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> I'm presuming that Tex-Mex means a combo of Texan-Mexican cooking. The "Tex-Mex" brand of salsa & nachos that I can buy up here is, disappointingly, a mainly salt flavor paired with oversalted nacho chips. What are the keynote flavours (spices and cooking style) of Tex-Mex supposed to be?
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> Oddly, I've sometimes heard the claim that the americanized "Mexican" cooking in California is more interesting than "real" Mexican cooking in Mexico...

That is true -- authentic Mexican is not at all spicy --until you add jalapenos and salsa. Tex-Mex uses a lot of different kinds of chile peppers, focusing mainly on the flavor of them instead of the heat factor. Chipotle and ancho chiles are big, and I think they use some cumin and more cilantro than traditional Mexican cooking. Tex-Mex is also a lot more slow-cooking and long-roasting melding of flavors, as opposed to marinating and quick-grilling -- kind of saucier, in both senses of the word. Yummy. I'm hungry.

P.S. Re: your question on non-runny, but still salty: That's a tough one, since the salt will tend to draw the water out of things it touches. I don't see a way to avoid it.