Authentic Mexican cuisine can be an indescribable treat, but nobody wants to spend all day in a hot kitchen to create it. Rick Bayless, the popular host of PBS's Mexico One Plate at a Time, knows that preparing many wonderful Mexican specialties requires more time than most of us have. In Mexican Everyday, he answers our kitchen prayers with 90 recipes, most of which can be prepared in less than 30 minutes. The offerings include Green Chile Chicken Tacos, Shrimp Ceviche Sal, and Chipotle Steak with Black Beans.
Bayless, popular Chicago chef and author (Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen, etc.), jumps on the "everyday food" wagon with this lively collection of recipes designed to take no more than 30 minutes to prepare. Known for his painstaking approach to recreating the classics of Mexican cuisine, Bayless moves in a new direction here, substituting easy-to-find ingredients for exotic ones, streamlining complex sauces into a few steps and emphasizing nutrition. Purists may balk when they encounter more boneless chicken breasts than lard-not to mention a cheerful reliance on canned beans and peppers and, in a pinch, prepared salsas-but any time-pressed home cook will welcome this pragmatic approach to the complexities of Mexican food. Bayless's confident, step-by-step recipes lead even the novice through a variety of twists on tacos and enchiladas, staples like tortilla soup and guacamole, and more ambitious dishes such as Grilled Red Chile Steak with Sweet Plantains, Red Onion and Chipotle Salsa. Even the notoriously complex mole tradition is reinvented with the foolproof Chicken in Oaxacan Yellow Mole. This companion volume to the fourth season of Bayless's PBS series Mexican One Plate at a Time will rescue any Mexican food fan who's ever been daunted by the prospect of serving more than chips and salsa. Photos. (Nov. 7) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
World cuisine is fast becoming everyday cuisine. An award-winning chef and specialist in Mexican food for more than 25 years, Bayless (Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen) has contributed to that movement. His latest book features 90 delicious recipes, including traditional and contemporary Mexican dishes like Chipotle Steak with Black Beans, Green Chile Chicken Tacos, Shrimp Ceviche Salad, and variations on classic salsa. These are easy to follow and complemented with sections on salads, marinades, and grilling techniques, among other useful advice; and anecdotal bits about Bayless's life. Readers will find the introduction particularly engaging. Bayless recommends that everyday food should take less than 30 minutes to prepare, be nutritious and balanced, and have the fresh, simple taste of authentic dishes. This savvy, beautifully designed book demonstrates how to accomplish all three objectives with the right tools and ingredients in record time. Highly recommended wherever Mexican cuisine is part of the scene. [This is the companion volume to the fourth season of Bayless's PBS series, Mexico One Plate at a Time.-Ed.]-Steven G. Fullwood, Schomburg Ctr. Lib., NY Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
"In our quest for real food those days that aren't weekends and holidays, Mexican Everyday is a tasty and brilliant find. Rick Bayless' recipes can always be relied upon to produce stellar food, and what a boon that he has turned his deep knowledge of Mexican cooking to the service of great everyday eating. Thank you Rick!"
"Once again, Rick Bayless demonstrates that Mexican cooking is endlessly delicious, spirited, and rooted in a brilliant, generous culture. His Mexican repertory is irresistible, but he gives you more than recipes here. His approach to building simple, healthy, affordable meals every day is spot-on and is a great way to approach any cuisine, every day."
"America's culinary dynamic duo, Rick and Deann Bayliss, have brought the wonderful cuisine of Mexico back to the home dinner table. They have created easy, delicious recipes in this beautiful book that will be a part of your family meals time after time. Here's to celebrating home meals with spice."
"Some of the most memorable, delicious foods I have eaten were lovingly prepared by Rick Bayless. I look forward to trying to emulate this great chef/innovator with this wonderfully accessible cookbook."
"Serious, authentic, superbly researched, Mexican Everyday is the book that I will take with me to Mexico when I go to my apartment there next winter!"
"When an expert like Rick Bayless…decides to riff on traditional themes, get your hands on his work. Rick's recipes are flawless, and his variations alone are worth the cover price. Bravo to a pro who knows it all and still gets a kick out of sharing it with us."