Mexican and Tex-Mex Recipes
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When
we Americans say Mexican foods we are probably talking about Tex-Mex
foods. Some of us don't even grasp the difference. Both
are very spicy and rich in flavor. But beware that
Mexican food is not Tex-Mex food; fajitas and nachos are not part of
it. From the traditional "cabrito" of Monterrey to "mucbilpollo"
and "panuchos" in Yucatan, from "Huachinango a la Veracruzana" in
the Gulf of Mexico to "pozole" in west, from "mole" and "chiles en
nogada" in Puebla to "tasajo" and "cecina" in Oaxaca there is a
world to be discovered, a fascinating experience to the senses that
awaits anybody who enjoys eating. You should note, however,
that traditional Mexican cuisine is likely to be quite different
than expected by non-natives, and varies vastly from region to
region in Mexico. Some areas prepare dishes that many might
consider quite bland, yet others make avid use of spices and hot
chile peppers. The earliest Mexican agricultural staples were
beans, squash and chile peppers, with maize/corn arriving some 2,000
years later. Their diet expanded to include avocados,
coconuts, papayas, pineapples, prickly pears, tomatoes, manioc,
sweet potatoes, peanuts, amaranth, chia seeds, and more varieties of
beans. The herb of choice was usually epazote, similar to
cilantro in its strong, pungent flavor, which also has carminative
gas-reducing powers. Early meats included turkeys, ducks,
venison, quail, peccaries, pigeons, and a wide variety of fish and
shellfish. Early traditional dishes included atole (porridge),
tortillas (very thin flatbread), tamales (filled pastries, both
savory and sweet), and sopas (soups). T he cuisine has expanded to
include a wide variety of dishes way beyond burritos, tacos and
salsa.
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Because I lived in San Antonio, Texas some years ago, I am very
familiar with the TexMex cuisine. If I were to choose a
cuisine that was my all-time favoite of all then I would have to say
that it is TexMex without any additional thought. Food
historians tell us TexMex cuisine originated hundreds of years ago
when Spanish/Mexican recipes combined with Anglo fare. TexMex,
as we Americans know it today, is a twentieth century phenomenon.
Dictionaries and food history sources confirm the first print
evidence of the term "Tex Mex" occurred in the 1940s.
Linguists remind us words are often used for several years before
they appear in print. TexMex restaurants first surfaced
outside the southwest region in cities with large Mexican
populations. The gourmet Tex Mex "fad" began in the 1970s.
Diana Kennedy, noted Mexican culinary expert, is credited for
elevating this common food to trendy fare. These foods
appealed to the younger generation.
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What is Tex-Mex?
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"Tex-Mex food might be described as native foreign food,
contradictory through that term may seem, It is native, for it
does not exist elsewhere; it was born on this soil. But it is
foreign in that its inspiration came from an alien cuisine; that
it has never merged into the mainstream of American cooking and
remains alive almost solely in the region where it
originated..."
---Eating in America, Waverly Root & Richard de Rochemont
[William Morrow:New York] 1976 (p. 281)
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[1940s] "Tex-Mex. A combination of the words "Texan" and
"Mexican," first printed in 1945, that refers to an adaptation
of Mexican dishes by Texas cooks. It is difficult to be precise
as to what distinguishes Tex-Mex from true Mexican food, except
to say that the variety of the latter is wider and more
regional, whereas throughout the state and, now, throughout the
entire United States."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 325)
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[1950s] "Mexican restaurants, whose popularity coincided with
the arrival of large numbers of Mexican immigrants after 1950,
have for the most part followed the from and style of what is
called "Tex-Mex" food, and amalgam of Northern Mexican peasant
food with Texas farm and cowboy fare. Chili, which some consider
Texas's state dish, was unknown in Mexico and derived from the
ample use of beef in Texan cooking. "Refried beans" are a
mistranslation of the Mexican dish frijoles refritos, which
actually means well-fried beans...The combination platter of
enchiladas, tacos, and tortillas became the unvarying standards
of the Tex-Mex menu, while new dishes like chimichangas
(supposedly invented in the the 1950s at El Charro restaurant in
Tucson, Arizona) and nachos (supposedly first served at a
consession at Dallas's State Fair of Texas in 1964...) were
concocted to please the American palate....One Tex-Mex item that
may someday rival the pizza as an extraordinarily successful
ethnic dish is the fajita...introduced at Ninfa's in Houston on
July 13, 1973, as tacos al carbon. No one knows when or where it
acquired the name fajita, which means girdle' or 'strip' in
Spanish and refers to the skirt steak originally used in the
preparation...Only in the last decade has refined, regional
Mexican food taken a foot-hold in American cities, reflecting
not only the tenets of Tex-Mex cookery by the cuisines of Mexico
City, the Yucatan, and other regions with long-standing culinary
traditions."
---America Eats Out, John Mariani [William Morrow:New York] 1991
(p. 80-1) Shall I say
it?...The First Taco Bell opened in 1952.
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[1970s] "In the good old days, Texans went to "Mexican
restaurants" and ate "Mexican food." Then in 1972, The Cuisines
of Mexico, an influential cookbook by food authority Diana
Kennedy, drew the line between authentic interior Mexican food
and the "mixed plates" we ate at "so-called Mexican restaurants"
in the United States. Kennedy and her friends in the food
community began referring to Americanized Mexican food as
"Tex-Mex," a term previously used to describe anything that was
half-Texan and half-Mexican. Texas-Mexican restaurant owners
considered it an insult. By a strange twist of fate, the insult
launched a success. For the rest of the world, "Tex-Mex" had an
exciting ring. It evoked images of cantinas, cowboys and the
Wild West. Dozens of Tex-Mex restaurants sprang up in Paris, and
the trend spread across Europe and on to Bangkok, Buenos Aires
and Abu Dhabi. Tortilla chips, margaritas and chili con carne
are now well-known around the world."
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Although I care little for the Taco Bell food, I truly adore good
TexMex food. Chimichangas, Enchiladas, Tacos, Tamales
and refried beans are what really turn me on. Chips and Salsa
is my basic snack food as you will see below. Chili has a
special place in my heart and I have an entire page of this website
dedicated to chili. I don't have a lot of recipes in Thom's
Recipe File because I seldom prepare TexMex fare. It is just
to easy and too good at my favorite TexMex restaurants.
I have my favorite TexMex Restaurants such as "Jalapeño's" in
Chester, Virginia where I live. Here are the TexMex from
Thom's Recipe File...
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