Tex-Mex

Editor's Note: This recipe originally accompanied a story on Mother's Day. Tequila and beer make these slushy, orange-and lime-flavored drinks pack a Texas-size punch. They're just the thing on a blazing-hot summer night.

This homey soup—a piquant start to a satisfying Mexican-style dinner of tacos or enchiladas, or a main dish when paired with a grilled cheese sandwich and a salad—gets its fire from a chopped jalapeño.

Chicken soup is an automatic crowd-pleaser, but this Mexican-inspired tortilla soup does the classic one better. Homemade broth is key here, providing a base for brown rice, black beans, and chunks of sweet potato. Cooling pieces of avocado play off of a warm, earthy undercurrent of chipotle chiles.

Brisket is commonly used to make corned beef, but I find that it lends itself well to other preparations. And once it's in the oven, you can forget about it for hours—it's that easy to prepare. This brisket with a south-of-the-border kick is one of my very favorites. The meat actually tastes better to me when it sits overnight so all the flavors have more time to marry. It will hold well for a few days. While good reheated the next day, the meat served cold in a sandwich is a delicious alternative to leftovers. I serve the brisket alone or alongside a grilled steak, as it emphasizes steak's meaty flavor.

A double layer of bread crumbs is the key to these extra-crispy homemade bar snacks.

Editor's note: The recipe below is adapted from Elizabeth Karmel's Web site, girlsatthegrill.com. This rub originally accompanied Karmel's recipe for Slow-Cooked Texas Beer Brisket .

Editor's note: The recipe below is adapted from Elizabeth Karmel's Web site, girlsatthegrill.com .

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from The Barbecue! Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, by Steven Raichlen. To read more about Raichlen and barbecue, go to our feature The Best Barbecue in the U.S.A. Pork may be the preferred barbecue east of the Mississippi (think of the pork shoulder of the Carolinas and the ribs of Kansas City and Memphis), but in Texas beef is king—especially beef brisket, which comes moist and smoky and tender enough to cut with a fork. (Not that any self-respecting Texas barbecue buff would use a fork.) Barbecued brisket is simultaneously one of the easiest and most challenging recipes in the world of barbecue. Easy because it requires only one main ingredient: brisket (even the rub is optional). Challenging because pit masters spend years learning the right combination of smoke (lots), heat (low), and time (measured in half days rather than hours) to transform one of the toughest, most ornery parts of the steer into tender, meaty perfection. Over the years, I've found that two things help above all: choosing the right cut of -brisket—namely, untrimmed, with a thick sheath of fat—and then cooking the brisket in a shallow pan. The pan keeps the juices from dripping onto the fire and the meat from drying out, while allowing for the maximum smoke penetration from the top. A whole brisket (the sort cooked by a restaurant) weighs eighteen to twenty pounds. Here I call for a partially trimmed brisket—a cut weighing five to six pounds. Do not attempt to make this with a two-pound trimmed, fatless brisket; it will turn out much too dry. To achieve the requisite smoke flavor, you need to smoke the brisket in a charcoal grill—or in a smoker. A gas grill will not produce enough smoke.

Flank steak stars in a satisfying meal that guests can assemble to their liking. We are big fans of tomatillo salsas for their bright, slightly acidic flavor, which is complemented here by creamy avocado.

This dish was the surprise of the year. The ingredients might seem ordinary, but trust us — it's fantastic.

A salsa this simple lives or dies by the quality of the ingredients—ripe avocado, luscious tomato, and a sweet, crunchy ear of corn. Most of my corn salsa recipes call for grilled corn. This one features the succulent crunch of raw corn to reinforce the sweetness of the fresh avocado.

I've never quite understood the appeal of the traditional shrimp cocktail. I mean, what could be less interesting than cold boiled shrimp dipped in a lackluster mixture of ketchup and prepared horseradish? Here's a shrimp cocktail with gumption, featuring chile-rubbed, grill-seared shrimp served over a colorful, chunky salsa of avocado and sweet corn. You can chill the grilled shrimp before you serve them, but I like the contrast of hot shrimp and cool salsa.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 2 3/4 hr

Veggie crumbles, a savory blend of vegetable and grain proteins, lend this chili a hearty, ground beef flavor. Look for it in the frozen foods section of the supermarket. To go with the chili, warm some of the new flavored tortillas, and add a composed salad of jicama and red onion with poppy seed ranch dressing. Then splurge with banana splits.

Serve grated cheese, sour cream, guacamole and salsa with the fajitas. Begin with Margaritas, and finish with coffee ice cream drizzled with Kahlúa.