Customer Reviews

Mexico One Plate At A Time

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Rick Bayless knows a great deal about authentic Mexican cooking. This book, however, reads like an edited version of a TV introductory cooking show (which it probably is). His former books introduce the cooking of Mexican and Oaxacan cuisine with admirable quality and depth.
The book is primarily basic corn kitchen and a few standards. Consisting of, essentially 34 recipes with two or three variations on each, the book is far less than it appears.
He has some good sections on ingredients, but rarely complete: for example he has a section on tequila which never mentions pulque or mexcal (from his beloved Oaxaca) and while he calls for such things as avocado leaves and epazote he does not provide a source. On the other hand, he has a good section on internet resources.

Although not all the meals in this book are whip it up quick, EVERYTHING I have tried so far has been simply spectacular (And besides, true art takes time!) If you love traditional Mexican dishes, and recipies that have it all explained for you, I strongly reccomend this cookbook!!

Not only are the recipies filled with tips for success, but each section has a wonderful narrative on the history and the origins of the foods on the following pages!

My Husband always exclaims "Wow! this is JUST LIKE my Grandma used to make!!" even if it is my first attempt.

Again, easy to execute instructions and wonderful results have made this my favorite cookbook, complete with chile-splattered pages!

This is a great Mexican cookbook. I can't recommend it enough. My husband asked for it on his birthday and since we like the dishes so much I plan to send a copy to my sister for her birthday. I find the recipes have a wide range of complexity and time required to prepare them. Although I will "cheat" and buy tortillas for my weekday menus instead of making them. We especially liked the Chipotle Chicken Salad Tacos which is a very quick and easy recipe for the weeknights. YUM.

If you want to prepare real Mexican food, this book is a must.

We love mexican food and heard rave reviews about this book. Be warned, though - you'll need some time to prepare most of these recipes. If you have time on your hands and want to prepare meals that are very authentic then this is a great cookbook. However, when it's 6:00 and you are trying to throw something together for dinner, this is not the cookbook to use. My other gripe is that he is very long-winded in his instructions. This lends to the authenticity of each recipe, but it can be hard to follow. Everything we have made has been delicious but we have learned to plan ahead!

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!

This is an excellent companion to the PBS series "Mexico One Plate at a Time". It has many wonderful recipes, but Rick also discusses the history and culture behind some of the food. It is as much "sit-down" reading material as it is a cookbook. Well worth the money.

My husband and I love Rick Bayless and enjoyed his show. Whereas there are some dishes in the book we wouldn't eat, we do love this cookbook. Of course, I doubt there's anyone out there who would eat every single recipe from a book so not eating every dish from this one is certainly no complaint! If you love Mexican, this is a definite must have!

I saw Rick on PBS and ordered the book. The recipes are easy to follow, with nice color photos of finished products. Some of the reviews I got after making the shrimp saviche (sp?) were the best I ever received!!! A must for anyone's recipe book collection.

Mexican cuisine is difficult not merely because the ingredients are often hard to find, but also because it represents an almost wholly original approach to these ingredients. As a truly indigenous cuisine, it represents an approach to cooking almost totally unfamiliar both to home cooks and classically trained chefs. This is why Bayless' book is such a valuable contribution for those interested in getting away from American interpretations of Mexican food. While he emphasizes traditional recipes, Bayless is not doctrinaire. He also adds contemporary interpretations of classic dishes which at once preserve the authentic quality of the originals, while exploring and incorporating new ingredients. Moreover, he offers more than simple recipes, but also a guide to understanding what it is about traditional Mexican cooking that leads to its unique flavours. This helps inspire substitutions for ingredients not readily available and greater skills in creating notoriously difficult to reproduce Mexican standards like refried beans or ceviche.

If I have any complaints about this book, they come down to the following. There are relatively few recipes in the book, which is largely a function of the explanations I endorsed earlier. There are also many recipes in this book which are quite similar to dishes provided in his other cookbooks. Somebody already familiar with Bayless' work might find this somewhat frustrating.

However, as a first book on Mexican cooking, I can think of none better placed to produce a better meal. This is an expensive book, but one that is nicely adorned and marvelously designed. I would recommend it to any seriously interested in coming to knwo one of the finest cuisines in the world.