Product Description
Mexico's rich and diverse culinary traditions include countless complex and vibrant dishes. In these pages, you will find recipes that capture the best of the cuisine, from mole poblano, a long-simmered blend of chiles, seeds, and spices, to bright-flavored ceviche dressed with fresh citrus juice. A chapter on desserts also tempts, whether you crave chocolate cake with chile-infused whipped cream or coffee and KahlÚa flan.

Williams-Sonoma Collection Mexican offers more than 40 recipes, including well-loved classics and many other timeless dishes. For a casual dinner, fill warm corn tortillas with tender morsels of carnitas or chunks of fresh fish lightly fried to a crisp golden brown. Or, plan a summer supper of watercress salad tossed with orange, jicama, and avocado; creamy corn and poblano chile soup; and delicate sea bass topped with salsa verde. Versatile and delicious, Mexican food is always irresistible.

Full-color photographs of each dish help you decide which one to prepare, and each recipe is accompanied by a photographic side note that highlights a key ingredient or technique, making Mexican more than just a superb collection of recipes. Including all the basics and an extensive glossary, this essential volume will help you create and enjoy many delicious Mexican meals.

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Customer Reviews (10)

Authentic
I first got this book from the library. My boyfriend is from Mexico, so I thought it'd be fun to try some recipes for him. After trying some, he stated that is reminded him of food his mom would make him. I only tried 3-4 recipes, but they were yummy!

AWESOME!!!
William-Sonoma always puts out a good recipe book and this one is also good with nice pics too, good buy!!!

Disappointed
I love Williams-Sonoma so I was very disappointed with the recipes in this book - too bland for me. Maybe I just need to keep tweaking the recipes. We'll see.

MORE TEX MEX THAN MEX
Do you like Chipoltle grill?

great for making delicious starters and lunches for fussy eaters.
no surprises, but really good interpretations of classics.

more TEX-MEX, than mex...... very Amex, or Amexican cuisine.

delicious!
I am from Mexico and this book is truly authentic. The recipes are delicious and the pictures even more! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent book with great pictures and authentic recipes
Lots of authentic recipes that are all very tasty.My expertise with cooking Mexican was very limited prior to owning this book, but with all the great pictures and simple layout of the book it made cooking much easier.I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to get into Mexican food cooking! ... Read more

Product Description
Growing up in Mexico, Marcela Valladolid rejoiced in the complex moles, dozens of different chiles, and homemade tortillas that graced her family’s dinner table. Going to school across the border in San Diego, and later to cooking school in Paris, she found plenty to love in the markets, quickly folding new ingredients into her repertoire. She also encountered some curious foods masquerading as authentic Mexican: cheddar cheese—stuffed quesadillas, tortilla chips drowning in still more cheese, and the ubiquitous everything-but-the-kitchen-sink overstuffed burritos. Where were the authentic, easy-to-prepare Mexican recipes she grew up with? The brightly flavored seafood ceviches bursting with freshness? The simple, slender burritos filled with nothing more than intensely flavorful braised meat and blistered chiles? The healthy salsas that come together in minutes but can transform a meal?

In her vivacious, fresh voice, Marcela aims to invigorate America’s taste for real Mexican food–dishes that can be accomplished on any busy weeknight but that still express the authentic flavors of her native cuisine. Her food is much like her, Mexican but influenced by other cultures. You’ll find recipes for Tilapia Ceviche; Butternut Squash—Chipotle Bisque; Roasted Pork Loin with Pineapple Glaze; Ancho-Chocolate Braised Short Ribs; and Fresh Guava Layer Cake.

Inspired ideas, helpful cooking techniques, and ingredient substitutions make this the most accessible, appealing, and contemporary Mexican cookbook you’ll find today. In addition, fast recipes and dishes that are low in fat are called out with easy-to-find symbols. With more than a hundred delicious recipes and beautiful color photography throughout, Fresh Mexico introduces a new generation of Americans to the vibrant flavors of modern Mexico.


