Mexico The
Beautiful Cookbook
By Susanna Palazuelos, Marilyn Tausend
This tantalizing cookbook is the first of
such I’ve seen in a long time that does the regions of Mexico justice.
Beautiful enough to be a coffee table book, the oversized photographs lend a grumbling to the palate. In addition to that, the author sees fit to weave a fitting history of Mexican cuisine throughout the book. Such favorites as burritos, enchiladas, tacos, and chalupas are found alongside such teasing dishes as Chciken Breasts in Poblano Sauce Au Gratin and Stewed Lamb in Chile Sauce. The author goes to great pains to show us that region has more than our fast food favorites to offer us.
In addition to being a beautiful book, the recipes hint at the indigence of the region, and thus seem genuine. Such recipes as the sopas, or the soups, garlic soup, lime soup, and bread soup, speak directly to the person – yet seem worthy of at least a try. As a matter of fact, the photography in this book is so good everything seems worth a try.
The down side is that many of the recipes assume that you can actually get your hands on such things as shark meat, epazote, and various types of chiles. While the recipes are divided by regions, and a historical account is given for the subsequent region and its corresponding cuisine, it is hard not to miss the relative ease of the seasoning packets to be found at your local grocer. There are times when the author actually suggests growing some of the ingredients in the recipes, which makes for little to no, last minute planning.
Overall the book is a notch above the sparse population of Mexican cookbooks, but it assumes a time and patience that you may not have. I recommend it without reservation however, as at the very least it makes an excellent read on the history of cuisine in the country, and a pretty fine coffee table book to boot.