Tex-Mex Cuisine

So, have you ever wondered if what the differences were between Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisines? A majority of people that eat at the chain Mexican restaurants are actually eating Tex-Mex, a fusion of the two cultures that happened hundreds of years ago.

You won't find Tex-Mex cuisine just in Texas, however. The style is popular in all of the Border States:

• Texas
• New Mexico
• Arizona

Recently, with the rise of such popular chefs and food stars as Bobby Flay and Stephen Pyles, Tex-Mex has become more widely known as Southwestern Cuisine. Its rise in popularity is not surprising. Tex-Mex food, when done well, is a colorful combination of intense flavors and textures.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary the first known reference to this type of food as Tex-Mex was in 1963 in an article in the New York Times.

There are some ingredients and flavors that are common to almost all Tex-Mex food. These items give it the unique flavor and heat that fans of this cuisine crave. While this is by no means a comprehensive list some of the common ingredients are:

• Beans – Pinto beans are well known in Tex-Mex cooking but there are many other types of dried beans used as well.
• Cheese – Almost every Tex-Mex dish has a little cheese of some sort grated on top.
• Cilantro - a warm flavored herb that is used fresh in salsas and other dishes. Cilantro just tastes like summer.
• Chipotle – is a dried, smoked jalapeno pepper. It is spicy and smoky at the same time.
• Corn – used fresh, ground, or creamed this starch finds its way into almost all Tex-Mex meals. Corn tortillas, corn purees, corn on the cob…it's all here.
• Cumin - an earthy, flavorful herb that is best known in Indian cooking. In fact, this herb is rarely used in true Mexican cooking.
• Garlic – this bulb is used with a lighter hand than in many Italian recipes but used with restraint it gives another layer of flavor to Tex-Mex cuisine.
• Meat – beef, goat, lamb, chicken, pork, seafood are all represented on the Tex-Mex menu.
• Peppers- of all types from Jalapeno to Bell figure prominently in Tex-Mex cuisine.
• Sour Cream – Sour cream was most likely introduced into Tex-Mex cooking by the German immigrants to the Hill Country of Texas in the mid 1800s. It is now a staple ingredient.
• Tomatoes – Whether used raw in fresh salsas or cooked into a flavorful sauce tomatoes are a primary ingredient of this cuisine.

You probably won't need to add very many special items to your kitchen in order to cook Tex-Mex. Most of the preparation techniques are similar to the techniques in other cuisines.

You will probably want to add at least the following, however:

• Mortar and Pestle- for crushing and grinding ingredients there is no more flavorful way to extract all the flavor than with this ancient item.
• Tortilla Press – is not necessary but is nice to have if you will be making tortillas homemade.
• Large Steamer- is a necessity if you will be making tamales.
• Tortilla Steamer
• A good Tex-Mex cookbook

Here are a couple of easy recipes to get you started.

While you may think this is a lame attempt at Tex- Mex you need to know that this was served at every football game in Texas throughout the 1970s. You just bought a bag of Fritos and the concession stand would spoon chili over the top and sprinkle with cheese.

Fritos are a Texas invention and while this may seem like a much too simple recipe.it is delicious and kid friendly.

Frito Pie Recipe

• 3 cups   Fritos Original corn chips
• 1 cup Texas yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 cup grated Cheddar
• 2 cups  Chili

Directions:

1.      Preheat oven to 350°F.

2.      Divide the Fritos between 6 oven safe bowls.

3.      Sprinkle half the onion and half of the cheese over the Fritos.

4.      Spoon the chili over the onion and cheese.

5.      Sprinkle the remaining onion and cheese over the chili.

6.      Add a little more cheese

7.      Bake for 15 or 20 minutes and cheese is bubbly.

8.      Serve hot

6 Servings

Perfect for tortilla chips, crackers, or raw veggies.

· 2 8 oz packaged Philadelphia Cream Cheese  

· 1 cup salsa

· 1 cup shredded Colby-jack cheese

· 4 green onions sliced

· 1/2 cup sour cream, optional

1.      Soften the cream cheese

2.      Spread in the bottom of a 8x8 casserole

3.      Top with salsa, then cheese, then onions

4.      Top with sour cream