From the Trade Paperback edition.Amazon.com Review
Book Description
Growing up in Mexico, Marcela Valladolid rejoiced in the complex moles, dozens of different chiles, and homemade tortillas that graced her family’s dinner table. Going to school across the border in San Diego, and later to cooking school in Paris, she found plenty to love in the markets, quickly folding new ingredients into her repertoire. She also encountered some curious foods masquerading as authentic Mexican: cheddar cheese-stuffed quesadillas, tortilla chips drowning in still more cheese, and the ubiquitous everything-but-the-kitchen-sink overstuffed burritos. Where were the authentic, easy-to-prepare Mexican recipes she grew up with? The brightly flavored seafood ceviches bursting with freshness? The simple, slender burritos filled with nothing more than intensely flavorful braised meat and blistered chiles? The healthy salsas that come together in minutes but can transform a meal?

In her vivacious, fresh voice, Marcela aims to invigorate America’s taste for real Mexican food--dishes that can be accomplished on any busy weeknight but that still express the authentic flavors of her native cuisine. Her food is much like her, Mexican but influenced by other cultures. You’ll find recipes for Tilapia Ceviche; Butternut Squash-Chipotle Bisque; Roasted Pork Loin with Pineapple Glaze; Ancho-Chocolate Braised Short Ribs; and Fresh Guava Layer Cake.

Inspired ideas, helpful cooking techniques, and ingredient substitutions make this the most accessible, appealing, and contemporary Mexican cookbook you’ll find today. In addition, fast recipes and dishes that are low in fat are called out with easy-to-find symbols. With more than a hundred delicious recipes and beautiful color photography throughout, Fresh Mexico introduces a new generation of Americans to the vibrant flavors of modern Mexico.

From Fresh Mexico: Game Hens in Apricot, Tequila, and California Chile Sauce

This recipe is one of my favorites ever. It comes from my aunt Marcela, a chef who inspired me to enter the magical world of the culinary arts. We not only share the same name and the same career, we also agree that sweet and spicy is one of the best combinations when preparing Mexican food. Store-bought apricot preserves, used here, work well; just be sure to buy the best you can find. A kitchen syringe is a useful tool for injecting the hens with a flavorful mixture of broth, butter, and tequila. The result is a moist and succulent dish.--Marcela Valladolid

Ingredients

• 3 cups chicken broth, or more as needed
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 4 tablespoons golden tequila
• Two 2-pound Cornish game hens, thawed if frozen
• 3 California chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 1/2 cup apricot preserves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh apricot halves, for garnish

(Serves four)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Mix 1/4 cup of the chicken broth, the melted butter, and 2 tablespoons of the tequila in a small glass bowl. Using a kitchen syringe, inject the mixture all over the hens, about 1/2 inch deep into the flesh. (If the butter in the mixture solidifies, warm it in a microwave.)

Put the chiles and 2 cups of the broth in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the chiles. Then transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Strain the chile mixture into a small bowl, pressing on the sieve to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard whatever is left in the sieve.

Mix 1/4 cup of the preserves and 1/4 cup of the chile mixture in a medium bowl. Season heavily with salt and pepper. Rub the mixture all over the hens, working some of it between the skin and the breast. Put the hens on a rack in a large roasting pan. Add the remaining ½ cup broth to the roasting pan.

Roast, basting with the pan drippings every 20 minutes, for 1 hour, or until a thermometer inserted into a thigh registers 160 F. Add more broth if the juices begin to dry out.

Transfer the hens to a platter. Strain the pan juices into a medium saucepan. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons tequila, 1/4 cup apricot preserves, and chile mixture. Bring to a boil over high heat.

Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens slightly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the sauce over the hens, garnish the platter with fresh apricot halves, and serve.

---

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Customer Reviews (23)

Marcela Valladolid rocks!
I ordered the book after watching Marcela on both Spanish and American TV. Her book is really good for anyone looking for basic Mexican cuisine. It's Mexican really made easy for those that can't undergo the lenghty processes of mexican cuisine. I lived in Mexico long ago and really find this book a good compilation of central Mexico cuisine made easy. Bravo! Marcela.

