Rick Baylesss Mexican Kitchen or New Gas Grill Gourmet

Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen: Recipes and Techiniques of a World-Class Cuisine

Author: Rick Bayless

BURSTING WITH BOLD, COMPLEX FLAVORS, Mexican cooking has the kind of gusto we want in food today. Until now, American home cooks have had few authorities to translate the heart of this world-class cuisine to everyday cooking.

In this book of more than 150 recipes, award-winning chef, author and teacher Rick bayless provides the inspiration and guidance that home cooks have needed. With a blend of passion, patience, clarity and humor, he unerringly finds his way into the very soul of Mexican cuisine, from essential recipes and explorations of Mexico's many chiles to quick-to-prepare everyday dishes and pull-out-the-stops celebration fare.

Bayless begins the journey by introducing us to the building blocks of Mexican cooking. With infectious enthusiasm and an entertaining voice, he outlines 16 essential preparations-deeply flavored tomato sauces and tangy tomatillo salsas, rich chile pastes and indispensable handmade tortillas.

Fascinating cultural background and practical cooking tips help readers to understand these preparations and make them their own. Each recipe explains which steps can be completed in advance to make final preparation easier, and each provides a list of the dishes in later chapters that are built around these basics. And with each essential recipe, Bayless includes several "Simple Ideas from My American Home"-quick, familiar recipes with innovative Mexican accents, such as Baked Ham with Yucatecan Flavors, Spicy Chicken Salad, Ancho-Broiled Salmon and Very, Very Good Chili.

Throughout, the intrepid Bayless brings chiles into focus, revealing that Mexican cooks use these pods for flavor, richness, color and, yes, sometimes for heat. He details the simpletechniques for getting the best out of every chile-from the rich, smoky chipotle to the incendiary but fruity habanero.

Then, in more than 135 recipes that follow, Bayless guides us through a wide range of richly flavored regional Mexican dishes, combining down-home appeal and convivial informality with simple culinary elegance. It's all here: starters like Classic Seviche Tostadas or Chorizo-Stuffed Ancho Chiles; soups like Slow-Simmered Fava Bean Soup or Rustic Ranch-Style Soup; casual tortilla-based preparations like Achiote-Roasted Pork Tacos or Street-Style Red Chile Enchiladas; vegetable delights like Smoky Braised Mexican Pumpkin, or Green Poblano Rice; even a whole chapter on classic fiesta food (from Oaxacan Black Mole with Braised Chicken, Smoky Peanut Mole with Grilled Quail and Great Big Tamal Roll with Chard with the incomparable Juchitan-Style Black Bean Tamales); and ending with a selection of luscious desserts like Modern Mexican Chocolate Flan with KahIua and Yucatecan-Style Fresh Coconut Pie. To quickly expand your Mexican repertoire even further, each of these recipes is accompanied by suggestions for variations and improvisations.

There is no greater authority on Mexican cooking than Rick Bayless, and no one can teach it better. In his skillful hands, the wonderful flavors of Mexico will enter your kitchen and your daily cooking routine without losing any of their depth or timeless appeal.

Publishers Weekly

This definitive collection from Chicago chef and James Beard Award winner Bayless, in collaboration with his wife (and fellow restaurateur) and food journalist Brownson, proves comprehensively that the best Mexican food requiresand amply rewardsdedication and, often, time. Bayless begins with 15 Essential Recipes for salsas and sauces that work as "building blocks." Substitutions are suggested for uncommon ingredients, and excellent descriptions identify fresh and dried peppers. Throughout the text, sidebars inform about such items as tortilla presses, cactus paddles, pumpkin seeds and the delicacy huitlacoche (black corn fungus). Bayless explains fat's importance in the Mexican diet and tells how to make good lard at home. The chapter on salads includes two versions of guacamole, one given a fresh twist with roasted tomatillos; the chapter on soups offers Chilied Tortilla Soup with Shredded Chard and Oaxacan Black Bean Soup. An array of authentic Mexican fare is explored in "Tacos, Enchiladas and Other Casual Fare" (Simple Red Mole Enchiladas with Shredded Chicken) and "Vegetable, Bean, Rice and Egg Dishes" (e.g, Green Poblano Rice). "Fiesta Food" includes recipes for moles and tamales. Gringo cooks can relax with simpler main dishesRed Chile-Braised Chicken wreathed in ancho and garlic sauce, smoky Chipotle Shrimp or zesty Chile-Glazed Country Ribs. Desserts are as delectable as Modern Mexican Chocolate Flan and as unusual as Crunchy Amaranth Tart and Creamy Lime Pie. Mail-order sources and a bibliography are included. Photos not seen by PW. (Oct.)

