A Texas and Southern staple, this dish was created by Helen Corbitt - a culinary luminary in Texas. For a New Year's Eve dinner, Corbitt "re invented" the traditional dish of black eyed peas by marinating them and serving them as a salad at the Houston Country Club. The dish didn't get the name of Texas Caviar though until it was served at the Driskill Hotel- evidently Texans decided that it deserved a fancier name than "pickled black eyed peas!" The name stuck and so has this dish - in fact it was so popular that when Corbitt went to work at Neiman Marcus, the company canned it and sold it in their stores. Part of it's appeal is that it lends itself to individual expression. Some make it with corn and some make it with peppers - and some make it with both!! My version? No corn - lots of peppers.

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