Excellent Book!
The recipe for Chocoflan is fantastic.The book combined the REAL taste of Mexico in an easy to read package.

A new and unique approach to Mexican food
Author-chef Marcella Valladolid believes that authentic Mexican food, made with fresh ingredients, is easy to cook, healthy, and full of wonderful flavors. Marry that belief with classical training at the Los Angeles Culinary Institute and the Ritz Escoffier Cooking School in Paris, and the result is a new and unique approach to Mexican food.

The word that comes to mind in sampling these recipes is //fusion.// Who would expect to find soy sauce, for example, as an ingredient in Mexican cooking? You'll find it here, in Baja-Mediterranean Ahi Tuna, which also features olive oil, capers, sesame seeds, and olives.

Not your typical cookbook, and not your typical Mexican fare; some of the recipes (Grilled Corn on the Cob with Jalapeno Butter; Rosemary-Skewered Shrimp Marinated in Chipotle, and Cold Shredded Beef Salad) are likely to become classic staples.

Enhanced with mouthwatering photographs for about half the recipes, this is a must-have text for the innovative cook who wants to explore modern, contemporary Mexican cookery.

Reviewed by: Claudette Smith

Fantastic and so easy!
Fresh Mexico: 100 Simple Recipes for True Mexican Flavor

Fantastic and so good and easy!Very clearly written!Enjoy!

Disappointed
I saw this gal's cooking show once and it looked like her recipes were pretty authentic and traditional on that particular episode.I got the cookbook and became disappointed.I have experience with traditional Mexican food and know of some if its preparation.After looking through the whole book - I found very little that seemed traditional.I didn't find any recipes that I cared to make.I'd like recipes such as: cheese enchiladas, menudo, refried beans, salsa, tamales, shredded beef tacos, chile verde, etc.I had a Mexican relative who made these dishes.The ingredients that relative used were simple and the food was authentic and good.I didn't any of those in this particularcookbook. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Where's the Trader when you need him?
This is a typical book of history and fun that only "The Trader" could produce.He'll send you everywhere from Seven Eleven to your local Specialty/Ethnic Stores to find the ingredients for his "well worth the effort" recipes.If you like good food and good drink mixed withlittle bit of fishing-story like humor, you'll enjoy this one.

Not Quite Mexican... But Who Cares?
This is a way to recapture the flavor of the long-gone Senor Pico's restaurant, Trader Vic's Mexican venture that went under in the early 1980's.Some of the recipes were Americanized to fit the tastes of consumers in the 60's and 70's, so they have a tendency to be inauthentic (and often absurd), but the results are often excellent.Definitely a good book to look into if studying the eating habits in the United States. ... Read more

Product Description
Combines easy-to-follow, authentic Mexican recipes with background stories and features about regional Mexican cooking, providing accompanying nutritional information and a variety of low-fat dishes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

vegan cooking
I am vegan and I would like to use your book to do my cooking and also so I can gradually learn. ... Read more

Product Description
"Elena's Secrets of Mexican Cooking"Elena Zelayeta; Doubleday(Garden City; 1968); 1st ed thus, PB, VG; NOT ex-lib, NOT remainder, NOT bk club; PB-Binding tight, spine flat-sun faded, bright cover, no curling, appears unread; 320pp, edges barely smudged,no marks, interior perfect; Elena Zelayeta, a charming, energetic cook, lecturer & restaurateur(Elana's Mexican Village), was a young girl when in 1910 she & her family were stranded in San Francisco by the Mexican revolution;Blinded as a young mother, Elana has written several cookbooks, owned a successful restaurant/food services company & worked with the best cooks of her day; The recipes in "Secrets of Mexican Cooking,"bracketed by informative historical information, are perfect for anyone interested in learning about the lively flavors of traditional Mexican dishes; Elana's cookbooks, filled w/home-style recipes will quickly become your go-to books for dishes such as Gallina en Pipian, Torta Borracha & hundreds of other wonderful recipes; Have fun! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

A Divine Little Mexican Cookbook
I found this book at a Thrift store in El Paso, Texas while on a recent road trip with my friend Sophie and since we always tried to stay stay at a place with cooking facilities, and we found one in El Paso, I decided to try something from the book. When you're on the road one might think you'd be limited as to what you can prepare. One might think you'd be dining in restaurants, or much worse, eating frozen meals done in motel microwaves. One would be wrong if one thought that of me. I brought along a cooler full of stuff I might need. A chef on the road is still a chef.

