"homesick texan" news and stories

Photo: stuart_spivak, Flickr.

For diners who shun waffles, pancakes and other saccharine starters, there are few more satisfying brunch options than savory-cheesy migas. Less refined than its Spanish or Portuguese counterpart -- which frugally pairs olive oil with leftover bread and eggs -- the Tex-Mex version piles scrambled eggs high with tortilla chips, salsa and cheese, even tossing in jalapenos, red onions, black beans, bacon, chorizo and more in kitchen-sink versions.

Mark Bittman waxes poetic about the carb-y grub, which takes its name from the Spanish word for "crumbs," in his Bitten column, but our preferred source for the topic -- rightfully so -- is the Homesick Texan, who alludes to the "crime" of not ordering the breakfast when in Austin. But if you're not local, experiment at home with our favorite Lone Star state recipe.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot at having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

Cow head in banana leaves at Hill Country. Photo: Kat Kinsman

There comes a time in every girl's life -- when she's ripping open the long-braised skull of a short-lived calf in order to better wobble out its beer-marinated brain -- that she smiles contentedly and realizes she loves her life an awful lot. Then she goes for the eyes.

Well OK, not every girl's life -- but at least those of a troika of squeam-free dames including Hill Country's executive chef and cookbook author Elizabeth Karmel, Homesick Texan writer Lisa Fain and lucky, lucky me. And it all happened because of Twitter.

See a step-by-step barbacoa making slideshow and read a description after the jump. Warning -- it's not for vegetarians or the faint of stomach.

Today is Election Day here in the US of A and no matter who you vote for, the most important thing is that you get out there and vote. Today's election-related picture of Hoe/Hope Cakes comes from the Homesick Texan who says this about her cakes:

The best thing about hoecakes is their economy. They cost little to make but yield large returns for both the mouth and the stomach. A hoecake's simplicity is a palliative for these complex times.

Simple, but delicious food for challenging times. Consider settling down to watch the election returns tonight with a warm bowl of soup and a short stack of hearty hoe cakes.

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Some of you might look at the title and that pictures and think to yourself, "Marisa, what are you doing featuring an image of a nacho on healthy snacks day? They aren't healthy!" However, in the spectrum of nachos, these are far more healthy (and delicious) than the ones (those gloopy, soggy piles of chips under fake, processed cheese) that often appear on our Super Bowl snack table. As an added bonus, the Homesick Texan has written a blog post about all about these classic nachos made with nothing but good chips, Longhorn cheddar cheese and jalapeno slices.

And, as always, if you think you might just like to see one of your own images here on Slashfood, head over to our Flickr group, join up and start adding your pictures.

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I haven't turned my computer off in days now. This is almost entirely due to the fact that I have a bunch of tabs open in Firefox and I keep thinking that I want to write about them all before I close the window and turn off the machine (I know that I could bookmark them all and come back later, but I know myself, if they aren't open and in front of my face, I will quickly forget). The problem has been that I haven't been able to muster up an entire post about any one of them, so instead they sit there, languishing, taunting me with their titles and icons. I've decided that instead of trying to come up with a single post for each one, I'd do a little round up and share with you the things that I'm finding appealing and delicious these days.

This one goes nicely with my split pea inquiry from earlier today. Last week, Lindsey Nair at the Fridge Magnet, inspired by a reader's question, put together a post all about ways to spruce up beans.

My boyfriend grew up just outside of New York City and so had a deep fondness for black and white cookies. He claims that nothing you can get in Philly even comes close. Lucky for me (as I was about to embark on a black and white cookie baking project) Ed Levine wrote a post about all about these cakey cookies and included a link as to where you can order them online.