Two months from now, my new cookbook arrives. “Foods of La Frontera: Recipes and New Taste Frontiers from Both Sides of the Border” comes out Sept. 15, and you can pre-order it right here. This book took me ten years and 1,954 miles to make. Here's how it began.
I stood on the banks of the Rio Grande right where Ambos Laredos meet – Laredo, Texas, on one side and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, on the other. I could hear my homeland from across the water. Ranchera music. Roosters crowing. Smoke from carne asada drifting over. Mexico was right there. The country where I was born, the country I had left to follow my husband in our newlywed life.
I have spent most of my life feeling ni de aquí, ni de allá. Neither from here nor there. A Jewish girl in Mexico, a Mexican in the USA. But standing at that river, sensing the centuries of shared history and foods created together, I realized there was an entire region with 31 million fronterizos whose stories needed to be better understood and whose food needed to be tasted. They took me in like one of their own and, in between worlds, I felt so at home.
The journey took me from Tijuana and San Diego, where the border plunges into the Pacific, to Matamoros and Brownsville, where it dissolves into the Gulf. I ate scallops pulled from the Sea of Cortez minutes before, sliced into ceviche right in the shell. I feasted on Puerto Nuevo lobster folded into flour tortillas with guajillo red rice and refried beans. I finished with bride's finger cookies, so fragile they nearly dissolve before you can bite down.
When Mexicans from the northern states eat something outrageously delicious, they say "está grosero," so good it makes you want to swear. The borderlands left me swearing, humbled, and changed as a cook. Some of this journey you can watch. The “La Frontera” episodes are on YouTube, and the book picks up where the show leaves off, with many more recipes and stories.
The border region is communities, families, kitchens. Every New Year, two children, one from each Laredo, walk to the center of the bridge between our countries and exchange an abrazo. This book is my version of that hug.
Inside are flaky borderland flour tortillas. Velvety salsa macha. The Mennonite pizza of Chihuahua. Mexicali chicken chow mein. Cowboy candy from Texas. The true story of the Caesar salad, born in Tijuana. And a chocolate tres leches that tastes like every birthday you ever loved.
Pre-orders tell bookstores to stock a book and tell the world its stories matter. So I want to thank you properly if you pre-order. Email me at [email protected] and I will send you a signed bookplate, dedicated to you or whoever you are gifting the book to. It is my way of sending back a little of the love you all give me that I am so grateful for.
Only two months! I cannot wait for this book to be in your kitchen.
Con un fuerte abrazo,
The Recipes
My new cookbook comes out in September, but here are three recipes you can cook from the borderlands while we wait.
Carne con Chile Burritos
One of those dishes that’s like a bridge between Sonora and Tucson. Tender slow-simmered brisket in a rich, thick colorado chile sauce wrapped up in large flour tortillas. Top with avocado, queso, salsa as you please.
Sopa Fría
Proximity to the US inspired this macaroni salad that’s a staple for celebrations all over Sonora. Chipotles en adobo bring a touch of smoky heat to the dressing, making it distinctly Mexican. Bring it to your next cookout.
Sopaipillas
I discovered these delightful sweet fritters in Chihuahua, and you also find them in New Mexico. Made with simple pantry items, they are perfect when you need a spur of the moment treat for surprise guests.
What I’m Into Right Now
Reading📖: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a Potawatomi botanist who braids Indigenous knowledge with science. The land gives to us and we owe something back, a truth Native peoples have carried for thousands of years. I think about it every time I pick another plum.
Listening🎵: As a lover of all things Tucson, I was thrilled to learn there is a Linda Ronstadt Day, just yesterday, July 15. I celebrated by playing Brian López's version of Blue Bayou in Spanish, Lago Azul, on repeat. Listen once and you will understand.
Craving🍰: All things stone fruit. My plum and apricot trees are heavy with fruit, and I have been cooking my way through the branches. Here is a plum empanada and a tres leches with plums and apricots to put yours to glorious use.
Traveling✈️: Nowhere, and I could not be happier! I am home in the DC area for a few more weeks, and I have realized I am 50 percent domestic and 50 percent nomad. Right now the domestic side is getting all 100 percent.
Hey Pati
Every day I read messages you send me by email and on social media. I love hearing from you, and I'm sharing some of the great questions you ask.
Q: Dear Pati, Are you doing a book tour this fall, and are you coming to New York? — B. Janson
A: Yes and yes. I am planning the fall tour as we speak. For now, I know I am coming to New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Tucson, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Austin, San Antonio and Denver, plus many events in the DC area. If there is a city you want me to come to, tell me. The tour is not finished yet. — Pati