cover image Cocina de La Familia: More Than 200 Authentic Recipes from Mexican-American Home Kitchens

Cocina de La Familia: More Than 200 Authentic Recipes from Mexican-American Home Kitchens

Marilyn Tausend, Miguel Ravango. Simon & Schuster, $27.5 (400pp) ISBN 978-0-684-81818-4

In this highly personal and often moving cookbook, Tausend (coauthor of Mexico the Beautiful Cookbook) and Ravago, former owner and chef of an Austin, Tex., restaurant, mine a rich vein: the food that Mexican Americans cook for themselves. Cross-cultural adaptation leads to Green Enchiladas with Spinach and Tofu, Chicken with Spicy Prune Sauce made with Coca-Cola, and Mexican Beef Chow Mein, but more traditional Mexican fare like Guacamole and Braised Chicken with Rice and Vegetables appears as well. Among the best fish dishes are Squid in an Orange Vinaigrette, Red Snapper Veracruz Style and Fish Tacos Ensenada Style. Desserts include Almond Meringue Pudding and Cinnamon Ice Cream with Ice Coffee from an anonymous recipe donor. Essays on Mexican culture in various American states (including Illinois, which has the third-largest Mexican population, after California and Texas), and on such subjects as chiles and capsaicin (the chemical compound that gives peppers their heat) and the Day of the Dead all exhibit great care and a profound respect for Mexican culture. Recipes sport thorough headers, many of which do double-duty as family history lessons. In a nice touch, each recipe lists a place of origin, and often two: one in the U.S. and one in Mexico. Tausend and Ravago successfully illustrate how history, memory and food meld into one. (Nov.)