Customer Reviews

Matt Martinez's Culinary Frontier

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a simple to use, easy to read, enjoyable cook book that is not only a pleasure to work out of, but is intresting and fun to read.

The recepies are straight forward, Martha Stewart would hate this book.

For years I have been tring to make enchalidas for my family without them having the consistantly of tree bark. Matt has shown me how to share the recipies I enjoyed so much growing up in Texas to my family being raised in New York City.

Great recipes. Great stories. The #1 authority on Tex-Mex Cooking in America. A "Best Buy" book for yourself or gift.

I have purchased all of Matt Martinez's cookbooks due to my love of his restaurants. My husband and I drive from Houston to Austin about every 6 weeks just to eat at "Matt's Famous El Rancho" Restaurant. I purchased his cookbooks to make some of our favorites at home and while the receipes are great and everything made from his cookbooks is delicious and easy to prepare, it doesn't compare to the experience of going to one of his restaurants! It does give me a quick fix when I have a hankering for good tex-mex until we can make the roadtrip back to Austin to get the real thing.

I was first introduced to Matt's family restaurant, El Rancho, in Austin 20 years ago during college and still make a point of going there when visiting. I grew up in TX and now live in the wilds of NJ with nary a Tex-Mex joint in sight - or within a days drive. I can make the very simple recipes from this book, close my eyes and feel like I'm home again. After making several of these dishes for a very Italian NY friend of mine she demanded I spend an afternoon showing her how to make her favorites from this book. Very high praise indeed.

If you are interested in Tex-Mex cooking, do yourself a favor and buy this book. You won't regret it.

What I love about this cookbook is not only the recipes but also the snippets about his heritage. It makes for a good read.

I've made a number of these recipes with good success and they do not take exotic ingredients except for one:

ROASTED ARMADILLO (Poor Man's Pig)

Now that one I will pass on... even if it does taste like pork!

For those not familiar with Matt Martinez, he is one of the foremost experts on Tex-Mex and cowboy cooking. I originally picked up this book years ago and have gone to it again and again for both a great set of Tex-Mex (if you don't know the difference between this and the cuisines of Mexico, you're in for some surprises), and a great set of anecdotes about the "original" Tex-Mex restaurant in Austin that include Texas legends such as LBJ and Lady Bird Johnson. The best compliment that makes me recommend this is that our family uses several recipes for our Christmas Eve dinner every year (including the rice and chili recipes). This is a part of our Texas Christmas tradition. The recipes call for easy-to-find ingredients, and represent the flavors that you would expect from this type of cuisine. PS - if you come to the Dallas area, you HAVE to eat the Bob Armstrong dip at one of his restaurants - AWESOME. (Recipe is also in the book).

After enjoying one of the best mexican meals we've ever eaten at "Matt's Famous El Rancho Restaurant" in Austin, my wife just had to have the cookbooks. This is the 1st in a series of 3 cookbooks, that we are aware of, by Matt Martinez Jr., whose grandfather opened the very first Tex-Mex restautant in Austin, "El Original", and whose father, Matt Martinez Sr., opened El Rancho, Austin's most popular. . Along with many delicious and authentic recipes, this book has lots of interesting family stories and the history and evolution of "Tex-Mex" cusine. While all 3 books are good,her favorite, by far, is his newest "MexTex: Traditional Tex-Mex Taste".

I've owned this cookbook since around the time it was released and still use it. The recipes are generally easy and very delicious. I really like Matt's Big Time Eatin' Chili.