Author: Kennedy, Diana
Title: Recipes from the Regional Cooks of Mexico
Publisher: Harper & Row
Place: New York
Date: (1978)
Edition: first ed
ISBN: 0060123486
ISBN-13: 9780060123482
Pages: 400
Binding: Hardback
Condition: VERY GOOD very good dj
Illustrator: Sidonie Coryn
Book Id: MAIN000478I
Details: Foreword, index
Dj summary: Following the great success of her first two cookbooks The Cuisines of Mexico and The Tortilla Book Diana Kennedy decided to return to Mexico to settle permanently. In the course of finding the ideal location for the ecological house and gastronomic center she plans to build, she traveled extensively throughout Mexico and soon began to assemble this book, which is a companion volume to Cuisines of Mexico (chosen one of the twelve best cookbooks ever by Time Magazine this year).
She found the cooks who contributed most of these recipes in both likely and wildly unlikely places. The famous cooks of the various regions were fairly easy for her to locate, but she also discovered some extraordinary cooks in the markets, at the shore, and even preparing an elaborate barbecue in the middle of a field. Perhaps the unlikeliest of all was a bus driver who presented himself during a bus expedition to the Merced market and proved to be as fine a cook as he claimed.
Mrs. Kennedy gained the confidence of one of the top bakers in Mexico City; he agreed to accept her as an apprentice in his bakery and as a result we have access, for the first time, to the airy secrets of Mexican pastry. She had further adventures: the owner of one of the best restaurants in Mexico City invited her on a family picnic; a weekend of gastronomic delights was spent with a servant couple and their family in Oaxaca; in a private home, where the master of the house was offering a not particularly pleasant regional drink, Mrs. Kennedy went into the kitchen and found the maids saving the melon pulp and pits from lunch to make an amazingly simple but delicious version of the same drink. The sources of these recipes provide wonderful tales on their own, a treat for anyone who enjoys reading about gastronomy.
There are 120 completely new recipes included in this collection, with 20 illustrations. Additional features include a pronunciation guide and a list of sources for ingredients.
There are also the basic recipes indispensable to assembling an authentic Mexican meal tortillas, beans, rice, and sauces, for instance. And anyone familiar with Diana Kennedy's Mexican haute cuisine will be eager to try such delights as Oaxaca barbecued lamb (with chili, cinnamon, and sesame seed seasoning), mushrooms in green sauce, chiles stuffed with zucchini, and orange flan.
Try also: Arroz Blanco con Chiles Rellenos de Elote (White Rice with Corn-Stuffed Chilies), Caldo de Puerco Duranguense (Durango Pork Stew), Pollo en Salsa de Cacahuate (Chicken in Peanut Sauce), Chiles Rellenos con Calabacitas (Chilies Stuffed with Zucchini), Horchata de Melon (Melon-Seed Drink), Coliflor en Aguacate (Cauliflower in Avocado Sauce), etc.