I checked out the Salsa Luisa on page 170 and since both Sophie and I are wannabe vegetarians, we fall off the wagon quite a bit, especially me, I decided to go shopping for the ingredients as Ms Zelayeta said her mother invented the sauce and that it was perfect to pour over vegetables. It was. It is. We had steamed cauliflower, broccoli and brussel sprouts and the sauce really set them off. Then next night I did the Pollo en Jugo de Naranja (Chicken in Orange Sauce). It was simple and delicious. If you like Mexican and who doesn't, this is a nice book to have. There are a lot of traditional Mexican recipes here, plus a lot that Elena Zelayeta puts her own twist on.

Shhh...This is the Secret!
In every city, every day, most of us think we know what is Mexican cooking.
We don't.This is the real thing.REAL food.Made with...Love.Yes, the Mexican Restaurant around the corner is nice, but just like the Chinese restaurants, there is a secret menu, only available to those who see beyond the...obvious.There is food like you only dreamed of.....and this is the book!You just thought you knew how to prepare Mexican.Well, prepare to rethink everything.REAL food, the real tastes.Just enjoy!And do not try to speak the language to your server (unless you want to be riduculed in the back room)!

Elena's Secrets of Mexican Cooking
My copy is a gift from my Mother. It is so well used the backcover is gone! The receipts are easy to follow and everyone loves them.

A Classic
This is a classic on Mexican cooking, with first and second printings in 1958. Recipes and instructions are succinct, and there is little or no commentary on the dishes or their background.

I give this 4 stars, as Diana Kennedy's "The Cuisines of Mexico", published in 1972, has become a more definitive source of Mexican recipes.Kennnedy's book also has simple recipes, and also has superb hints on cooking, and gives a wonderful running commentary on the origin of the dishes, and suggestions on how to serve the dish. Kennedy's also has photographs.

Newer books by Bayless and others have come forth since 1972, however both Zelayeta's and Kennedy's books have stood the test of time.

A Real Treasure
Take it from someone who has spent time searching for Mexican Cook Books that offer simple authentic Mexican recipies.This book offers anything from the familiar dishes, holiday pastries and breads, to the more exoticdishes. Each recipe includes comments from the author, providing tips andbackground on history of the recipe. I only wish this book were moreaccesible. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (4)

Just like the ranch
My husband and I went to the ranch last summer.We loved the food and I bought the cookbook.The pictures are fabulous.The substitutions or variations are great.I like cookbooks that have whole menu suggestions with drink recipes and are seasonal. I finally made a whole dinner menu from the book. I picked "The Pink Menu".Our guests loved it and so did our guests.I think using high- quality, organic ingredients made a big difference. I even cut the agave in half for the dessert and it was still great. My husband and I just joked that at least we didn't have to ask for seconds, thirds and fourth.

PEB
Wonderful pictures and healthy recipes. A good book to help with new ideas for you and your family.

Fabulous
I picked this book up after trying a recipe that had been featured in a magazine and was not disappointed.The recipes are fabulous and the book itself is beautifully written and illustrated.

