As a native-born Texan, I must confess that I no longer feel the pride I once did in my home state. For one thing, too much of what I loved about it has been torn down and replaced with mattress stores, pay-day loan joints, and cookie-cutter condos so that a trip down the Gulf Freeway might as well be a drive through Nebraska or New Jersey or any of those other places where folks pull up stakes and move to Texas.
I could list other things I find troubling about the state of the State, but now is not the time. It is, in fact, Rodeo Time.
One thing for which I remain rightly ride-or-die for Texas is its food. Whereas most states have one dish they are known for--cheesesteak, say; or key lime pie, or Minnesota's disconcertingly undescriptive hot dish--Texas has a passel of signature dishes: barbecue brisket, chili and chili con queso, chicken fried steak, kolaches, pecan pie, frito pie, and then there's the whole enchilada of spicy delights that is Tex-Mex. Texas is all about the food and the array of heritages that birthed its multilayered cuisine, and Rodeo Time is the perfect time to celebrate it.
It's Rodeo season once again in H-Town and that means barbecue, chili and deep-fried tres leches, but there's a lot more to Texas cuisine. Explore these cookbooks for stomachs as big as Texas.
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Spaghetti Westerns from Kanopy
Despite the subgenre's moniker, these stylish westerns have little to do with Texas and nothing at all to do with food, but are perfect pairings with whatever you cook up from the recommendations above.
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