Sam Choy's in the Kitchen: Celebrating Cinco de Mayo
First on the menu: birria tacos, a dish that has taken the culinary world by storm. Sam begins by slow-braising beef in a deep flavorful broth made from dried chiles, spices, and aromatics in an instant pot. Once tender, the beef is shredded and placed onto corn tortillas that are dipped in the braising liquid and seared on a hot pan with a generous helping of cheese. The tacos are served crispy, juicy, and full of flavor, paired with a side of consommé for dipping.
Next up is pozole, a traditional Mexican soup. Sam cooks down beef with hominy in a deep red chile broth, adding layers of smoky, savory flavor. Once ready, it's topped with the classic garnishes, thinly sliced radishes, oregano, and a squeeze of lime, giving it that refreshing crunch and brightness that makes pozole so special.
No Cinco de Mayo feast would be complete without salsa, and Sam delivers a simple yet deeply flavorful version. For his roasted salsa, he oven-roasts red & yellow peppers, jalapenos, garlic, red & white onions, shallots, cilantro, and roma tomatoes until perfectly charred and soft. Then, everything is blended together with olive oil to create a smoky, slightly spicy salsa that's perfect for chips, tacos, or drizzling over just about anything on your plate.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Hypebeast
an hour ago
- Hypebeast
Jean Dawson: An Interlude
Jean Dawson is typically in the studio every day from 7 p.m. through 7 a.m., so an 8 a.m. call time fell right in the middle of his REM sleep. 'Waking up today kicked my ass, but it was great. I need that sometimes,' says Dawson, who finds humility in the mundane. Waking up early isn't a foreign concept for a now 29-year-old Dawson, who grew up as David Sanders. He split his time between San Diego and Mexico, having to wake up before sunrise to walk to the bus to the U.S. border, where he and his younger brother Jerome would then wait in line for hours to cross into the States, where they went to school. This was the protocol for four years up until Dawson was in middle school; he's always valued sleeping in after that. He tells me it's a marker of success. It's similar to why the musician values hot showers so much. He didn't always have a water heater in Mexico, so he and his brother would heat water on the stove to bathe. The son of a U.S. Army father, local to Long Beach, and a Mexican mother who divided her days between multiple jobs, Dawson was raised by his mom — who relocated the family to Spring Valley, California, when Jean was 12 — alongside Jerome and his 'chosen brother' and now manager, Nico Hernandez. 'I still remember sitting in the hood on his doorstep smoking Newports in the middle of winter, telling him, 'One day we're gonna see the world,'' Dawson recalls, now just a wall away from Hernandez, who is seated at the front of the studio with their French Bulldog, Mala. The day prior, Hernandez and Dawson saw Swan Lake together, chuckling at the audience members who side-eyed the all-black-wearing, face-tattooed 6'2' guys sitting in orchestra seats at the ballet. Hidden by the facade is Dawson's deep admiration and knowledge of classical music, but he still invites everyone to form their own opinions. Because ultimately, he could not care any less about them. 'Judge me. Perceive me, because that opinion lives and dies with you.' Other people's perceptions have never really plagued Dawson. He knows his discography is so diverse that it's almost confusing. He knows his voice sometimes sounds like he's screaming. He knows other times it sounds like he has a woman's voice — if the multi-instrumentalist could trade one of his talents, it would be to swap out his singing voice for that of a woman's. He has no desire to fit in any box, except that of his own skin. He prefers the in-between. 'When someone asks me what kind of music I make, I just say, 'You tell me.' Whatever you decide is what I am.' It's Dawson's own opinion that keeps him up at night. He reflected heavily on this sentiment the last time we caught up with him, back in October of 2023, fresh off the release of his 'NO SZNS' collaboration with SZA and the end of his European tour with Lil Yachty. His own worst enemy and loudest critic, Dawson is still working on speaking more kindly to himself. Admittedly, it's a work in progress, but he feels like, lately, he's been learning more about himself 'in passing as a result of it.' After putting his sonic fluidity center stage on his debut studio album Bad Sports in 2019, Dawson landed early collaborations with A$AP Rocky on 2020's Pixel Bath and Earl Sweatshirt on 2022's CHAOS NOW* , and a coveted co-sign from Rick Rubin. Dawson, the duality-drenched, highly self-aware polymath he is, never let the big-name endorsements or credits get to his head, continuing to instead continue to exist in his own enigma. He's also been in the cut with Hypebeast and Hypetrak for a while now, first taking us along for a raw and unfiltered first look into his creative process in an introspective installation of Hypebeast: Diaries in early 2023. Donning a vintage RAF Simons 'Altered Reality' work jacket, Dawson took the team to an observation deck in Lincoln Heights, where he did a lot of his early writing, drawing, and lots and lots of thinking — not all of it productive. Today, Dawson is prioritizing the productive thoughts, the positive ones, the needle-pushing ones, and posing to the negative ones: 'Who do you think you're talking to?' He's also donning the same RAF Simons work jacket — but this time, it's not styled quite the same way. How are you? I'm good. I'm in an interesting place. I'm learning a lot about myself in passing. Things I didn't know about myself are now becoming very clear. The things I want to convey have changed, and the way I want to convey those things has changed. How are you approaching making music these days? I feel a sense of wonderment that I haven't felt in a long time, like a kid, where everything is still interesting and making me wide-eyed. The work