Gave as a gift
I gave this book to a relative who visits Rancho La Puerta often.She loves the spa & she loved this cookbook.She said the pictures and recipes brought back great memories. ... Read more

Product Description
Make mouthwatering Mexican meals in your own kitchen! With tips, techniques and color photos acclaimed chefs Feniger and Milliken show you how to serve up more than 100 recipes from Smoky Chicken Quesadillas to Green Corn Tamales and Mexican Bread Pudding. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

mexican ole`
not enough real mexican recipes. BUT, i learned how to create a good rice, good basic frijoles, and a soup or two. tooooo simplistic however. it will offer a suggestion as to a side dish or a garnish but no mention of how to prep same. *shrug* ok but surely not great. i came into it with some mex food know-how also so perhaps that flavors my review. pun thoroughly intended!!

misleading title
I, too, have spent the last hour reading the book cover to cover and could not find a recipe for the Red Roasted Salsa that is an ingredient in several of the recipes in the book.Or the Mole Sauce for the tamales with chicken mole filling.The book doesn't have an index, which is why thought I was having so many problems finding the salsa recipes, but no, they just aren't included.How can that be?Even I know enough to know that mole, for example, has many ingredients.Are we just supposed to guess what they are?I got this book as a gift from a very thoughtful person who knew that I wanted to learn how to make Mexican food.It saddens me that her gift is going to waste, but it is just not very helpful (especially for someone who really is kind of a dummy at cooking!).

What a disapointment
I just recieved this book this morning and what a waste of money.At first it started real good expaining the different mexican ingredients then I started looking at the recipes and couldn't believe it.This beginer book doesn't even have a recipe for SALSA!!I kept looking and there are many of my favorite mexican recipes missing.No salsa verde, no red salsa, no guacamoli, no ceviche, no mole sauces, or any stews. I go to a latin market in my town all the time and I love so much of the food and drinks.No recipe for any of the drinks like horchata, jicama?, and this fresca stawberry drink I had the other day.sooo good!None of the bakery recipes from the panderia. Heck, there wasn't even a basic burrito recipe. no discussion of the different type of mexican meat and their terminology for the cuts. The other reviewers mentioned that some recipes were missing but then still gave the book 4/5 stars.no way.zero stars if that was an option.Maybe the other recipes are good as I just got the book today, but a dummy book missing the basics- big problem.Also the back of the book mentions smoky chicken quesadillas and mex bread pudding. RECIPES NOT IN THE BOOK!!!!.I noticed amazon shows you other books that customers bought.The book "mexico one plate at a time" has excellent reviews.I'm considering buying that on instead. I suggest checking out.Also don't confuse mexican cooking essentials for dummies with mexican cooking for dummies.The later appears much better even though it's the same author.go figure

not complete
This book is gorgeous. But I was disappointed that the recipes weren't complete. Many of them tell you to use a certain type of salsa, but there are no salsa recipes in the book. I can think of at least three salsas, offhand, that are used in the recipes. Because I don't know salsas very well, I don't know what to use for what they call for in the recipe. I was hoping to learn how to make fresh and cooked salsas; because of this, I wouldn't recommend this book to my friends.

Love This Book!
With respect to the other reviewer of this book, I've made both the bread pudding and the quesadillas - maybe there's a new edition of the book and these recipes were omitted? I've had my copy for a few years. Every recipe I've made from this book has been wonderful and has gotten rave reviews. My only complaint is that sometimes it's hard to find the ingredients. I live in a fairly small town in Indiana, and I have to make special trips whenever I make something from this book. It's worth it, though - everything's been fantastic! Fresh Mexican food is sooo good! ... Read more

Product Description
The Ortiz tradition of New Mexican cooking brought raves from patrons of the La Mancha Restaurant in Galisteo, New Mexico. The Ortiz family recipes are now collected in this edition of flavorful Southwestern dishes. Red and green chiles share the spotlight with delectable sweets in easy-to-follow recipes. The reader will find many useful hints and interesting variations on familiar dishes, all happily perfected by generations of the Ortiz family. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Awesome
awesome recipies I am a native Santa Fean and these are truly original recipies line my grandparents made. ... Read more

Product Description
More than 275,000 sold! Easy-to-follow homestyle recipes for tacos, tamales, menudo, enchiladas, burros, salsas, frijoles, chiles rellenos, carne seca, guacamole, breads and sweet treats! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Not authentic!
If you are looking for an AUTHENTIC Mexican Cook Book, THIS IS NOT FOR YOU!!!! This is a mediocre, simple and flavorless cookbook.I'm Mexican, and I know it's cuisine.Look at the other 2 and 3 star ratings, and I agree with them.This is like a Taco Bell, Del Taco type of food.I hope no one gets offended by this, but this is what I call, "White Mexican Food".

