Border Cookbook: Authentic Home Cooking of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico FROM THE PUBLISHER
In their big, exuberant cookbook, the Jamisons return to the simple, home-style roots--Native American, Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo--of Southwestern cooking. In more than 300 recipes, both classic and new, they explore the common elements and regional differences of border cooking, from Tex-Mex to New Mex, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific. 120 color illustrations.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
The authors of Texas Home Cooking and Smoke and Spice turn their assiduous attention to border food (called norteo in Spanish) which, served from Northern Mexico through the American Southwest, uniquely fuses Native American, Spanish and Western settlers' fare. The introduction points to norteo's distinctive characteristicsincluding large wheat tortillas, flame-cooked beef and the generous use of cheesesand discusses culinary offshoots like Tex-Mex, Sonoran and New Mexican cuisines. The 300 recipes drawing from all of these traditions are arranged by primary ingredient rather than by style (e.g., cheese enchiladas are found in the chapter about cheese; beef enchiladas appear in ``Ranch-Country Beef''). Appetizers and accompaniments include regional salsas and the secrets behind perfect guacamole and refried beans. Meat and seafood dishes comprise the bulk of the recipes, from Red Caldwell's South Texas Fajitas to Pinata Pollo, chicken breasts ``stuffed with treats,'' including chorizo, jalapeo and goat cheese. Sidebars detail the history and cultures from which recipes originated; further information about ingredients like nopales (cactus pads) and chiltepins (pea-sized hot chiles) is listed in a glossary. This Bible of border cuisine is as accessible as it is thorough. (Oct.)
Library Journal
The prolific authors of Smoke and Spice (LJ 4/15/94) and Texas Home Cooking (LJ 11/15/93), among other titles, now explore another aspect of the cooking of their favorite region. Here are the hearty, flavorful dishes prepared by home cooks on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border, from Texas to Southern California and down into northern Mexico. There are recipes as traditional as posole and newer ones, too, such as fajitas the way they were meant to be, not the versions often served up as Tex-Mex cuisine. Many recipes include different regional variations, and lengthy sidebars provide the culinary and cultural context. Recommended for most collections. [HomeStyle Bks. selection.]
BookList - Barbara Jacobs
The Jamisons' concentration on border foodstuffs yields a cornucopia of unusual recipes--more than 300. Their erudition is helpfully displayed in factual sidebars and notes on regional variations for many of their dishes. Informative, too, are the recipe notes, culled from on-site visits, a network of experts, and a wide-ranging search for indigenous cookbooks.
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