Green Spaghetti and Cowboy Candy: Pati Jinich Celebrates the “New” Mexican Cuisine

Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio

In this episode of Christopher Kimball's Milk Street Radio, renowned chef Pati Jinich shares her culinary journey across the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, exploring innovative

Key takeaways

• Authentic Mexican cuisine is evolving beyond traditional boundaries, especially through cross-border influences.
• Dishes like cowboy candy and green spaghetti represent the fusion of regional ingredients and culinary innovation.

Main topics

• The evolution of Mexican cuisine in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands
• Innovative dishes such as green spaghetti and cowboy candy

Notable quotes

"It's jalapeños or serranos that are macerated in simple syrup. And they're addicting."

"Green spaghetti is like a bechamel sauce enriched with poblano chiles and jalapeños... it's a pasta like no other."

Conclusion

This episode celebrates the dynamic and inclusive nature of modern American cuisine

Transcript preview

Speaker 4 (0:00) Hey, this is Christopher Kimball. Next May, we're taking a culinary tour of northeastern Spain, and we'd like you to come along. You'll eat just like the locals, which means lobster stew at a folding table by the sea, and sausages and vermouth in a neighborhood taverna. You'll also make fideas a la cazola and sip cava at a small winery. Forage with a botanist and transform your wild harvest into an elegant dinner. And eat barbecue a la Catalonia in a field at the foot of the Pyrenees. Please join us. Head to culinarybackstreets.com slash milkstreet to learn more. That's culinarybackstreets.com slash milkstreet. Thanks for downloading this week's podcast. If you'd like to hear an ad-free version of this episode and every episode, please visit our show page in your Apple Podcast app. Again, you can listen to our show ad-free and support the work we do here at Milk Street. Go visit the Milk Street Radio page in your Apple Podcast app and start your seven-day free trial. And thanks. This is Milk Street Radio from PRX, and I'm your host, Christopher Kimball. Speaker 4 (1:11) Today, Patty Yenich shares stories and recipes from her time traveling along the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. She ate things like cowboy candy. Speaker 3 (1:20) It's jalapeños or serranos that are macerated in simple syrup. And they're addicting. And Speaker 4 (1:29) green spaghetti. Speaker 3 (1:31) It is like a bechamel sauce that's enriched. with poblano chiles and jalapeños and onion and garlic, sometimes tomatillo. Then you add cheese on top. And it's a pasta like no other. Speaker 4 (1:46) The foods of La Frontera, that's coming up later in the show. But first, we visit America's biggest night in food. Speaker 4 (1:55) Every year, the industry gets together for the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards. It started back in 1991 when Wolfgang Puck was named Outstanding Chef and Nancy Silverton won for Pastry. That night, Rick Bayless, Jasper White, and Emeril Lagasse all took home regional awards. 35 years later, they're all considered legends. This year, Gail Simmons hosted the awards in Chicago. Speaker 1 (2:21) Wow, it is a great looking room. Good evening, everyone. Welcome to this year's James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards. Congratulations. This is where icons are made. Speaker 4 (2:35) Mill Street Radio senior producer Sarah Clapp spent the evening in the press room and spoke to honorees just moments after their big wins. Speaker 1 (2:46) My name is Carrie Kawa-Harding. I'm with Johnny's Cafe in Omaha, Nebraska, and we won the Classics Award tonight. And I'm Sally Kawa, the other owner. We're sisters. So Speaker 6 (2:57) what does it mean to be named an American Classic? How does that kind of fit into the story Speaker 1 (3:02) of your restaurant? Well, we're a very long-standing restaurant, over 100 years. We're built on the backbone of the cattle industry. We're located... right next to where the stockyards used to be. And so that has continued. We still hand cut and age our beef. We're really a classic steakhouse. But I think because we've been around so long, we have so many customers that come in that came in as children, like their grandparents brought them as they were bringing cattle to the stockyards. And if their grandfather and their father got a good price on a cow he was selling, then they got to go eat at Johnny's and