Customer Reviews

Jane Butel's Tex-Mex Cookbook

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

 

 

Most of the recipes from this book are not what I consider Tex-Mex. They are more New Mexico Mex. Where is the chili and cheese? Only a few real Tex-Mex recipes.

Book lacks photos of food presentation, many regular recipes

The recipes in this book sample (not cover) the range of Mexican-inspired American cooking found in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. I suspect that it is not the thing for residents of any of those states who are religious about their cuisine, but it is a great sampler cookbook for we deprived northeasterners who sometimes don't know the difference between tex-mex and old mexican, let alone think that it means something between Taco Bell and Don Pablo's.

The recipes in this book range from the very simple (caseroles made from leftover tortilla chips and canned sauces) to the more involved "real" dishes.

If you live in Pennsylvania and suspect that you could make a better, more authentic enchilada sauce than you enjoy at chi-chi's, you won't be disappointed. If you are looking for comprehensive looks at the cooking of Texas or Mexico, then you're out of luck.

The recipes themselves are clear and easy to follow. Freezing suggestions are a nice addition, and many (not all) of the recipes include introductory text (something I always want in a cookbook), but photographs are lacking and the index is not terribly special (another feature I look closely at when rating a cook book).

Overall, this is a solid 3-star cook book that I am getting a lot of enjoyment out of.

This is a rather difficult book for me to review. It has been around for a number of year and we have had it in our collection since it was first published in the early 1990s. First though, I have to agree with a number of other reviewers here in that the title is just a bit misleading. You cannot really call this a Tex-Mex cook book as it covers so many different areas and the author has mixed all of them up in one big pot. Now there is authentic Mexican Food. This is the type of food my wife usually prepares It takes special ingredients, herbs, spices, equipment and techniques. A Tortilla press, Metate, Bollito, Black Cast-iron tapa and Molinillo are a must. The ingredients have in the past been somewhat difficult to find, although I must admit it is getting easier. Also, this type of cooking is very work intensive. In addition to authentic Mexican, we have Tex-Mex which is something else altogether. To add to the problem, you have any number of other styles, from New Mexico, Arizona, etc. which are all distinctive. As another reviewer has pointed out, some of the chili peppers just do not exist anywhere else. For those who are searching for a true Tex-Mex Recipe book, they probably need to look elsewhere. Bottom line is that this is not, in my opinion, a genuine Tex-Mex cook book. No problem though...

That all being said, there are indeed some absolutely delicious dishes presented in this book and we use it all the time. Actually, I prefer some of the dishes in this work over some of the more authentic ones, from what ever area they are from. The directions are great, the spices and herbs specific and the book is useable and readable. Of course the end results are what count, and I do love many of the offerings the author has given us. This is a nice book and I am glad we have it in our collection. I am giving this one four stars simply because I like many of the dishes offered, what ever they may be.

A final note: One reviewer has pointed out that the author's instructions for making a margarita mentions that by adding a one-quarter of an egg white for a "frothy" mix is a good thing. Good grief, I cannot imagine such a thing and agree that it nears a sacrilege. Yuk!

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

The recipes may produce some tasty dishes, but you really need to be in New Mexico to work with this cookbook as it calls for New Mexico style green chiles and the types of dried chile powder found in New Mexico.

Not really a Tex Mex book, in my opinion. I've lived in Texas all my life and even the Tex Mex section recipes look strange to my eye.

This isn't a very thick cookbook, but it has some tasty recipes. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves Tex mex flavors.

Although she goes to some length in the introduction to explain what exactly it is that separates authentic Tex-Mex from 'Old' Mexican cuisine or Southwest US interpretations of Mexican themes, the recipes Jane Butel gives us in this collection still draw heavily from throughout the southwest.

Those recipes include not only the standards -- enchiladas, tamales, fajitas -- but also variations (like huevos rancheros 'California style,' with iceberg lettuce instead of tortillas *blech*), new creations, and even some of her own family recipes. The suggested menus are good starting points for thinking about your own fiesta, while the 'equipment and ingredients' chapter is a sound introduction for folks unfamiliar with this type of cuisine. The instructions for making a margarita (seemed like a good thing to test) are straightforward, though the mention of adding one-quarter of an egg white for a 'frothy' mix struck me as sacrilegious, if not downright nauseating.

In all, an okay cookbook for people determined to have something about 'Mexican food' (as understood in the US) on their shelves. But us real Tex-Mex devotees are left wanting more.