Customer Reviews

Mexico: The Beautiful Cookbook

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This cookbook (which I purchased in a softcover version) is incredible. The best part is that there is a lovely photo of each recipe. I live in Mexico, and to learn about Mexican food, I have a cook come in once a week. All I have to do is show her a photo from this book and, if she is familiar with the food, she cooks it - the amazing thing is that although she cannot read a word of English, she cooks exactly as if she is following the written recipe - that is how authentic these recipies are. We have been using this method for months, without a misstep yet. If you want to know real Mexican food, use this book.

This is one of the best books around. My best friend was born and Mexico, and loves the authentic recipes in this book. I have enjoyed many wonderful meals with her family, and couldn't wait to show her this book. She soon bought copies of the book for her family after reading mine. I love all of the "Beautiful Cookbooks". The photography and history of the region(s) are superb, and the recipes are delicious!

This book is a classic of Mexican Cuisine. It's not as anal-retentive as Diana Kennedy and more appealing than Rick Bayless. The recipes are truly authentic and I have lived in Mexico for many years, researching the cuisines of Mexico. This book contains the majority of the most common dishes cooked in homes in Mexico and a great deal of the "alta cocina" works as well. I have made 75% of the dishes in this book and have served them to Mexican friends to rave reviews. This is the real thing. Marilyn Tausend collaborated in this book and it shows. She is an unsung hero of Mexican Cooking. There are others better known, but few that can take a recipe and make it easy to follow, yet as authentic as is possible with ingredients available in the US. If you want to cook like a real Mexican chef, get this book!

I am an avid collector of cookbooks, and as far as authentic quality material, this book is the best. But it is less a book, and more a work of art. The photographs are breathtaking, the cusine authentic region by region, and even offers the new "alta cocina Mexicana"--or, Mexican haute cuisine from Mexico City...SUPERB!

This is the perfect gift for anyone who loves to cook, who loves REAL Mexican food or is married to a Mexican! My husband is from Central Mexico and his mother's food is one of the things he misses the most! I never tried to cook "Mexican" food before I bought this cookbook, because I knew I'd never come close. (Most "Mexican" recipes call for cans of this/that thrown together with lots of cheese on top! No one in Mexico eats like that!) The recipes are from scratch, authentic, healthy, & there's a great variety! This cookbook inspired me and it has revoltionized my marriage. It's true what they say "A way to a (Mexican) man's heart is through his stomach!" I have been able to find variations of my "suegra"'s recipes and have made them my own. Try to find a Mexican market nearby to get all the authentic ingredients - they are much cheaper that way!

I'm from Mexico and I received various cooking books when I got married. Well, I couldn't use them because the instructions were too vague ("use half a can of tomatoes", "cook for about 30 minutes in a hot oven"). This book has been my salvation! The steps are clear, all the ingredients are measured, and there's photos for a lot of the recipes. All the dishes I've made have been perfect, just like my Mom used to make. It's a little expensive, but it would be the only Mexican cooking book you'll ever need. Look for it in softcover, it's a little cheaper that way.

If you like true Mexican food, this book is a must have. I would like to try most of the dishes, but will probably work on about 1 per week for the rest of my life.

Wonderful book, only flaw is a need to explain some of the more colloquial and/or esoteric ingredients such as pepper varieties.

As my husband and I have a predelection for fine cuisine and having studied with a few world's renounced chefs and aficionados of Mexican Cuisine, I guarantee this cookbook's recipes will delight even the most fastidious palate. The easy-to-follow recipes are ever bit as appetizing and appealing they appear in the exquisite photographs. Even a novice cook will look like pro with the savoir-faire of authentic Mexican cuisine.

Of my dozens of cookbooks, I've used this one the most. My wife is from Michoacan which led me to get serious about Mexican cuisine. I believe the two essential Mexican cookbooks are this one and Rick Bayless' first cookbook: Authentic Mexican. Mexico The Beautiful Cookbook is a visual masterpiece filled with many great recipes. Every recipe has an accompanying photograph. Bayless' book has superior narrative (but short on pictures), with great stories attached to the recipes -- and Bayless attends to detail in recipe instructions like no other.

Getting specific. Sopas/Caldos. For Americans, soup is probably not the first thing that comes to mind at the mention of Mexican cuisine. It's their best kept culinary secret. This cookbook is filled with outstanding soup recipes. Caldo Tlalpeno, Mole de Olla, Pozole, and Sopa de Tortilla are regularly served in the fall and winter months at our house. There are other great ones we've tried as well: Minguichi (chile and cheese soup), Sopa de Nuez con Chipotle (Pecan soup with chipotle sauce), and Sopa de Acelgas (Chard soup).

The first recipe I ever tried from this book was the Quesadillas. I didn't have fresh masa, so I used masa harlina, which worked surprisingly well. I have since found a Mexican market that sells fresh masa, so I always use that now. I guarantee that you'll never be satisfied with a warmed over store-bought flour tortilla with some cheese thrown inside, once you've made an authentic quesadilla! My Michoacan in-laws were impressed!

If you can get fresh masa, the Picaditas (masa boats) will impress any guest - and they're SO SIMPLE!

I've also tried the more complex and labor-intensive recipes such as Lomo de Cerdo con Salsa de Tomate y Rajas de pimiento Morron (Stuffed pork loin with tomato sauce and green peppers). My mother loved it. The pork is stuffed with fresh spinach and cheese. I highly recommend it!

Next. Salsa. The book has eight outstanding salsa recipes. The mouth-watering pictures and recipes of these eight salsas on Pages 199-200 should alone drive you to buy the book.

Writing this review makes me determined to try one recipe out of this book that I've been dying to try ever since I got it: Tortitas de Tuetano (Fresh masa mixed with marrow topped with an avocado sauce). I've tried several stores, but haven't yet located anyone who will sell me marrow bones.

I very recently tried the recipes for Chiles y Verduras en Escabeche (Pickled chiles and vegetables) from this book and from Bayless' Authnetic Mexican. I do prefer Bayless' version. And if you are trying to make tamales or mole sauce for the first time, I suggest you go with Bayless' instructions.

I confess I've never tried to make any of the dessert recipes in this or any Mexican Cookbook.

Now, the bottom line for many potential cookbook users is, Can I easily get the ingredients? If you can get fresh masa, mexican cheese (such as queso cotija or queso fresco - don't go with the feta mentioned as a possible substitute), tomatillos, and dried chiles such as ancho/pasillas and New Mexico chiles, you're in great shape. And fresh masa is actually used in only a small proportion of the recipes.

In sum, get Mexico The Beautiful Cookbook and Rick Bayless' Authentic Mexican. Great investments. Those who appreciate good food will love you.

I ran into this cookbook in the kitchen of a Mexican friend. Wow! I usually don't go for large coffee-table format cookbooks, but for this one I'm happy to make an exception. It is everything the title says: Mexican (really! They have panuchos, my favorite treat from the Yucatan) and Beautiful with a capital B. There should be a drool alert. The photos are that good! Pick up this book. It's like taking a mini-vacation to Mexico!