Customer Reviews

A Gringo's Guide to Authentic Mexican Cooking (Cookbooks and Restaurant Guides)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Whether you be "Gringo" or not, Mad Coyotoe Joe has written the "essential" guide to mexican cooking. This is the best cookbook on authentic mexican cooking I have ever come across and Mad Coyotoe Joe makes it so easy to prepare that you will be creating delightful dishes like Huevos Rancheros (Ranch Style Eggs), Rajas Con Limon (Chili Strips with Lime), Sopa de Limon Y Cilantro (Cilantro Lime Soup), Bistec Ranchero (Ranch-Style Steak) and Tamales Verdes de Maiz Tierno (Green Corn Tamales) to name just a few.

MCJoe begins with his usual opening "notes" to the reader which are always like a good friend come to gossip and then continues with the essential tools of the Mexican kitchen. Each recipe is always begun with a bit of history and commentary and before you know it you have completed making the delectable dish. MCJoe is a bigger than life character who shares his enthusiasm of creating & presenting good food with a southwestern flair. "A Gringo's Guide to Authentic Mexican Cooking" is his best cookbook yet and will have you cooking as though you were born south of the border.

Yes, this is a good book for the gringo. I read it cover to cover twice before using the recipes simply because I enjoyed it. I have cooked professionally for 16 years, but never made acceptable Mexican dishes. I attempted them occasionally, but didn't have enough information beforehand to get the results I was looking for. I sought the most authentic Mexican restaurants in my area and patronized them for my sub-border fix.

Since I got this book, I have not been able to put it on the bookshelf and my larder has a growing list of new items that I am enjoying. I have become familiar with the local Latin markets and their owners. The many chili pepper flavors are no longer a mystery and I'm enjoying my own homemade tortillas, salsas, carnitas, etc.

All the recipes are informative, flavorful and yet simple enough to leave room for personal adjustment and interpretation while maintaining authenticity. Your meals will taste like you grew up with a Mexican grandmother. This book has changed the way I look at Mexican food, markets, restaurants, and culture. The author could have been more explicit with preparation technique. Some of it seems a bit over simplified, but once you get started, you find it all conforms to "your kitchen". There are no hard rules in this kind of folk cooking.

If you like Mexican food to begin with, you will likely be very pleased with with the results. Now my Mexican dishes are as good or better than any restaurant I've tried, because I can do it all from scratch. This book is inspiring and fun. Although it is the only Mexican cookbook I own, I have looked perused many over time and find this one to be quite satisfying. I don't feel that I need another book on the topic, but I will likely seek another to further expand my repertoire. That is, if I can find another which I like as well as this one!

A Gringo's Guide To Authentic Mexican Cooking will take Mexican cuisine out of the stamdardized, watered-down, Americanized imitations found in your local Taco Bell, and upgrade it in both authenticity, diversity, and flavor to a true Mexican dining experience whether at the family table or a celebratory and festive event. From Huevos con Machaca (Eggs with Dried Beef); Arroz a la Mexicana (Mexican Rice); and Salsa Colorada para Enchiladas (Red Sauce for Enchiladas); to Tacos de Camarones (Shrimp Tacos); Callo de Hacha con Aguacate (Scallop-Stuffed Avocados); and Galletas de Boda (Mexican Wedding Cookies), A Gringo's Guide To Authentic Mexican Cooking is a superbly, wonderfully illustrated compendium of mouth-watering and highly recommended recipes.

I based my purchase of this book on previous reviews & I am not disappointed. However, this is really what the title says: it is a book for gringos. I have some experience with Mexican food & I was hoping for a few more recipes but it really is exactly what the title promises.

Though I am a card-carrying gringo, I do hail from San Diego. Therefore I know of what I speak when it comes to Mexican cuisine. The recipes are easy to follow and spot on. I never made my own enchilada sauce before. It's so easy and the recipe is really delicious. No more cans for me! I also recommend the green rice, and the way he recommends poaching the chicken is really tasty. We do that ahead of time and use it for a number of dishes during the week. This is one of those that you'll go back to again and again. I'm actually online to buy 2 more today as gifts!

This was so much more than just another cook book. The author really gets to the soul of Mexican cooking. The book is well written and full of beautiful pictures, combined with Mad Coyotes unmistakable sense of humor. The recipes are easy to follow and the little stories surrounding those recipes gives the reader a feel of what a Mexican kitchen is all about. I also love the sections on chiles and Tequila, very imformative!

Okay, I realize I am on a one-person crusade for putting worthwhile indexes in cookbooks. So what's the problem with the index in this cookbook? THERE ISN'T ONE! Come on authors, and yes, I'm talking to you, Mad Coyote Joe, indexes were invented to make it easier for the reader to find information in a book, you know, like a recipe in a recipe book. Would it have killed you to include an index? I think not. I also noticed an editing error on page 47, where the names of the recipes pictured on the preceding page were mixed up.

On the positive side, this little book has tasty recipes in it and colorful pictures illustrating some of the recipes and products. It doesn't have a lot of recipes, but the ones I've tried have been pretty darn good. If only I could look them up in an index...

My wife and I purchased this as a gift for my brother and his fiance and they loved it! Simple, easy to follow recipes that are very true to the real thing. My wife is originally from the Mexican state of Sonora, right below Arizona, and she gave this book her seal of approval. What else needs to be said?

This book is awesome. From this book I made the best enchiladas I have ever had. The only suggestion I would make to the author is to supply similar ingredients for substitution if the ingredients are not found in your area. Many of the ingredients are specific to Mexico and the very south Southwest.

I bought this book for my husband who loves to cook and very picky about his recipes. He found this book to be easy to follow and had simple recipes for fantastic food! I would recommend this book to anyone who loves Mexican food!