This is the real deal...
Born in Arizona I grew up eating "real" Mexican food which I sorely missed when I moved to a nearby western state. One day I found this small inexpensive cookbook in a local bookstore. I bought it. I've never been disappointed with the purchase. You will find real southwestern-style Mexican home cooking. Not your fancy "gourmet" recipes found in pricey wannabe Mexican cookbooks but the real deal.

The recipes are tasty, use normal pantry ingredients. Purchase this cookbook for some fine Mexican home cooking!

A Bit Bland...
I was hoping to find basic recipes for carne asada, shrimp, marinated chicken, etc. - the type of food you find in Southern California taco shops - but I was disappointed that most of the recipes in this book use the same limited group of spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder and sometimes thyme or oregano) for virtually everything. For example, "Tacos #1" call for ground beef, onion, salt, pepper, garlic powder, ready-made taco shells, lettuce, cheese, stewed tomatoes and oregano. Pretty boring for my taste.Chicken tacos call for "1 fryer chicken, stewed" without any mention of seasoning it at all.Many recipes also rely on ingredients such as evaporated milk, canned cream-style corn, margarine and shortening, canned soup and canned apple pie filling, which don't fit my ideal of "home cooking."There are a few interesting dishes using nopales, verdolagas and chilitepins, so this purchase was not a total loss, but I am definitely still looking for a good basic Mexican cookbook.

yummy!
if you're sick and tired of the tinned enchilada sauce, this cookbook has some wonderful recipes for enchilada sauce.i insist on making my own from now on as it's so easy and really fulfilling.

i also love tia elena's zesty tamale pie.simply comforting!

so i suggest this book.i'm glad i bought it...a wonderful yummy bargain.

Its a hit...
I was taught Mexican cooking by a Mexican Mother-in-Law. This is the real Mexican food of New Mexico. Go for it if you want the good stuff. ... Read more

Product Description
THIS EDITION IS INTENDED FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

she could cook, baby.
I worked at their restaurant and ate many of her hotdishes that she cooked for the employees. Her cooking was awesome!

Very disappointed in the book for the price.
I think the book is over priced.I expected more recipes.I am returning it.

A Great Cook Book
Very explanitory. Highly recomended for Mexican cooking. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Wonderful Family History and Great Recipes
A friend at work brought this book in and our whole department wanted to read it. We decided we needed to all have the book so we purchased a copy for our selves. I love the beginning of the book with the story of the Ortega family and how everything came about. It would make a good movie. The recipes are easy and tasty. I can't wait to try the flan recipe. This book was well worth the money spent. ... Read more

Product Description
All across the U.S., people are finally discovering the delights of real Mexican cooking.Brimming with distinctive flavors and rich with centuries of tradition, Mexican food is so much more than fatty ground-meat dishes.

Acclaimed food writer Nancy Zaslavsky spent years traveling to Mexico to uncover the family treasures and local specialties in this spirited collection of recipes.These exuberantly flavored vegetarian dishes from great Mexican cooks are easy to prepare, adapted for U.S. kitchens, and thoroughly irresistible.

More than 100 recipes feature traditional meatless dishes with exceptional taste such as: Lentil Soup with Plantains; Refried Black Beans with Sweetened Smoky,Spicy Chile; Yucatan Tamales Stuffed with Eggs and Wrapped in Banana Leaves; Creamy Baked Flan; and Limeade Drink with Tequila and a Float of Red Wine. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Great cookbook!
I love this book. The frijoles de la olla are wonderful, as are the huevos con frijoles. I like the style of writing, which makes me feel like I'm standing in a sun-baked plaza in Mexico talking to a local foodie. I also picked up some good tricks to refine our annual tamale-making venture. My husband grew up on traditional Sonoran cooking, and loves everything we've tried here. There are plenty of inspirations for vegans in this book, too, not everything is drenched in cheese and reliant on egg.

