Guerra, Melissa. Dishes from the Wild Horse Desert: The Cooking of South Texas.(Brief article)(Book review)

Guerra, Melissa. Dishes from the Wild Horse Desert: The Cooking of South Texas. Wiley. Apr. 2006. c.288p. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-7645-5892-7. $29.95, COOKERY

The Wild Horse Desert is the once-disputed area in southern Texas, just above the Rio Grande, that was part of Mexico before the war of 1846; Guerra's family has lived there for more than 16 generations, working the land and raising cattle. Much of the dishes Guerra grew up eating were Mexican (though there are some Tex-Mex recipes here as well), and while the term norteno is usually used to refer to northern Mexico, she notes that South Texas is …