Don't Count the Tortillas

Book excerpt: From an early age, Chef Adán Medrano understood the power of cooking to enthrall, to grant artistic agency, and to solidify identity as well as succor and hospitality. In this second cookbook, he documents and explains native ingredients, traditional techniques, and innovations in casero (home-style) Mexican American cooking in Texas. "Don't Count the Tortillas" offers over 100 kitchen-tested recipes, including newly created dishes that illustrate what is trending in homes and restaurants across Texas. Each recipe is followed by clear, step-by-step instructions, explanation of cooking techniques, and description of the dishes' cultural context. Dozens of color photographs round out Chef Medrano's encompassing of a rich indigenous history that turns on family and, more widely, on community--one bound by shared memories of the art that this book honors.