The Border Cookbook: Authentic Home Cooking of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico [Hardcover]

Cheryl Alters Jamison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 4, 1995

With more than 300 plus recipes here are a bounty of tales that bring to life the people who have made border cooking what it is.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The authors of Texas Home Cooking and Smoke and Spice turn their assiduous attention to border food (called norte?o in Spanish) which, served from Northern Mexico through the American Southwest, uniquely fuses Native American, Spanish and Western settlers' fare. The introduction points to norte?o's distinctive characteristics?including large wheat tortillas, flame-cooked beef and the generous use of cheeses?and discusses culinary offshoots like Tex-Mex, Sonoran and New Mexican cuisines. The 300 recipes drawing from all of these traditions are arranged by primary ingredient rather than by style (e.g., cheese enchiladas are found in the chapter about cheese; beef enchiladas appear in "Ranch-Country Beef"). Appetizers and accompaniments include regional salsas and the secrets behind perfect guacamole and refried beans. Meat and seafood dishes comprise the bulk of the recipes, from Red Caldwell's South Texas Fajitas to Pinata Pollo, chicken breasts "stuffed with treats," including chorizo, jalape?o and goat cheese. Sidebars detail the history and cultures from which recipes originated; further information about ingredients like nopales (cactus pads) and chiltepins (pea-sized hot chiles) is listed in a glossary. This Bible of border cuisine is as accessible as it is thorough.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The prolific authors of Smoke and Spice (LJ 4/15/94) and Texas Home Cooking (LJ 11/15/93), among other titles, now explore another aspect of the cooking of their favorite region. Here are the hearty, flavorful dishes prepared by home cooks on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border, from Texas to Southern California and down into northern Mexico. There are recipes as traditional as posole and newer ones, too, such as fajitas the way they were meant to be, not the versions often served up as Tex-Mex cuisine. Many recipes include different regional variations, and lengthy sidebars provide the culinary and cultural context. Recommended for most collections. [HomeStyle Bks. selection.]
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Common Press (October 4, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558321020
• ISBN-13: 978-1558321021
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.5 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,549,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of its kind, February 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Border Cookbook : Authentic Home Cooking of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico (Non) (Paperback)

I have a whole rack of cookbooks in my kitchen and none is used more than this book. Every recipe has turned out to be a grand success. You do need to have access to Mexican ingredients as many of the recipies call for a few exotic ingredients. You will not be disappointed in this cookbook however.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Authentic, expansive and informative, January 30, 2005

By 

Robyn Jacobson (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Border Cookbook : Authentic Home Cooking of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico (Non) (Paperback)

For the last 15 years, I had been looking to recreate several of the wonderful Mexican dishes I ate while living in Tucson, Arizona for 6 years. It was not until I found The Border Cookbook that I was able to accomplish this task! The authors have made it very easy to cook the wonderful flavors that I have been missing all of these years. The descriptions of the history of the dishes and the detailed explanations of how to cook each recipe make this cookbook one of my favorites!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the BEST Mexican cookbooks around!, August 18, 2003

By 

Heather "Here To Help" (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Border Cookbook: Authentic Home Cooking of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico (Hardcover)

The one and only reason this book is getting 4 stars instead of 5 is the lack of color photographs. That is the only factor preventing this book from perfection. The recipies are manageable, authentic, and unbelievably delicious. I never thought I could cook a Mexican dinner better than the ones I'd had at the best Mexican restaurant in town, but with this book, I did it. There's also a great number of different recipies to choose from, all wonderful. This book is a treasure and an absolute must-have for any cooking enthusiast.