Tex-Mex, barbecue, and chile are important aspects of a culinary culture in Texas that has developed organically over many years of trial and error by thousands of remarkable cooks on both
sides of the border. Tex-Mex cuisine, a melding of regional American and interior Mexican cooking, has become enormously popular not just in the Lone Star State but nationwide and,
increasingly, throughout the world.
Although Tex-Mex in the hands of an accomplished cook can reach new heights of culinary excellence, too often it falls far short of that mark, leading some to think the cuisine begins and
ends with mediocre restaurant fare.Jim Peyton’s The Very Best of Tex-Mex Cooking brings culinary sophistication to the art of Tex-Mex and into American kitchens with a collection of
outstanding recipes and the lore surrounding the style’s most popular dishes.
In this classic book, which Texas Monthly called "the 101 on Texas’s superlative cookin,’ chef and Southwest food expert Jim Peyton carefully selects nearly one hundred of the
cuisine’s dishes and treats them comprehensively, simplifying each technique and recipe. Frijoles borrachos (drunken beans) prove that beer makes everything better. Traditional tamales with a
fragrant pork and red chile filling will make you weep with delight. Barbecued ribs with a Texas rub or a Mexican-style marinade are made all the better with chorizo potato salad. The classic
margarita with fresh Key limes and a Mexican mojito with white tequila serve as the perfect summer cocktails. From the basics of the Mexican table like pico de gallo and guacamole to fused
dishes like tacos, fajitas, enchiladas, chile, and barbecue, the melding of Texas fire-cooked culture with Mexico’s vast medley of flavors has never tasted so good.