we do can make you jaded, and I've kind of just stopped caring — in a helpful way. The act of caring for me is very specific; I'm very intentional with what I spend my time caring about. What are you spending your time on now? A lot of different things that I'm passionate about. I'm always making more music, but there are new things that are making me feel a different sense of excitement. I'm writing some film scripts, which has been fun. The other night, when I was falling asleep, I remembered this quote that's been informing everything I create. I forget if someone said it to me or if I made it up, but it goes: 'I feel like I'm everything because I already was by the time they said I couldn't be,' and that has been ringing true to not only my music and my outlook, but the fluidity of me as a person. By the time someone tells me I can't be something, I've already done it. What are your current thoughts on genre and people trying to box in your sound? If I had to give my music a genre, I'd call it ghetto pop. But I've never belonged to any 'genre' in music. I've never belonged to the punks. I've never belonged to the rock kids. I've never belonged to the hip-hop kids. I've never belonged to the jazz kids. I've never been in a clique of things. Because I can migrate from thing to thing, by the time someone tries to box me in like, 'You make rock music,' I'm already onto the next thing like, 'Oh really? Cool!' Whenever someone asks me what genre of music I make, I say, 'You tell me,' because whatever they decide it is, is what it is. One day I want to do Janis Joplin, then the next I want to do The Temptations, and then the next I want to do Jodeci. My music changes because I change. I respect artists who find a sound and can keep pounding at that. I think that's noble and strong. I'm not strong in that way. I get bored. I can't just color with orange. I need black in there. Is it weird having to tap back into past sounds when you're so far past that point in life? Imagine waking up and the only clothes you have in your closet are from high school… It's like that. So I just do my best to put on those clothes that not only don't fit the same, but also just look funny now. A lot of people found me on an album I dropped in 2019, and I had to get comfortable with the fact that that was a time I'll never be able to replace for them. How do you not let the outside noise affect you? It's not that it doesn't affect me. I feel like the only thing I can provide is a smile and a hug, and being a decent human being to those around me before anything else. I heard something special not too long ago: 'Stop acting like the person next to you isn't your brother or sister.' That's how I'm trying to look at the world and myself. I still can be pretty mean to myself, but I've started to defend myself from myself. It keeps me in check. My favorite thing to say is, 'Who do you think you're talking to?' Or I'll think about the child version of myself. 'You wouldn't talk to seven-year-old you like that. So shut up.' One of my favorite sentiments of yours that we discussed in our last chat was 'Your opinion of me lives and dies in your head.' Is that still your mentality? It's that with more care. It's less punky of an idea and more of an acceptance of self. I know who I am, and whether or not someone sees me the same way is up to them. In the grand scheme of things, I think I'm insignificant — and not in a negative way at all. Insignificant in the scheme of everything good and bad in the world, and that principle allows me to explore my creative freedom. What are some things that hold significance to you today? The sky. The ocean. Babies. This is our first time here (that we know of), and I want to treat it as such. I want to stumble. I want to fall. I want to experience things for the first time. This naive, childlike perspective of 'Oh yeah, I can try this' has given me so much room to gallop. Your sound has changed with every project, yet they all still feel connected. Walk me through getting from your first studio album, Bad Sports , to your most recent, Glimmer of God? From Bad Sports to Pixel Bath , that was me going from crawling to walking. From Pixel Bath to CHAOS NOW* was a jog. CHAOS NOW* was the first album I wrote for myself. Every one before that was for my dad. The stars in the track names are fireworks; I didn't want to end my sentences with periods because everything on that album is meant to be continued. It's supposed to feel like a bunch of run-on sentences written in crayon. Then we get to Glimmer of God , which is me speeding up to where I am now. With that album, I wanted to do something I hadn't done. I wanted to start singing for real. So I locked myself in the house and practiced singing. Before that album, I was just shouting. That album is my ode to truth. And my truth was realizing that I'd been mean to myself for a long time, and that project is me letting that go and starting to be kind and sweet to myself. The deluxe version, Rockabye Baby: Glimmer of God , is the end of the story. It's different, but it's informed by everything I've done. What is it that ties all of your projects together? They're all connected by the same throughline. Little secret: pretty much every song on each album connects to a song on the next album. Every album is a more mature version of its predecessor. On Pixel Bath , I had 'Pegasus' and on CHAOS NOW*, I had 'SICK OF IT*'. Those are the same song; one is just better. What was the guiding principle behind Glimmer of God ? The album is about me embracing my duality. I want to embody beauty and grace in music. It's something I think Prince has done best. It's subversive and it's sweet, but it's also strong and masculine. The things I'm learning about myself have been very informed by my ability to bend like that. There's this anime you should watch called Berserk . One of the male protagonists is named Griffith, and he's gorgeous. His hair is always flowing, and he speaks very calmly. Conversely, the other main character is named Guts, and he's the