“In Mexico, celebrations for el Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, are already in full swing. The holiday, observed on Nov. 1 and 2, honors deceased ancestors. And food and drink are a big part of the festivities — they are ofrendas, or offerings, put on altars to entice deceased loved ones…

“When you think of Mexican food, there’s a good chance you’re imagining tacos, burritos, and enchiladas — and margaritas, of course. When Pati Jinich (pronounced HEE-nitch) — host of Pati’s Mexican Table on PBS, which airs locally on WGTE at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesdays — thinks of the food of her homeland, she thinks of…

“‘The idea was to come up with a list that would be inspirational, educational, have a lot of variety and be a lot of fun,’ said Seira Wilson, Amazon’s senior books editor. ‘If you had one bookshelf of cookbooks for your whole life, I would want this to be the list.’ Inspired by the list,…

“The avocado is the gateway drug of healthy eating—it’s delicious, plays well with others, and is a brilliant travel partner. Plus, props to the OG superfood for being a convincing reminder that fat can be your ally. But there’s nothing more annoying than trying to make an Instagrammable piece of avo toast with a rock-hard, bright green avocado.…

“This area of the world is pretty familiar with Mexican food and how to cook it. But when news broke that the host of Pati’s Mexican Table would be visiting Laredo, her event promptly sold out.

“In the Mexico City of their youth, Pati Jinich and her three sisters were practically the only Jewish students in their private school classes—and probably the only one whose grandmother prepared guacamole with Jewish flair. ‘We always knew we were Jewish but we weren’t front and center about it,’ Jinich (pronounced yee-nitch) said of her…

“After an initial chat with the perky host of Pati’s Mexican Table, we’d decided that Pati Jinich was just too nice to make us feel bad for asking a question that could seem rather silly to a Mexican mother of three who has a family taco at least once a week. ‘Is it possible to…

“Although PBS television host Pati Jinich rhapsodizes easily about regional enchiladas, chiles, black beans and white rice, she’s also proud to say she loves Tex-Mex cuisine. It’s not Mexican, she acknowledges, but she loves it anyway…”

Pati’s Mexican Table, the Emmy and James Beard Award nominated Mexican cooking and travel series from acclaimed chef and author Pati Jinich, premieres its fifth consecutive season on PBS and public television stations nationwide the weekend of September 10. “There is simply no one on television who has Pati’s charm, skill and heart. She explodes…