Library Journal

Bayless and his wife, Deann, are the authors of the widely praised Authentic Mexican (LJ 12/96); they also own two well-known Mexican restaurants in Chicago. This ambitious, impressive new book includes more than 200 tantalizing recipes and is packed with information on Mexican ingredients and cooking techniques, regional cuisine, and history. Most of the recipes are Bayless's interpretations of classic dishes, while a few were simply inspired by Mexican cooking; none, he emphasizes, have anything to do with Tex-Mex/Southwestern-style Mexican food. Although some recipes are somewhat time-consuming or complicated, most list advance preparation and "shortcuts" as well as variations and improvisations; and each of the "Essential Flavoring" recipes that open the book includes several suggestions for easy dishes made with these basics. A serious guide to an often underestimated cuisine, this is important as both a reference and a cookbook. Highly recommended.

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New Gas Grill Gourmet: Great Grilled Food for Everyday Meals and Fantastic Feats

Author: A Cort Sinnes

This fully revised and expanded version of the best-selling gas griller's bible now has 300 recipes for easy and creative everyday grilling. Each recipe is designed specifically for use on the gas grill, and author Cort Sinnes provides lots of tips and information on equipment and techniques. He'll show you how to perfect your basic steak and chicken, and then he'll help you get creative with delicious recipes like Chuck Roast with Bourbon and Coke, Tunisian Tilapia, Barbecued Catfish Sandwiches, Hoisin-Chili Pork Satay, Lamb Chops with Blackberries and Lavender, and a whole lot more!

Library Journal

Spring is coming-and so are the barbecue books! "BBQ Queens" Adler and Fertig like to wear tiaras when they grill. They are members of an all-women barbecue team that competes on the national barbecue circuit, and they give cooking classes and demonstrations throughout the country. In their latest book, they provide hundreds of recipes, including a big "A to Z of Grilled and Smoked Veggies, Cheeses, and Pizzas," along with tips, stories, and profiles of other "Grill Gals." Some readers may find the tone a bit precious (e.g., "this is really a girly-girl recipe, with ruffles and ribbons"), but the recipes are easy and appealing. For larger collections. The idea of New York City chef/Food Network personality Flay writing a healthy-eating cookbook, complete with nutritional analysis for each recipe, seems somewhat incongruous. Perhaps it has something to do with his recent 40th birthday-or maybe it was the number of carbphobic customers holding forth in his restaurant dining rooms. In this follow-up to Bobby Flay's Boy Gets Grill, Flay offers mostly simple recipes (including some based on "good carbs," as he refers to complex carbohydrates), from Zucchini Succotash to Beef Filet with Arugula and Parmesan to Grilled Apricots with Bittersweet Chocolate. He seems somewhat subdued in his latest effort, with the bold, lusty flavors that usually characterize his cooking style less in evidence. Nevertheless, this is sure to be in demand. The Jamisons are veteran cookbook authors and grilling aficionados (see Chicken on the Grill and Born To Grill, among others). This time, they offer easy recipes for casual backyard entertaining. The first chapter, "Spontaneous Combustion," provides tips for successful parties, and their flavorful recipes, from Butterflied Thai Pork Tenderloin to Shrimp with Lemon Chive Sauce, should keep both guests and hosts happy. For most collections. Karmel is another barbecue queen, a former spokesperson for Weber grills who's well known on the circuit (she's a member of a team called Swine and Dine, and she's frequently a judge at barbecue competitions). Her big book is packed with information and mouth-watering recipes. A thorough introductory section offers invaluable tips and techniques for all types of grilling and barbecuing, and each recipe chapter opens with a primer on the basic ingredient and a handy chart on cooking times and recommended grilling methods. Karmel refers to her "culinary schizophrenia"-the result of her "love [for both] down-home Southern cooking and traditional French cuisines"-but inspiration for her recipes comes from all over the world: Lamb Tenderloin with Hazelnut Butter, Gingered Tuna with Wasabi Dipping Sauce, and Smoked Oysters with Fresh Cranberry Horseradish Relish. Useful as both a reference and a source of delectable recipes, Karmel's book is highly recommended. Negrin (Rustico: Regional Italian Country Cooking) has a decidedly different perspective, as her early grilling experiences were at her family's weekend house in northern Italy. A food writer and cooking teacher, she now lives in New York City but leads cooking tours in Italy. Her appealing new book offers fresh, vibrant, and simple but sophisticated recipes for outdoor cooking, from Lobster, Lemon, and Mint Salad to Peppery Rosemary-Rubbed Rib-Eye Steak. Full-page color photographs illustrate many of the recipes, and, despite the book's small size, Negrin includes a vast amount of information on ingredients and techniques, along with other helpful culinary tips. Highly recommended. Sinnes's book is an updated edition of his gas-grilling book, originally published in 1996. He has revised the text and added 100 new recipes, but it has an oddly dated feel to it: he regards grilled asparagus as rather exotic, and, at a time when grilled vegetables are showing up on fast-food menus, asserts that "most home cooks think grilling vegetables is somewhat unusual." There are also several slightly old-fashioned recipes, and it's surprising that a book devoted to grilling would call for bottled jerk seasoning and store-bought barbecue sauce. Only for comprehensive grilling collections. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.