This book has changed my cooking!
I use this book every week. Now I make all my own tortillas, tamales, moles, enchilada sauces and broth and it is all fantastic!I am very grateful to have found this book. My criteria is "Would I pay money for this dish in a restaurant?" and for everything I have cooked out of this book, the answer has been yes!

A nice start for meatless Mexican fare
For anyone interested in authentic south west and mexican style food sans the meet this is a wonderful starter book. We live in California where picky taste buds abound when it comes to simple as well as nutritious and authentic ethnic fare.And this is also a recipe book that is healthy food, although I admit that we are a low fat food family as well.

Very enjoyable and inspiring !
I found this book to be very enjoyable. Being a chile fanatic, the red-hot combinations in some of the recipes were exactly to my taste.Being a vegetarian as well also helped! I love Mexican food but can never find thatelusive combination of Mexican-Vegetarian; here it is!The Yellow Molewith Vegetables inspired me to invent a similar soup which went down(literally!) like a house on fire. The Banana tree in my garden helped meto enjoy "Verdura Pibil".I would recommend this book!

Save your money. This text is uninspiring and uninteresting.
This is one of the few cookbooks that I have purchased (my collection is in excess of 500 volumes) that I have found to be totally disappointing anduninspiring in its content. There was not a single recipe that I found evenremotely tempting. Not one that I was interested in making. Nor was thereany useful information imparted vis a vis cooking techniques. Save yourmoney, look for something else. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

One of My Most Treasured
This little book is packed with interesting and unique Mexican recipes that have minimal ingredients but pack tremendous flavor!

Nice one!
This book is easy to use and the recipes can be as complex or as simple as you're in the mood for. And I don't know about you but I like a well illustrated cookbook.
I recommend the whole series of them!

Cantina takes you on a mini-vacation
Cantina was the first cook book in the Casual Cusine series that I purchased, and of all my many cookbooks, it is the one that I use most often.The Beer BatteredShrimp with Chipolte-Honey Sauce has quicklybecome a family and party favorite as have the Sea Bass Ceviche with Limeand Cilantro and the Chiles Rellenos.Our friends have been known toinvite themselves over for dinner and they usually request that I makethese dishes.

The book is laid out with simple-to- follow recipies andcorresponding, beautifully shot photos of each dish.Just add a secludedtropical beach with Mariachi music in the background, someone else to dothe dishes, and you've gotyour own little piece of heaven. ... Read more

Product Description
In Jim Peyton's latest cookbook, his third, he introduces the latest trends of fine Mexican cuisine and explores the history of Mexican cooking. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

This is a great book
One of the most enjoyable books I have come across in a while.I have become a big fan of Jim Peyton. I can recommend all of his books. They're excellent.

A FEAST FOR THE EYE AND TASTE BUDS
Thanks to the proliferation ofMexican/American eateries,tacos, enchiladas, and salsa have become as familiar to Americans as apple pie. Interest in and acknowledgment of the pleasures of Southwestern cuisine hasskyrocketed in the past few years, and still continues to grow. Now,San Antonio based author Jim Peyton presents his third cookbook, JimPeyton's New Cooking From Old Mexico, a compilation of the latest inMexican recipes as well as a fascinating history of Mexican cooking fromits Mayan roots to its later Spanish influences. Nueva cocinamexicana, as the author explains it, "differs from other styles ofnouvelle and fusion cooking in that its ingredients and techniques come,for the most part, from various aspects of Mexican cooking rather than froma combination of other cuisines.Historically, Mexican cuisine developedon two levels simultaneously, with `peasant' and `court' cooking evolvingseparately.In nueva cocina mexicana, these two paths merge, with dishescombining these aspects in various ways." Peyton suggests"Cream of Pecan Soup," seasoned with nutmeg; "LambCarnitas," a much less fatty version than the simmered pork chunksoften used to prepare the popular carnitas; "Green PipianChilaquiles," a stew for either breakfast or brunch, plus many moretemptations. The author spices traditional recipes with accounts ofhis adventures in restaurants, village kitchens and haciendas, including anunforgettable al fresco meal in a park high above Mexico City. Gloriously illustrated, Jim Peyton's New Cooking From Old Mexico is a feastfor both the eye and the table. ... Read more

Product Description
Among the world's greatest cuisines, the foods of Mexico stand out in their diversity.Rooted in a history of ancient Indian civilizations, inspired by the Spanish Conquistadores of the sixteenth century, and influenced by European tastes in the later revolutionary years, it is a dynamic cuisine.


