Sandra Marquez - Cooking Texas style : traditional recipes from the Lone Star State

Cooking Texas StyleTraditional Recipes from the Lone Star State by Candy Wagner and Sandra Marquez University of Texas Press
Austin Copyright 1983, 1993, 2013 by the University of Texas Press
Preface copyright 2013 by the University of Texas Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America Second edition originally published 1993
First paperback printing, 2013 Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to: Permissions
University of Texas Press
P.O. Box 7819
Austin, TX 78713-7819
utpress.utexas.edu/index.php/rp-form The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows: Wagner, Candy, 1946
Cooking Texas style : 10th anniversary edition / by Candy Wagner and Sandra Marquez.2nd ed., rev. and expanded.
p. cm.
Includes index.
1. CookeryTexas. 2.

Cookery, AmericanSouthwestern style. 3.TexasSocial life and customs. I. Marquez, Sandra, 1948 .II. Title.
TX715.W137 1993
641.59764dc20 93-7381 ISBN 978-0-292-74773-9 (pbk.) doi:10.7560/747739 ISBN 978-0-292-74894-1 (library e-book) ISBN 978-0-292-74893-4 (individual e-book) Preface to 2013 Edition We could have never imagined the journey we had in store for us when we wrote this book. When it was first published, the interest in Texas food as a cuisine and way of life was just beginning.

In the ensuing years we traveled all over the state and country speaking about Texas and its food. We went from California to New York to Chicago to the tip of Texas doing newspaper, magazine, radio, and television interviews; book signings; and cooking demonstrations. We learned so very much from these experiences and gathered new facts about Texas, its history and cuisine, as well as information about other cultures and lifestyles. We found that as a cuisine becomes more popular it leads to experimentation and expansion. Many people we met have shared with us not only their family history but also their own recipes and variations. We were thrilled when a dish, formerly found only on a Texas kitchen table, was featured on the cover of a gourmet magazine, and we applauded the addition of down-home Texas dishes on menus of five star restaurants everywhere.

This interest has continued to grow and swell, and we can easily understand why that has happened. It is not only interest in the recipes but also in the heritage and lifestyle behind the food. It seems that after thirty years we have come full circle. We see now that people are beginning to get in touch with the roots of their food. There is a resurgence of interest in old-fashioned food, in cooking like your grandmother. The recipes included in this book have a past, a past that takes us back to a time in which people were interested in the origin of the ingredients and the process of cooking itself, as well as enjoying and sharing the wonderful results.

That focus on local, fresh ingredients; taking the time to enjoy cooking; and being a part of the process by gardening, canning, curing meat, or baking has renewed interest. So if you are just looking for a great recipe for peach cobbler, if you need some ideas for a real Texas barbecue, if you want to try your hand at canning or making your own tortillas or even stuffing your own sausage, we think you will find what you are looking for here. Or you could also just sit back with a cool glass of Texas Sunshine and read about simpler times. Those simpler times were wonderful and are here again. Fortunately, some things never changewe all enjoy good food and times with family and friends. The kitchen is still the heart of the home where people are welcomed, entertained, and nourished.

It is the place where friends and family gather and great food is created together. Please join us as we celebrate that lifestyle and look forward to many more years of happy cooking, eating, and livingTexas style! Acknowledgments A very special thanks to our parents, Dona and Harvey Erben, for the idea, support, help, love, and our childhood of Texas cooking. They taught us about and instilled in us pride in our heritage and love for our state and its lifestyle. To our children, Wendy, Jill, Russell, and Webster: we thank them for their patience and testing when we first began this project, and their encouragement, praise, active participation, and pride since then. We would like to give credit to two special aunts: Almira Conway, who contributed recipes and never tired of helping, and Gertrude Walker, who shared with us her wealth of knowledge on food, cooking, and feeding a crowd. For their contributions we also thank our brothers, Randy Erben and Andy Erben; family members Martha Fischer, Nell Livingston, Barry Bibb, Nora and Doyle Wagner; and our friends Camille Becker and Ann Smith.

Gratitude and special memory go to our aunts Jackie Merrick and Pauline Lusson. Introduction It has been said that there are two kinds of people in the world: Texans and those who want to be. It has been said, as well, that Texans have a tendency to tell tall tales and exaggerate a bit, and the first statement probably fits into this category. However, Texans enjoy a lifestyle that has great appeal: a casual elegance with good times, good food, and carefree entertaining. We would like to share this feeling of Texas and hope that through these pages you will find not only a collection of recipes but a way of life that can be adapted anywhere. Part of the appeal and uniqueness of Texas comes from its variety.

Within its boundaries there are dust-blown plains in the Panhandle, golden sun-drenched beaches on the Gulf Coast, verdant pine forests to the east, and desert sands and rugged mountains to the west. The cultures and traditions are as varied as the topography, and these variations are exemplified in Texas food. Some background may be helpful in explaining the influences of these various cultures as well as why these recipes, passed to us through the generations, are considered staples of the Lone Star State. Our family background in Texas began with John Coker, a young man who left his native state of Alabama in the early 1830s for the wide open spaces of what is now known as Texas. John found himself in the middle of the Texas Revolution and joined Sam Houstons forces at the Battle of San Jacinto. Under General Houstons orders, John Coker and six other men led by Erastus Deaf Smith were sent out to destroy Vinces Bridge.

They accomplished their mission on the morning of April 21, 1836. With this bridge destroyed, General Santa Anna and his Mexican army were trapped. Later that afternoon, General Houston and his army made a surprise attack and, with no place to retreat, Santa Anna and his men were defeated. It was this battle that won Texas its independence from Mexico. Those who fought were rewarded with gifts of land. The Texas Legislature gave John Coker one-third league of land (1,920 acres) situated in what is now San Antonio.

John, a bachelor, sent for his family in Alabama. One of his brothers, Joseph Coker, with his wife and their eight children, began the trek by covered wagon to join him. Josephs wife died during the trip, and he and the children continued the journey, arriving in Texas in 1840. They settled on part of the land which had been given to John. Here our great-great-great-great-uncle John and great-great-great-grandfather Joseph began a new life. Even today, that area in north San Antonio is known as the Coker Settlement.

Our next ancestor to arrive in Texas was Heinrich Conrad Friedrich Christian Bremer, who sailed from Verden, Germany, with his wife, Judith Annette Christiane Bremer, and five children and landed at Galveston on November 22, 1844. One more child was born during the voyage. Heinrich was a member of the Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas, and this entitled him to a piece of good landthe size according to the number in his family. After arriving in Galveston, the family sailed to Port Lavaca on Matagorda Bay. From there they made their way north by wagon until, on March 21, 1845, they reached their settlementNew Braunfels, Texas. Heinrich Bremer is listed as one of the founding fathers of New Braunfels, and there and in the surrounding areas he helped to settle over 135 years ago his descendants have lived ever since.