have lunch. And then if it was a really good price, maybe they got to have dessert. And, you know, where you had your prom, where, you know, you came on your first date and where you are just kind of celebrating everyday things and some really special occasions. And we've just been like... I don't know, there's always something crazy going on. We were closed for the filming of like, About Schmidt, the movie. That was a really fun thing. We were in some music videos. It was a local one, but there's always something going on. It's a very unique, beautiful restaurant. So we've always got something going on. Speaker 7 (4:12) My name is Huni Kim. I am the chef and owner of Medju in Queens, New York, and I just won Best Chef New York State. We are a restaurant very strict in the ingredients that we use. Every course is about wild Korean fermentation. Nothing that my Korean grandmother would not recognize as a Korean ingredient we do not use. Speaker 1 (4:42) Noxuntranon, chef owner, Kaliya Thai Philadelphia. We just one outstanding restaurant. Speaker 1 (4:50) I don't hope for a life-changing experience because I can't change anybody's life with my food, but I can change their perception about Thai food, about, you know, the spicy level that, you know, it never kills anybody. And it's the perception of ethnic food that could be elevated and it deserves the global stage. Speaker 7 (5:21) We're from Wild Crumb Bakery in Bozeman, Montana. I'm Swarthie, the bread manager. Speaker 4 (5:29) Oh, Speaker 7 (5:30) and we won Most Outstanding Bakery. Sorry. We're 65 employees packed in a very, very small bakery. And our customers line outside the door, whether it be, you know, summer and it's 90 degrees or winter, negative, you know, 40 degrees. People Speaker 8 (5:46) are feral for pie. Speaker 8 (5:50) I Speaker 7 (5:50) want to trademark that for a shirt. Trademark pending. It's become a daily spot for a lot of people. Before I started working at Chrome, it was my emotional support treat of the day. The first treat that I ever had was the huckleberry scone, and we sell hundreds of them. A little bit of crusty sugar on top. They're fabulous. They're my favorite. Mine would be the orange pecan sticky bun, fresh out of the oven. The brown butter Speaker 8 (6:22) pumpkin bread. Oh my gosh. The little mini individual ones with the brown butter maple glaze on Speaker 2 (6:27) them. Speaker 8 (6:27) Okay, that's what I want to change mine to. Speaker 1 (6:29) Yep. Wow. Speaker 1 (6:35) I'm Evelyn Garcia, chef and co-owner of June in Houston, Texas, and we just won Best Chef Texas. Speaker 7 (6:41) I'm Chef Henry Liu, co-owner of June in Houston, Texas, and we just won Best Chef Texas. June was always a love story of our family, our upbringing, our culture, our history. Speaker 7 (6:57) The American food that we understand it to be. My parents are immigrants from China. Her parents are immigrants from El Salvador and Mexico. And we just clash the worlds together. Speaker 1 (7:08) I always joke around. I'm like, we have the same palate. We love the same things. One Speaker 7 (7:14) of my favorite things is probably the nueganos. Speaker 1 (7:18) Yeah. A Speaker 7 (7:19) nueganos is a Salvadorian pastry. It's super chewy, made with yuca, very savory. We drizzle it with pinoncillo honey, which is unrefined cane sugar from Mexico, topped with fried orange, candied, salt. The flavor is unexpected. The texture is unexpected. It looks like a donut, but it's not a donut. It's very confusing Speaker 1 (7:43) if you've never had one before. And it's really funny because I'm Salvadorian, so everybody's like, oh, I'm so happy you put, you know, nuegos on the menu. And I was like, actually... It was Henry who really wanted the Nuegos on the menu. And I think it's like one of the most proudest things. And it's funny that I always get the credit for, but it was Henry who put it on there. Speaker 1 (8:05) I am Jessica Vane from the Serving Spoon restaurant and we were honored tonight with America's Classic. Speaker 7 (8:11) Yes, and I'm Justin Johnson with the Serving Spoon. We're located in Englewood, California. We're a family-owned business. This is my sister. The business was founded by her grandfather in 1983, then owned by our parents, and then my sister and I, we took it over about four years ago. And so it's really cool to see everybody's efforts come all together and be able to be celebrated like this on a national scale. It's really, really special to us. Speaker 1 (8:34) So we have customers that