There’s no place like home…for Tex-Mex

My two oldest kids go to college in New England. The culinary upside: we have gallons of insanely expensive maple syrup (remember we’re two thousand miles from the closest sugar house) stored in our kitchen pantry. We profligately search for ways to use it. A recipe calls for a teaspoon of maple flavoring? No problem. Substitute a half cup of the real thing. Oh…why not a cup?

The culinary downside of living in New England: the dearth of Mexican- more precisely Tex-Mex- food. Every time the kids come home, on the way back from the airport we stop at their favorite restaurant. So this Wednesday, before dropping off their luggage, meeting their new puppy or seeing their grandparents, they’ll devour enchiladas verdes, nachos, salsa and, for my 22 year old, an authentic Texas margarita.

Which is why I introduced them to the Homesick Texan, a blog written by a “tex-pat” who recreates the dishes of her youth, written in the soothing vernacular of my rural Texas grandparents, in New York City.

This recipe for Hatch Chile Potato Casserole will be the perfect accompaniment to the beef tenderloin my Manhattan-bred mother-in-law serves every Christmas Eve. And spicy enough to satisfy my kids’ Tex-Mex cravings.