The Best of Quintana [Hardcover]

Patricia Quintana (Author), Ignacio Urquiza (Author), Jorge Chacel (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1995

From classics such as Salsa, Guacamole, and Ceviche to her own creations and adaptations, Quintana provides 60 recipes from her native cuisine--all tested for American kitchens and complete with substitutions for the occasional hard-to-locate Mexican ingredient. 50 color photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Quintana's best is very good indeed. The author of The Taste of Mexico assembles 60 of her favorite recipes: some, like Chiles en Nogada and Mole Poblano, are traditional dishes from various Mexican states; others, such as Tournedos con Morillas a la Crema y Chile Verde, are Quintana creations. Although few are prodigiously difficult to cook, preparation for many is laborious: Caldo Gallego a la Mexicana, a meat-and-vegetable stew, has 29 ingredients. Quintana presumes a certain level of ability: readers who don't now how to roast, sweat, seed and de-vein a chile must look elsewhere for instructions. She also assumes a ready access to Mexican foodstuffs and cooking equipment like a comal, a clay skillet used for cooking tortillas, which readers are expected to make, since no substitutes are suggested. Caveats aside, there is much in this collection, with its 60 handsome color photos, to tempt those who love authentic Mexican cuisine.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 127 pages
• Publisher: Stewart Tabori & Chang (June 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556704097
• ISBN-13: 978-1556704093
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 8.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #725,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I prefer Quintana's "Taste of Mexico", April 25, 2005

By 

J. Marquez (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best of Quintana (Hardcover)

For those who aren't already familiar with authentic Mexican cuisine, you should know that it has been long regarded as one of the world's five great cuisines...along with Chinese, French, Italian & Spanish (of course more recently Turkish has cracked the top five...and depending on who you ask either Italian or Spanish leaves the list). It has earned its billing as a great cuisine through its 6,000 year history of creativity & complex, sophisticated development of flavor. As such, don't expect these recipes to be simplistic, effortless solutions to a quick weeknight dinner....these are for serious foodies who have grown tired of repeating their French & Italian recipes...and who are looking for a cuisine that is equally gourmet, but a lot healthier, with a greater reliance on colorful produce rather than cream, butter & cheese.

For those who aren't already familiar with Patricia Quintana, you should know that she was Mexico City's premier cookbook author for many years, and in the last decade she has become the most celebrated Chef & Restarateur. This is one of the must have books for a serious Mexican foodie. However, I must agree with the editor...if you don't know how to make a basic seared Mexican sauce, or dry roast garlic then you will be a little lost. In that case, I wholeheartedly recommend purchasing Bayless' Mexican Kitchen first, then buying this book once you have exhuasted his recipes.

Note, if you get the Bayless book then you should purchase Qunitana's Taste of Mexico to reduce the # of overlapping & recipes & because you will get more pictures.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice, if you have the time., December 5, 2000

By 

Serena (San Fran) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best of Quintana (Hardcover)

This is an elegant book with lots of lovely photos that captures the essence of authentic Mexican cusine. It's the total oposite of the stereotype of Chevy's burritos an whatnot that so many people associate with Mexican food. This book shows that Mexican food can be as involved as French food with many steps and ingredients. This isn't something I often have time for but when I do, it's worth it.