Explore Mexican cooking in all its delicious variety with this outstanding recipe collection for today's home cook. You'll find traditional favorites like:

ACAPULCO CHICKEN

FRIJOLES DE OLLA (BEANS COOKED IN A POT)

CARNE ASADO (MEXICAN STYLE BEEF TIPS & GRAVY)

CHALUPA

CHICKEN ALEJANDRO

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS WITH PASILLA CHILI SAUCE

CHICKEN OR BEEF FAJITAS

CHICKEN TEQUILA

CHILES RELLENOS (FRIED STUFFED CHILES)

CHILI POBLANO PIE

CHIMICHANGAS SUPREME

EL CHICO SALSA VERDE

ENCHILADAS BANDERAS

GRILLED CHICKEN ADOBO

GRILLED CHICKEN QUESADILLAS

SUPPER NACHOS

RICE CON QUESO

And Over 200 More!! ... Read more

Product Description
In 1991 Ruth Reichl, then a Los Angeles Times food writer, observed that much of the style now identified with California cuisine, and with nouvelle cuisine du Mexique, was practiced by Encarnación Pinedo a century earlier. A landmark of American cuisine first published in 1898 as El cocinero español (The Spanish Cook), Encarnación's Kitchen is the first cookbook written by a Hispanic in the United States, as well as the first recording of Californio food--Mexican cuisine prepared by the Spanish-speaking peoples born in California. Pinedo's cookbook offers a fascinating look into the kitchens of a long-ago culture that continues to exert its influence today.
Of some three hundred of Pinedo's recipes included here--a mixture of Basque, Spanish, and Mexican--many are variations on traditional dishes, such as chilaquiles, chiles rellenos, and salsa (for which the cook provides fifteen versions). Whether describing how to prepare cod or ham and eggs (a typical Anglo dish labeled "huevos hipócritas"), Pinedo was imparting invaluable lessons in culinary history and Latino culture along with her piquant directions. In addition to his lively, clear translation, Dan Strehl offers a remarkable view of Pinedo's family history and of the material and literary culture of early California cooking. Prize-winning journalist Victor Valle puts Pinedo's work into the context of Hispanic women's testimonios of the nineteenth century, explaining how the book is a deliberate act of cultural transmission from a traditionally voiceless group. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

California Hispanic Women's History
Until recent history, women rarely wrote their own stories for the history books, men did. This is especially true of the Hispanic women living in the lands after the Mexican war (1848). The Hispanics living in California and other territories that became the American Southwest were quickly defrauded of their land and civil rights. This cookbook begins with beautifully researched and sensitively written essays describing the social-political context within which Encarnacion penned her recipes. The recipes are as she wrote them in 1898. To cook them accurately presumes adequate knowledge of cooking. Cookbooks are more than a collection of recipes, they transmit culture. This book is necessary for any person deeply interested in the cultural context of California and Southwest cuisine. Before I read this book, I wondered how accurate or true to my experience it would be. My late grandmother, Catalina Maria Ortiz Acosta, was a woman from a prominent Hispanic family, and was born in Los Angeles in 1904. When I read this book I recognized the recipes from the meals and the style of food my grandmother had cooked. The history confirmed the stories she would tell me about the various political elite she knew. (Catalina Pico, the grand daughter of Pio Pico, the last Mexican Governor or Alta California was her godmother.) I highly recommend this book. ... Read more

Product Description
Now you can prepare Mexican dishes just like your favorites from the best resturants. This book reveals the secrets of some of the best loved recipes of famous chefs and restauranteurs from across Texas. ... Read more