out of every three cowboys was a Mexican vaquero. In the 1400s, crillos (Spanish-born Americans) and mestizos (mixed Indian-Spanish) crossed the Rio Grande river to take advantage of the wide open land that is now the southwest. These crillos men were called caberellos, it comes from the Spanish word for "horse" and literally means gentleman. The many mestizos men that worked under the caberello were called vaqueros and did the brunt of the work.

All the skills and traditions of the American cowboy come from the vaqueros. The caberellos and vaqueros were a proud people and even today families can trace their linage to some of the first caberellos. At first, the vaqeros were hired to drive cattle between Mexico City and New Mexico, and later between Mexico City and Texas. In Spanish, vaquero literally means cowman. In English, they were demoted to cowboys. In 1821, the first white settlers came into the territory to settle. The cattle was literally roaming free and all the new settlers had to do was round it up. Learning from the traditional vaqueros, more and more settlers came and took up the title of cowboy. Even through all these years, the culture of the cowboy has retained a lot of its core valves. When the vaqueros were herding cattle, they ate what was left for dinner and any food they could find. Usually, there would be beans and maybe a little meat left over from the night before (National Geographic).

Cowboy (Vaquero) Beans:
1 teaspoon lard or vegetable oil
4 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 an onion, chopped
2 fresh jalapeño or serrano chiles, stemmed and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups Frijoles and bean broth
1 tablespoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the oil and fry the bacon and onion together in a skillet over high heat until the onion is golden. Add the chiles and the garlic and continue cooking for a minute more, until the chiles are softened. Stir the cooked mixture into the soup pot or crock-pot containing the frijoles, with the bacon grease, if desired. Add the salt and cumin and simmer for 10 minutes or more to combine the flavors. Serve in a bowl, garnished with cilantro. Recipe from The Tex-Mex Cookbook page 26.

This recipe was tons of fun to make, and it was delicious! I did add corn tortillas to the mixture which made it even better in my opinion, but the bites without the corn tortillas were awesome as well. The beans were quite spicy, and if you don't like bacon don't add it. I barely noticed the bacon and it didn't seem absolutely necessary, but it was part of the original recipe. While eating I could totally see the cowboys getting up, eating their breakfeat of beans and the plains of Texas in the background. If you are looking for a wonderful breakfast/brunch with a kick this is definitely a great recipe.

The History Of Tex-Mex.

"Of or pertaining to aspects of culture that combine Mexican and Texan or southwestern U.S. features, especially aspects of culture developed in southern Texas based on or influenced by Mexican elements." That is a definition of Tex-Mex and today the term is usually used to describe food. The Mexican restaurants we eat at in America are usually incorrectly named, and they are in fact mostly Mexican-American food, and usually, Tex-Mex.

The term Tex-Mex was first used to describe the railway going between Mexico and Texas in the late 1800s. In 1922 the newspaper which published the railway schedule used the term Tex-Mex as an abbreviation. The term Tex-Mex was then broaden to encompass all Texan born Mexicans. When the term finally spread to describe food too, it was considered slightly taboo. The cooks considered themselves Mexican chefs and were insulted when the term Tex-Mex was first used. After the term was used in a bestselling cookbook, more and more restaurants embraced the term and dubbed themselves Tex-Mex. Diana Kennedy wrote The Cuisines of Mexico around forty years ago and with that book, Tex-Mex was officially granted an important spot in history, as the oldest regional cuisine in America. Tex-Mex is not just a mixture of Texan and Mexican foods but rather a mix of Native American, Spanish, Indigenous Mexican, and the regional settlers. Tex-Mex has evolved over the years, but has remained the staple foods for over a hundred years (The History of Tex-Mex).

Different parts of each culture contribute to the formation of what is now Tex-Mex food. The vaqueros, or the Mexican cowboys, were the first settlers in the area and their culture can still be seen in the food today. There were Chile Queens that ruled the streets and plazas, cooking chili over open fires and in homemade stalls. They fed everyone, from cowboys to tourists, and became famous for it. There were the Mom and Pop restaurants that developed secret family recipes. There were the spicy dishes, guacamoles and salsas that became staples in American culture. There are tons of dishes that are considered Tex-Mex. Each has an interesting story that can be traced back through history. In this way we all can see how important food really is to a culture (Food Timeline).

Some very common Tex-Mex dishes are:

Botonas are appetizers and platters of samples.
Burritos are very well known and have just recently actually become Tex-Mex as they were mostly seen in California and Arizona until then. They are originally from the Mexican state of Sonora and are made by wrapping a tortilla around a filling.
Chalupas means canoes in Spanish. Actual Mexican chalupas are made by dough pressed into a boat shape before cooking. Tex-Mex chapulas have evolved into something different. They are fried tortillas with a meatless bean and cheese topping.
Chilaquiles are tortillas or scraps topped with meat, cheese, and a sauce.
Chimichangas are deep-fried burritos and according to legend, originated in Tucson.
Enchiladas are corn tortillas softened and wrapped around a filling and topped with a hot oil and sauce.
Enchurito is, as its name suggests, is a half burrito and half enchilada.
Fajita literally means little belt. Originally, fajitas were chopped up steak and served on tortillas to act as a template for tacos. Customers misunderstood and the fajita was born which is now the whole spread of grilled meat, condiments, and tortillas.
Frijoles Refritos are cooked beans mashed in hot oil and is the most common preparation in Tex-Mex cooking. The most common type of bean is the pinto bean, which was originally cultivated by the Native Americans.
Gorditas are made with masa and the circular dough is placed into hot oil where it puffs up and beans, meats and cheeses are commonly placed in the center.
Migas are popular for breakfast and are made out of eggs and crushed tortilla chips or fried scraps.
Nachos are tortilla chips topped with cheese, chilies and other toppings.
Panchos are nachos with refried beans.
Quesadillas are tortillas folded over and have cheese, meat and veggies stuffed in between the halves.
Salsa Picante is basically all hot sauces.
Tacos are tortillas wrapped around a filling. There are many different types of tacos.
Tamales are made with masa spread on a corn husk and rolled up and steamed.
Tostades are fried tortillas.

As one can see, there are many different types of foods that are considered Tex-Mex (Tex-Mex Cookbook 15) (Food Timeline). This blog will attempt to explore some of the different types. The history of food in a certain region is important as it helps show how the cultures mixed and integrated and the importance of certain food items in a culture.