Pati's Mexican Table: Authentic Mexican Recipes for Everyday Cooking, from Family Favorites to Fresh Modern Classics

I preordered this book the day Amazon offered it, expecting a collection of recipes from Pati's PBS programs. When I started reading it, the recipes were the third thing I admired -- right after the numerous Mexican Cook's Tricks and the extensive descriptions of Mexican ingredients. This is my third Mexican cookbook (after Diana Kennedy and Roberto Santibanez), but it should be everyone's introduction to Mexican flavors, techniques, and gusto because it works so well on four levels, each of which is worth the price of the book:1. Mexican Cook's Tricks -- There is a "trick" at the end of most of the recipes. They are short and most apply more broadly than just the subject recipe: how to cook an egg, prepare enchiladas, marinate meats, prepare chiles. These are as addicting as nachos (or Margaritas): You can't eat just one. After you finish one, you poke around to find more.2. Mexican Ingredients -- What stops you from reading the "cook's tricks?" There are about 60 green-highlighted sidebars, most of which describe a Mexican ingredient and how it is prepared and enjoyed: tamarind, corn versus flour tortillas, several varieties of chiles, hibiscus flowers, cinnamon, and buying avocados. A few succinctly describe cooking processes for rice and beans. By the time you've read eight or ten of these sidebars you want to cook.3. Recipes -- The recipes are for home cooking. This is the food that Pati, a busier-than-we-are soccer mom, serves her family. They are not the traditional servant-prepared recipes that Diana Kennedy features. They are contemporary flavors that use ingredients you can find in a large supermarket with a broad selection of Latin products or, better still, one of the small stores that serve Mexican/Central American immigrants you can find even in small towns. I've made several recipes (and others on her website) and have always had good results. The recipes are flexible and you can substitute pork for beef or adjust the chiles and other flavors to taste. One tip: It's efficient to prepare meals from the book over consecutive nights so you can re-purpose the food as Pati does -- salsas, beans, meats, tortillas.4. Gusto -- What draws these three elements together is Pati herself. Her culinary philosophy and approach to cooking are lively, fresh, and magnetic. The introductions to each recipe are informative and personal and her advice and judgements are level-headed. You can benefit from adapting her style, regardless of what you cook -- Mexican, Chinese, or American.If you want to cook Mexican for your family, order this book and buy an avocado and a few chiles. But read the book first to learn how to buy the avocado and handle the chiles.

This was a Christmas Gift for my husband who is a big fan of Pati's and the food and meals she prepared. We have watched her for years on PBS and the Cooking channel. It was high-time he got one of her Cookbooks. It is filled with delicious recipes that are easy to follow. We were surprised at how simple making delicious Mexican food really ease. Needless to say, he was thrilled with the cookbook and so am I.

I recently discovered Pati by watching The Chew cooking show, she was a guest and made a wonderful Chicken Aztec Casserole, (in the book), I made it for dinner that evening and it was a huge hit. I immediately purchased her book and have since made Chicken Enchiladas in Salsa Verde, yummy! Chicken A La Trash, the trash comes from the strange list of ingredients that come together to make something very wonderful tasting, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, poblano chiles, prunes, yes prunes, and of course chicken, ya gotta try it. Sticky Chicken with Apricots, Tamarind, and Chipotle, another good one. Crispy Chicken Milanese, I've made this one 3 times with her Green Rice. Mahimahi in Creamy Poblano Sauce, this one is especially good if, like me, your family doesn't care for fish, the Poblano Sauce helps with the fishy taste. I've also made this using Snapper, works just as well. Her Blissful Corn Totre (kind of like a moist corn bread) can be a side dish or have it for breakfast with powdered sugar sprinkled on top, it's great! Sauteed Zucchini with Poblano Peppers, one of the many vegetable sides in the book. Also included in the book are Salads,Soups, Vegetarian, Meat dishes, Desserts, Drinks, Breakfasts, Tacos, Quesadillas, Salsas, and more. I plan to do the Julie Julia thing with this book, everything looks and sounds so good. If your looking for authentic fresh made Mexican, and not American Mexican give this book a try. Nothing so far has been any harder to make than your average intermediate recipe. Try to catch her cooking show on PBS, it's on twice a week, Tues and Thurs, she's a delight and it will help with things in her book. I Love this book, and my family loves the result!

I love this cookbook for its wonderful, easy to follow recipes and Pati’s writing. What I don’t love is the poor quality of the binding. An entire section was not sewn correctly and has separated from the book.

A very fun and useful book.I've been cooking extensively out of Rick Bayless' excellent books for several years and hadn't planned on buying this one because at first glance it seemed like it might simply be a 'dumbed down' version of recipes I already knew.But it's totally not. While Jinich's recipes tend to be more casual and less labor/time intensive compared to a typical Bayless dish, they are nevertheless fantastic and fresh and fun. Jinich has the palate, the native fluency with the cuisine, and the cooking chops to offer simple, casual recipes that are delicious and taste authentically Mexican.I'm kind of obsessed with her sauteed zucchini recipe these late summer days. It's just diced zucchini, roasted poblanos, onion, garlic, salt and pepper cooked in a little butter and oil. Whenever I make it I wonder if I should maybe add some chilis or lime juice or cumin or cilantro or crema to 'improve' it. But no, it's simple and clean tasting and perfect as is. I respect a recipe that knows when to stop.If you want to learn the classic dishes of Mexican cuisine, the books of Bayless and Kennedy are great. But Jinich lets you see how a talented and resourceful Mexican home cook living in America feeds herself and her family, making this book a treasured and very practical addition to my Mexican cookbook library.I checked this book out of the library last month and, because my cookbook shelf is overflowing, ended up purchasing the Kindle version -- my first Kindle cookbook! The physical book is lovely, but the Kindle version is a bit awkward to navigate.

I bought this with the intent to improve my ability to cook mexican dishes. I was successful in making some delicious food. I recommend the honey chipotle ribs, chipotle mashed potatoes, flan, and pound cake...(It helps to have a mexican grocery store nearby for quality ingredients.)

Fantastic recipes, easy directions, great pictures. Great follow-up to watching the TV show. Have all her cookbooks now.

We have used so many recipes in this book, and all of them have been so delicious! Am so glad I purchased this book. The recipes are easy to follow and never disappoint. Pati is an amazing cook, and her recipes definitely show her talent. If you like tex mex food, you will love this book.

This is a great book with inspiring and easy to follow recipes.

This is the second book of Pati's that I have purchased. She does authentic Mexican recipes which taste amazing. They may take you a bit longer than other recipes but well worth the effort. I have a lot of Mexican cookbooks and Pati is by far the best. I recommend it to anyone wanting to cook authentic Mexican food.

Recetas muy ricas y muy bien explicadas aunque estén en inglés

Interesting different recipes

Amo este libro y la serie!