Table of Contents

Contents Introduction Basic Techniques of the Mexican-American Kitchen: Roasting, Toasting, Searing, and Souring Everyday Basic Ingredients New Mexico Impressions Beginnings/Botanas California Impressions Salads and Seafood Cocktails/Ensaladas y Cocteles de Marisco Texas Impressions Soups and Meals in a Pot/Sopas, Caldos, Pozoles, y Menudos Arizona Impressions Quick Bites/Antojitos y Tortas Illinois Impressions Main Dishes: Fish, Poultry, Meat, and Lighter Fare/Platillos Principales Colorado Impressions Comfortable Companions: Beans, Lentils, Rice, and Vegetables/Comidas Adicionales: Frijoles, Lentejas, Arroz, y Legumbres Washington Impressions Finishing Touches: Salsas, Relishes, Condiments/Salsas y Encurtidos Michigan Impressions Tamales/Tamales Florida Impressions Bread and Breakfast/Pan, Pan Dulce, y Huevos New York Impressions Sweet Endings/Postres Oregon and Idaho Impressions And to Wash It All Down/Bebidas Selected Bibliography Product Sources Permissions Acknowledgments Index Metric Equivalencies

About the Author

Marilyn Tausend, coauthor of Mexico the Beautiful Cookbook, leads culinary tours throughout Mexico. She lives near Seattle.

Reviews

Rick Bayless chef/owner, Frontera Grill and Topolobampo, and coauthor of Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen and Authentic Mexican Marilyn Tausend's Cocina de la Familia leads us on a savory Mexican expedition across borders and generations, from mercados to supermarkets -- yet always winding up at the coziness of a family table, where food tastes best. She illuminates how the loving act of cooking for family and friends is a vital way to keep alive memory and heritage. amazon.com.review Forget about the food you eat in what pass for Mexican restaurants in America; cleanse your palate, then come to this book. Kathleen Purvis food editor, The Charlotte Observer Well, hallelujah. After endless books celebrating the cooking of France's Provence and Italy's Tuscany, perhaps we're finally coming to appreciate what we have right here. Tausend's writing is eloquent as she captures the voices and stories of people who are too often ignored in the tapestry of American cooking. Bravo for that.

Rick Bayless chef/owner, Frontera Grill and Topolobampo, and coauthor of Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen and Authentic Mexican Marilyn Tausend's Cocina de la Familia leads us on a savory Mexican expedition across borders and generations, from mercados to supermarkets -- yet always winding up at the coziness of a family table, where food tastes best. She illuminates how the loving act of cooking for family and friends is a vital way to keep alive memory and heritage. amazon.com.review Forget about the food you eat in what pass for Mexican restaurants in America; cleanse your palate, then come to this book. Kathleen Purvis food editor, The Charlotte Observer Well, hallelujah. After endless books celebrating the cooking of France's Provence and Italy's Tuscany, perhaps we're finally coming to appreciate what we have right here. Tausend's writing is eloquent as she captures the voices and stories of people who are too often ignored in the tapestry of American cooking. Bravo for that.

In this highly personal and often moving cookbook, Tausend (coauthor of Mexico the Beautiful Cookbook) and Ravago, former owner and chef of an Austin, Tex., restaurant, mine a rich vein: the food that Mexican Americans cook for themselves. Cross-cultural adaptation leads to Green Enchiladas with Spinach and Tofu, Chicken with Spicy Prune Sauce made with Coca-Cola, and Mexican Beef Chow Mein, but more traditional Mexican fare like Guacamole and Braised Chicken with Rice and Vegetables appears as well. Among the best fish dishes are Squid in an Orange Vinaigrette, Red Snapper Veracruz Style and Fish Tacos Enseñada Style. Desserts include Almond Meringue Pudding and Cinnamon Ice Cream with Ice Coffee from an anonymous recipe donor. Essays on Mexican culture in various American states (including Illinois, which has the third-largest Mexican population, after California and Texas), and on such subjects as chiles and capsaicin (the chemical compound that gives peppers their heat) and the Day of the Dead all exhibit great care and a profound respect for Mexican culture. Recipes sport thorough headers, many of which do double-duty as family history lessons. In a nice touch, each recipe lists a place of origin, and often two: one in the U.S. and one in Mexico. Tausend and Ravago successfully illustrate how history, memory and food meld into one. (Nov.)