Customer Reviews

Salsas That Cook: Using Classic Salsas To Enliven Our Favorite Dishes

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

 

 

Rick Bayless is probably the biggest inspiration toward the popularity of "REAL" or traditional Mexican cooking in the U.S. He has several very popular shows on PBS and is quite active in promoting PBS with live appearances and tours showing how to prepare delicious Mexican food. I was disappointed as I mentioned in my first review of this book, because almost it's entire content including most of the recipes were previously included in his past cook books. The recipes are delicious. Granted.

The other problem is the poor binding of this edition. The pages are falling out.

If you own Mr Bayless' previous books, you have the contents of this book. I am a fan of Mr Bayless, but I have been disappointed in this endeavor. I used to purchase any item with his byline sight unseen. I will at least thumb through any future cookbooks before future purchase.

I'd rate this book at 4 stars for the recipes; great flavors that are relatively simple to prepare with a lot of variety. They're presented in a compact, well organized format.

Unfortunately, the quality of the books construction merits only 1 star! My copy started losing pages a few days after purchase. I returned it for a replacement but the new copy is no better. The book is of simple glue bound construction and it just won't hold up.

Buy a hole punch and a binder to go along with it and you'll own a cookbook that presents a great introduction to Bayless's interesting style.

I've been inspired by Rick Bayless's teaching, both from his PBS series' and his cookbooks. I also own his previous books - this is pretty much a rehash of recipes for salsas and dishes from the hardbound books. He even includes his "Onions and garlic are the fabric that runs through Mexican cooking..." quote from his previous books.
If you own his other books or you watch his PBS cooking shows, there's nothing new to learn in this book. Other than having recipes written down in it.
Again, I enjoy Mexican food and Rick Bayless, but I was disappointed.

The dishes I have prepared from this so far have all turned out to be new favorites. This book has a fresh new approach that results in food that tastes exciting and different. It is one of my favorites from a large library of cookbooks.

I have all of Rick Bayless' books, and his recipes are outstanding. I regularly use a dozen recipes from this book, all to rave reviews, esp. breakfast enchiladas, tinga, guacamole, scallops, and beef tips. A little extra work, but well worth it. If you're in a hurry, order carry out. Instructions are clear. I bought a few as well-appreciated gifts as well. Don't miss it!

This is one of my favorite cookbooks. Everything course is here and it's all delicious!

Folks, it just doesn't get any better than this! It takes time, as all good things do, but the results will amaze and astound you and your guests. I found that most of the salsas had an even better flavor and aroma after setting in the fridge for a couple of days. Please, if you want to do it right, pay attention to what Rick has to tell you in this book. It is a real treat.

I found the recipes a little daunting to cook. Having to make the salsas first and then using them in other recipes adds to the time and difficulty, and the recipes seem to require more equipment than my frugal kitchen has. However, once the effort is made, folks find the food delicious.

I really like Chips and Salsa. This book has 6 cooked Salsa recipes and about 30-40 more that use the salsas. It's easy to make: wash the stuff, cook it in the oven and throw it in the food processor. The roasting is mainly done under the broiler and gives the salsa a great roasted/chared flavor. The onions and garlic roasted have a milder, sweeter flavor. The book has some good pictures to show you what the stuff should look like, it would be nice if it had more. To make this snack lower in fat use the new baked chips. Some say they taste like cardboard, but I think if you heat them in the oven or microwave first they taste fine. If you like salsa, and don't mind cooking, this book will let you make it as good as the resturants and better than any bottled stuff.