Mexican Everyday
by Rick Bayless, Deann Groen Bayless, Christopher HirsheimerGenres: Cooking
Published on November 7, 2005
Pages: 336
Format: eBook Source: Library
As much as Rick Bayless loves the bold flavors of Mexican food, he understands that preparing many Mexican specialties requires more time than most of us have for weeknight dinners. Mexican Everyday is written with an understanding of how busy we all are. It is a collection of 90 full-flavored recipes—like Green Chile Chicken Tacos, Shrimp Ceviche Salad, Chipotle Steak with Black Beans—that meet three criteria for “everyday†food: 1) most need less than 30 minutes’ involvement; 2) they have the fresh, delicious taste of simple, authentic preparations; and 3) they are nutritionally balanced, fully rounded meals—no elaborate side dishes required.
Filled with recipes featured on Rick’s Public Television series, Mexico—One Plate at a Time, this book provides dishes you can enjoy with family and friends, day in and day out.
This isn’t a new cookbook but my library electronic book catalog suggested it to me so I decided to give it a try.
If I had to pick one cuisine to eat exclusively for the rest of time, I probably pick Mexican. Beans, rice, corn, tomatoes, cheeses, tortillas – I love it.
This book isn’t very vegetarian friendly though. There is some discussion in the beginning of the book about how to make beans that could be useful but overall this is a meat lovers’ book.
I did find one recipe that I wanted to make. It is the Mushroom and Potato Crema Soup with Roasted Poblanos.
This soup uses blended potatoes, garlic, and broth to make a creamy base. Then you simmer a chopped roasted poblano, corn, and chopped mushrooms in it. You finish it off with a little (non-dairy) yogurt mixed in before serving.
I’m a wimp about chilies. I can’t even handle jalapenoes. But I decided to go for it and roast a poblano to use in this recipe.
This soup is a keeper. I love the technique of blending the potatoes first to make it creamy. The poblano adds just a little spice. This is going to be my go to mushroom soup from now on. I’m committing this recipe to memory so I can whip it up whenever a mushroom soup craving hits.
Other than this recipe, I’m not super impressed with the rest of the book. There may be some excellent meat recipes but not much for vegetarians. I’d recommend getting this one from the library before buying.
Rick Bayless is one of my favorites. I was lucky enough to visit his restaurant in Chicago. One of the best meals I’ve ever had.
It makes me sad that few actual Mexican chefs (or chefs who are ethnically members of the US Mexican community) write cookbooks or own highly successful restaurants in the USA. I’ve read several books exploring why this is so, but I still don’t go for this author. There’s a great Netflix series made in Mexico about tacos that I really loved, because it was truly centered on what is cooked and eaten in Mexico.
be safe… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
I was thinking about that while I was reading this book. Why is this American white guy considered an expert on Mexican cuisine?