Stroman - Down home Texas cooking

DOWN HOME

TEXAS

COOKING

REVISED EDITION

JAMES STROMAN

Copyright 2004 by Taylor Trade Publishing

First Taylor Trade Publishing edition 2004

This Taylor Trade Publishing paperback edition of Down Home Texas Cooking is an original publication. It is published by arrangement with the author.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

Published by Taylor Trade Publishing

An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200

Lanham, Maryland 20706

Distributed by National Book Network

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication. Data

Stroman, James.

Down home Texas cooking / James Stroman.2nd ed.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN: 978-1-58979-100-8

1. Cookery, AmericanSouthwestern style. 2. CookeryTexas.

I. Title.

TX715.2.S69S75 2004

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.481992.

Manufactured in the United States of America.

The stars at night

Are big and bright,

Deep in the heart of Texas....

AND SO IS the abundance of great and hearty foods. Texas is definitely a land of contrasts and its food is no exception. Just name your favorite and youll find itsomewhere between Amarillo in the western panhandle and Texarkana on the Arkansas border, from the Red River and Oklahoma in the north all the way south to the Gulf and old Mexico, or from the grand state of Louisiana west to the vast spaces of New Mexico.

I have traveled these borders and have partaken of such delicacies as salt-rising bread, bourbon cake, oysters broiled with bacon, palate-tingling hard and soft pralines, porcupine pudding, Creole eggs, macaroon ice cream, polenta, arroz con pollo, green chile enchiladas, tamale pie, apricot and pineapple conserve atop piping-hot buttered biscuits, molasses custard, chicken barbecued in cabbage, duck in green mole, pheasants with paprika, calico coleslaw, shrimp rarebit, crab espaol, fish and cheese casserole, jambalaya Lafitte, redfish piquant, cream of avocado soup, senegalese, sweet and sour green beans....

And like oil derricks and grazing cattle, Mexican food is an indigenous Texas reality. It isnt really the Mexican cuisine so often prepared in the parts of the state adjoining Mexico, but a hybrid called Tex-Mex. Because of the countless Mexican-Americans who settled Texas and brought their favorite foods with them, these Tex-Mex dishes have been acculturated into Texas life. They include splendid offerings like tortillasthin Mexican bread made of ground corn and water; tostadostortillas cooked until crisp and served with a dip called salsa picante made from pungent chile peppers; tacoscrisp-fried, folded tortillas filled with cheese, meat, lettuce, and tomatoes; bunellosthin, crisp delicacies spread with sugar and cinnamon; tamalesmeat packed within a corn batter; nachoscrisp tortillas covered with delicious melted cheeses and jalapeno peppers; and enchiladas of all descriptions, from those served with authentic Mexican mole sauce to the Tex-Mex variety containing onions, cheese, and chile con carne.

The recipes for these and many more Texas-style dishes are here in plain, everyday Texas verbiage. So move on over to your Magic Chef or campfire and treat yourself to a genuine Texas meal.

Texas has changed a lot since I first wrote this book. Its indeed a land of contrasts, with wide-open spaces and densely populated metropolitan areas. As Ive continued to travel the state and sample its food, Ive tasted the change. When my publisher asked me to update this book, I used the opportunity to add some great new Texas recipes and revise some older classics. Im sure youll find the new mix to be a tasty extravaganza.

Enjoy!

James Stroman

2 c = 1 lb

oz = 1 tbsp

4 c, grated = 1 lb

l sq = 1 oz

4 c = 1 lb

If substituted for 1 oz chocolate, use 3 tbsp cocoa and 1 tbsp fat

5 c = 1 lb

1 tbsp = 2 tbsp flour for thickening

10 oz = 2 c chopped

8 large = 1 c

3 c = 1 lb

16 large = lb

1 c = c evaporated milk and c water

1 c raw = 34 c, cooked

Brown

2 c, firmly packed = 1 lb

Powdered

3 c, sifted = 1 lb

Granulated

2 c = 1 lb

3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon

fluid ounce = 1 tablespoon

16 tablespoons = 1 cup

8 fluid ounces = 1 cup

pint = 1 cup

16 fluid ounces = 2 cups

1 pint = 2 cups

1 ounce = 28 grams

1 pound = 483 grams

1 pint = liter

1 quart = 1 liter

Rinse bowl and beaters used for egg mixtures in cold water before washing. Hot water sets the egg and makes it difficult to remove.

When eggs are to be beaten, remove them from the refrigerator some time before using, as they beat up lighter and more quickly when not too cold.

When white sauce or gravy turns out lumpy, beat with an egg beater. If this fails, put it through a fine sieve.

Place biscuits or rolls one inch apart if you like them crusty on all sides, and touching if you like them soft.

It is easier to remove pinfeathers from a dry bird than it is from a wet, chilled one.

Save dishes by sifting or measuring dry ingredients onto waxed paper instead of into a bowl.

If muffins get done a little before the rest of the meal, loosen them and tip them slightly in the pan. Otherwise they may steam and get soggy on the bottom.

To test candy temperature, drop a little boiling syrup into a cup of cold water. If the syrup can be gathered into a soft ball, it has reached 240F.

To help prevent leftover avocado from darkening, keep it wrapped in waxed paper with the pit until used.

To keep parsley fresh extra long, rinse it in cold water and place it in a tightly closed jar in the refrigerator.