Customer Reviews

Mexico One Plate At A Time

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I was growing up my idea of Mexican food was having to eat those terrible Mexican TV Dinners - YUCK. (The same went for Chinese food.) As a young and middle aged adult I refused to go to a Mexican restaurant based upon my childhood cuisine nightmares. Now I am married to someone who loves food from all around the world. He has been responsible for introducing me to many ethnic foods that I would have otherwise never tried.

Several years ago my husband and I went on a vacation to a place about an hour south of Cancun on the coast near Tulum Beach...Puerta Aventura. It was a 5-star all-inclusive hotel. Among other things that impressed me was the exquisite food. We both must have gained ten pounds on that trip. That was my first taste of good Mexican food. What an eye opener.

Not long ago I was watching FoodTV and saw Rick Bayless, heard about his book, heard the rave reviews on it, and watched several popular chefs prepare authentic Mexican regional cuisine. I was fascinated and wanted to try it out. So I bought this book. Let me tell you folks, if you have never had good Mexican food, this is THE PLACE to start. If you have only eaten it in restaurants, this is THE BOOK to start cooking it.

I began with his Classic Guacamole (to die for), then his Shrimp Ceviche (double to die for) and went on from there. Just the reading and learning itself is a treat. In addition to the recipes, Bayless often goes into detail about the source or inspiration of the recipe; for instance, he talks about the Tortilla Soup...it's his Mom's tortilla soup and he gives the background of the many uses for tortillas. I didn't know this stuff!

He also includes a section on the many types of equipment, spices, herbs, tools and anything else you can think of in preparing and seasoning. There is also a section giving Internet sites to shop for the supplies you will need.

Now I am the proud owner of an electric tortilla press and let me tell you, once you eat a homemade tortilla, there is no turning back to the store bought kind.

Thank you Rick Bayless for writing a book that helps people like me learn the joys of cooking and eating this wonderful food.

Mexico One Plate at a Time has many easy recipes for beginnersyet contains tons of tips and tricks in the question and answersection for experts. Overall the recipes seem to be a little simplerand stripped down than those in Bayless' first two books, which isprobably good for beginners as well as for those of us who are timestarved. For anyone who has ever tasted the famous duck tacos atFrontera Grill there is a similar recipe in the new book (I am on myway to the store to get a duck now!). Another great thing about thebook is that you can find a recipe for any mood that you might be in -the recipes range from causal to dressy and each dish has atraditional and contemporary version.

Rick Bayless's cookbooks are among the best because he is not content to supply recipes and instructions: he authentically cares what appears on your table and provides thoughtful conversation regarding each preparation. He anticipates problems for household cooks. He leads beginners through preparations unique to Mexican cooking. He is a teacher in the very best sense of the word! Remember that high school teacher or college prof who made all the difference? Rick Bayless's Mexico One Plate at a Time wants to be that kind of a cookbook.

I own both "Authentic Mexican" and "Rick Bayless' Mexican Kitchen," and I had reservations about buying this one as well, and I did not regret it.

There is significant overlap in the recipes among the books, but I like the layout and organization on this one the best. This one would certainly be the best one for a beginner.

As a great fan of Bayless' restaurants and the happy owner of two of his previous cookbooks, but a person for whom leisurely cooking is often only a dream, this latest cookbook proved to be a dream come true. As wonderful as the recipes may be in Bayless' other books, they are often necessarily time-intensive, perfect for the weekends but a bit much for weekday evenings after a long day at work.

This book is the perfect adjunct: it features wonderful, beautifully-balanced and flavor-intensive dishes that can be prepared much more quickly and readily. My wife and I are happily cooking our way through the book, and after some 15 or more dinners, we pronounce the book a gem!

My wife grew up in Oaxaca, and last summer we went to Mexico for three weeks of Vacation. So when she brought this book home from our local library, I was interested in seeing if Bayless had indeed captured the flavor of the country. From the first recipe we tried, it was apparent that this was not just another cutesy Tex-Mex cookbook. My congratulations on a job well done. This book is so authentic, that we even recognized some people we met during our stay. If you realllllllly want to taste Mexico without actually going there, prepare yourself for a treat, this is the definitive work on the subject of "real" Mexican cuisine. We cannot go without this book for extended periods, so now we own a copy instead of taking our chances at the library. I have one complaint however. He doesn't tell us where in this country we can get those watermelon sized Papayas that we found in the Mitla and Tlacolula markets.

Bayless' books are always good, but this one seems made to help us home gourmets. He begins with the basic Mexican dishes (they are not the typical American Mexican fare, either) then gives a classical recipe, than some adaptations. His Shrimp Cervice and the CornFlakes Coated Snapper are out of this world.

The genius of this cookbook is that it teaches us not only what good Mexican cooking is all about, but provides both foundations and building blocks for a lifetime of exploration into this wonderful cuisine which has just taken off in the past few decades. I'm sure this book will propel it into the 21st century.

Rick Bayless does a great job of staying true to authentic Mexican cooking. He includes his own contemporary recipes, but first he shows you the traditional ones. His anectotal stories remind me of my mom's stories of her childhood in Mexican-influenced San Antonio, and it brings back memories of good home cooking. By the way, if you're brave enough to make your own corn tortillas, his method is the best I've seen so far. It was very easy to master. I've made the queso fundido twice in 2 weeks and the chilaquiles once, and even my husband (Pennsylvanian by birth and totally foreign to this cuisine) loved them.

I liked the book so much I'm ordering a copy for my mother as a birthday gift.

I'll keep it short and let you know that this is the best cookbook I have ever purchased. After seeing Rick on television, I knew he had a fantastic cookbook. I liked that he visited Mexico and included his favorite authentic dishes. I've cooked about 10 dishes out of his book and all of them have been exceptional!

Overall I think this is a good book and devotes a great deal of time discussing the history of Mexican cooking. The author is very thorough and offers detailed instructions and tips for sucessful dishes. However, I was slightly disappointed by the complexity of both the recipes and ingredients. There isn't a single "simple" meal in the entire book.

This cookbook is most appropriate for the true Mexican food connoiseur. It is well written and thoughtful - but be prepared to spend some time in the kitchen!