come in anywhere from one to seven times a week. And so one, they're expecting to see some of their friends and their family members as well as the employees. And vice versa, we're expecting to see them. So that always makes it a reunion. Yeah, Speaker 7 (8:49) it's pretty cool. Sometimes people come to the restaurant. Not even to eat, just to say hi, just to check in on us, because it's all love at the servant's food. Speaker 1 (8:56) Do you have a favorite regular you'd like to shout out right now or someone who makes your day when you come in? You know what? Mr. Joe. Mr. Joe is a regular of ours. He is 99 right now, and he's going through a little bit of health issues. So shout out to Mr. Joe. He's a top-tier loyal spirit. Speaker 7 (9:16) We're always thinking about you, Mr. Joe. Speaker 4 (9:25) Those were a few of the winners of the 2026 James Beard Awards, speaking to senior producer Sarah Clapp. Open call for the 2027 James Beard Awards begins September 30th. You can find more information at jamesbeard.org slash awards. Speaker 4 (9:45) Now it's time to answer cooking questions with my co-host, Sarah Moulton. Sarah is, of course, the star of Sarah's Weeknight Meals on public television. Her latest book is Home Cooking 101. Speaker 4 (9:58) Sarah, before we start, I have a question. Okay. So, food TVs changed a lot. And you were there at the beginning, and we had the basic cooking shows, which you did, which I've done. We had Food Network, then we had the big competition shows, and now I guess we have the next iteration of competition shows. And we had Tony Bourdain, which was, I think, his own show. Is there any cooking show on television now you really like to watch or think is adding something new to the mix? Speaker 6 (10:27) Well, it's funny you should ask because I don't watch food shows. Oh, well, that's the perfect question. But if I did and I should, I'd watch the British Baking Show. Yeah, that's still a good show. Because that's pretty unique and it's real people. It's not sort of fake real people. Speaker 4 (10:42) Yeah, I know. I do Speaker 6 (10:42) like Speaker 4 (10:42) that. Yeah. Speaker 6 (10:43) So to me, that would be the most significant one. And I don't know why I don't. If I inadvertently end up watching a food show, even if it's a competition show, which I hate, I always learn something. So I don't know what my problem is. I guess I'd rather read. Let's put it that way. Speaker 4 (10:58) Okay, so let's go to the calls. Speaker 6 (11:00) Yeah, let's take some calls. Welcome to Milk Street. Who's calling? Speaker 8 (11:04) Hi, my name is Kim from Rhode Island. How can we help you Speaker 6 (11:07) today? Speaker 8 (11:08) First of all, thanks for having me on. Big fan of the show. I love to bake sweet potato muffins for my daughter, and my husband picked up some purple sweet potatoes the other day at the store. I was looking forward to making these beautiful, bright purple sweet potato muffins for my toddler. But when I made the batter, I didn't realize that the baking soda in my standard sweet potato muffin recipe would turn them this blue-green color. I love the taste and the texture, but I'm wondering how to achieve both of those things and also keep them bright purple. Speaker 6 (11:43) Jeez, that's sort of rough because we are talking about, I never know how to pronounce this, anthrocyanins. You know, those are the very, very brightly colored blue, purple guys. And they do react, I mean, with acid in particular, but I guess also a base. So does a base. So I hate to tell you, I don't think there's any way to fix it. Oh, that's Speaker 8 (12:05) a bummer. Speaker 6 (12:05) Well, look, I have a Speaker 4 (12:07) seven-year-old. He just turned seven last week. He wants blue icing on his chocolate cake for his birthday every year. It comes out this weird color. In my household, that would be good news, not bad news. Speaker 2 (12:18) The Speaker 4 (12:18) only way to get around it if it's unappetizing is to add some color to it artificially, but I don't see how you get away. Well, I guess the other question is if you get away from making it acidic, but you need that, I assume. Do you have buttermilk in this recipe or something like that? Speaker 8 (12:32) There was no buttermilk, but it did call for baking soda and baking powder. Speaker 4 (12:38) Well, one thing you could try, I just spoke to a baker about this recently, that they found that this baking powder, baking soda thing is less sensitive than we think. So what if you just dump the