Perfect Mexican

If you are looking for a straightforward, easy-to-follow introduction to Mexican cooking, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better entry book than this one. Recipes are well-organized and nicely presented with colorful photos of each dish. Ingredients are generally easy to find without having to hunt through specialty markets or catalogs, and the instructions easy-to-follow. Best of all, however, the food tastes really good! I've been particularly pleased with the fish dishes, the various tacos, and there's also a nice assortment of side dishes and salsas that make good accompaniments to many meals. This is a straight-forward collection of recipes. You're not going to learn a lot about Mexican cuisine and culture through this book, but you will learn a lot of basic recipes that will serve you well.

Originally, I purchased this book to learn more about my heritage. I remembered the food of my youth along the US/Mexico border but not the recipes. What could I pass on to my son? I was determined to regain that lost connection. This book made it extremely easy for me to whip up a full course of deliciousity and impress my family. It covers a little of everything and is organized into the following sections (no caps are used in their titles): - introduction - something light (chicken, avocado & chipotle soup; shrimp & mango cocktail; spinach & mushroom chimichangas) - made with meat (ropa vieja; tequila-marinated beef steaks; chicken tostadas with green salsa & chipotle) - fresh from the sea (shrimp in green bean sauce; fish tacos ensenada-style; crab & avocado soft tacos) - on the side (guacamole; different versions of mole and salsa [mango!]; zucchini with green chili vinaigrette) - to finish (guava, lime & tequila sherbet; different versions of empanadas; mexican bread pudding) - index (lists recipes by ingredient and name) Those are only a few examples of the dishes this book covers. If you think they sound good, you should see the pictures! The food stylists for this publication did an awesome job. I'm always anxious to pick something so I can hurry up and eat it. Although "perfect Mexican" sometimes delves into the slightly exotic (think chocolate chip & chili ice cream), I have to admit that the author/publisher did a great job when it came to collecting easy-to-make, colorful and very appealing recipes. Another plus is that the recipes are modifiable, if for some reason you need or want to make a slight change here or there due to allergies, preferences, etc. The only caveat is that this book probably will not appeal so much to the more advanced cook. If you are someone like me though, it's instant cache!