total opposite. He's a warrior. But both characters are essentially the same person, just two sides of the same coin. That's what I wanted the album cover to feel like: glamorous but don't fuck around. Don't play with me. Where does your innate adaptability come from? It all comes from my mom. She let me be everything I was supposed to be. I was very fortunate to have that. One of my biggest life goals is to open an institution where kids can learn instruments. If they attend enough classes, they can keep their instrument and return whenever they want to refresh their skills. Once they graduate from the program, they can come back and volunteer to teach the kids. You don't know where the next Freddie Mercury might come from. He, she, or they might come from Milwaukee. Or East LA. But when they don't have the opportunity to explore their talents, they'll never know. What are some things you feel privileged to experience today? My favorite thing that I get to do is wake up when I'm not tired. That's my marker of success. Also, being able to travel the world with my brother, Nico. I still remember sitting in the hood on his doorstep smoking Newports in the middle of winter, telling him, 'One day we're gonna see the world.' Now, we're sitting in front of the Eiffel Tower. Yesterday we saw Swan Lake . We're just two colored boys with face tattoos from the hood going to see Swan Lake . People were looking at us like, 'What are they doing here?' Don't get it fucked up. I know more about classical music than you do. Judge me. Perceive me. That thought lives and dies with you. But we can watch Swan Lake together. You designed some of the pieces you're wearing today, like the bedazzled hats and the studded Rick Owens Ramones. Has fashion always been something you've tapped into? I've been making clothes since I was a kid. My mom would take me shopping at the thrift store for clothes. I'd always find skinny jeans in crazy colors, but they wouldn't fit, so we'd bring them down to my aunt in Mexico to tailor them. For every pair I gave her, she charged me a dollar, just to keep me responsible. She'd always try and take me to Foot Locker, and I knew we couldn't afford it and would be like, 'Mom, we can go to Walmart.' I'd get these Starter sneakers and would ask her for colored shoelaces. Then we'd go to Joann Fabrics to get gemstones and glue, and I would spend hours designing my shoes. To this day, I'll buy some Balenciaga and fuck it up. Those hand-studded Ramones took me so long to do. Making music doesn't always calm me down, but fashion is something that calms me down. What does making music feel like today? Making music feels like a long kiss. There's something romantic about being lost in it, and there's something romantic about stepping back and observing it.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
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Day 3 of trial for alleged mastermind in Young Dolph murder
Hernandez Govan will be live in the courtroom at 9:30 a.m. in the video box above. MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Hernandez Govan, the man accused of orchestrating the death of rapper Young Dolph, is set to appear in court for day three of his trial Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, Angela Arnold, the girlfriend of Cornelius Smith, was the first witness to take the stand. She told the court that to her knowledge, Smith never had direct contact with Big Jook and that he would communicate with Govan to send and receive messages. She also testified she saw Govan at a carwash hours after Young Dolph's death, when Smith picked up a cellphone from Govan he had left in the white Mercedes used in the murder. Various Memphis Police Investigators were then called to testify in court, along with cell phone records. According to the investigators, they went over calls and text records of Goavn, Smith, and Big Jook in the months leading up to the murder and afterward. They say Smith appeared to have several outgoing calls to Govan. But in cross-examination, Govan's defense attorney explained the reasoning for their communication, saying, Govan supplied Smith with various types of pills, and Johnson talked with him because he was an aspiring rapper. Another investigator who testified said detectives went to the airport to execute a search warrant on Big Jook's phone and asked if they could speak to him, but he refused. This story will be updated. ► Day 1: Trial of alleged mastermind in Young Dolph case ► Day 2: Trial of alleged mastermind in Young Dolph case Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
5 hours ago
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Very Best Day in Austin with JJ Gottsch
This weekend is Gambler Days, when Austin's local professional bull riding squad competes at the Moody Center against teams from around the country. Why it matters: The Gamblers are the defending champs on the PBR circuit, and are now second in the league. We caught up with Gamblers CEO JJ Gottsch, 53, who lives near Camp Mabry, as part of our occasional series asking Austinites about their ideal day. For the record: Gottsch has never topped a live bull — but he has ridden a mechanical one. "But that's like comparing riding a bicycle to a Lamborghini," he tells Axios. How are you starting your day? "I get up early, around sunrise, and go to Mount Bonnell. If there's not a lot of traffic on the water, I'll go down to Lake Austin, when the water is like glass, and go out with some friends and wake surf." What about breakfast? "I like to find a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant. I'm going for migas, my wife for huevos rancheros. I like Nuevo Mexico, by Lamar and 183." How does your afternoon look? "I like to head for Perla's for lunch. They've got some monster tiger shrimp, the BBQ style. You get your hands dirty and it's fantastic every time. The appetizer will fill you." What are you doing for dinner? " Fonda San Miguel. I'm getting the chipotle shrimp." A double shrimp day?! "I've got to watch out for gout."
