My Mexico: A Culinary Odyssey with More Than 300 Recipes

by Diana Kennedy

Book Overview

"Why my Mexico?" asks Diana Kennedy in her introduction to this long-awaited book. The answer is simple and obvious: it is a highly personal book about the Mexico she knows. And no one knows Mexico the way Diana does.???? When Diana Kennedy first came to Mexico more than forty years ago, she did not intend to become the country's premier gastronome. But that is what she has become, traveling endlessly, learning the culinary histories of families, hunting elusive recipes, falling under the spell of the beauty of a countryside that produces such a wealth of foods. She has published five books and is referred to variously as the Julia Child, the Escoffier, and the high priestess of Mexican cooking. Most important, she has taken as her eternal project to record not only the wealth of Mexican culinary knowledge and folklore but also the fascinating stories behind it all. My Mexico records Diana's recent wanderings, along with memories stored away from previous trips.????With wondrous, novelistic prose, Diana tells the story behind her discovery of each dish, from the Pollo Almendrado (Chicken in Almond Sauce) she discovered in Oaxaca to the Estafado de Raya (Skate Stewed in Olive Oil) that delighted her in Coahuila. Yes, there are some fairly simple recipes for inexperienced cooks--look for the new guacamoles and the addictive chilatas. More complicated ones are for aficionados who know the intricacies of the ingredients.?????? Times have changed greatly since Diana published her first book. More and more ingredients are available in the U.S., and??more and more people have learned of the true joys of real Mexican cooking. One thing has not changed--Diana Kennedy's passion. For those who already are familiar with her work, this volume is a much-needed addition to your library. For those who are not, you are in for a treat of the first order.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0609602470
• ISBN13: 9780609602478
• Release Date: October 1998
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter Publishers
• Length: 544 Pages
• Weight: 2.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 7.6" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

A Delicious Accomplishment

No one has better brought Mexican cuisine into the forefront of world gastronomy, and this book assembles a privileged collection of recipes, ingredients, techniques, as well as anecdotes on their discovery and preparation. Diana Kennedy, an adventurer in her own right, is a monument to diligence, against the background of her love and appreciation for Mexico's villages, landscape and singular intricacies, which she explores at will.

this is the best book ever!!

it's like going to mexico everytime you read it and the recipes are very authentic and tasty. this is my all time favorite book.

Fabulous Mexico

This is a book every lover of fine cuisine must read. It gives a whole new face to Mexican food. I loved Diana Kennedy's tales of how she came to find the various recipes, the harrowing journeys into the country to find the recipes she'd heard of, her description of the people she encountered in kitchens, over open fires, in little inns. Reading the book makes you want to explore the country, try all the different foods, and try to prepare the foods as well. You can lose yourself in the book. It is written so well that you can taste and smell every detail of Kennedy's description. This is not just a cookbook, it is a journey into a wonderful culture, and culture "junkey" that I am, I relished every word.

My husband from the state of Guerrero loves this book.

I my self have stayed for months at a time in the state of Guerrero and Puebla. I know that the recipies that Diana Kennedy have shared here are exactley how food is eaten and prepared in these southern regions of the country, and I also first hand how frustrating it is to find ingredients that are similar here in the states, it is almost impossiable the further you are away from the boarder. Thank you for a book that aides me in cooking foods that are dream come true for my husband from the state of Guerrero, he loves me even more now!

Diana Kennedy's books all have long-term shelf lives.

This is the most intensely personal of Diana Kennedy's books about authentic Mexican cooking. Critics who are not knowledgeable about this subject often complain that her recipes are too complicated. That, I believe, is an excuse for laziness. Are books on authentic and regional French, Indian, Italian, Moroccan, etc. cooking similarly criticized. That is unfair and doesn't give ample credit to the culinary richness of the many parts of Mexico. No one is more accurate and true to her subject than Diana Kennedy. Little wonder that the cookbook awards (the IACP & The Jas. Beard awards) all too often miss the point but the real and lasting award is always a book's "shelf life" and being a perpetual reference. My Mexico is not only a fine, carefully researched and accurate cookbook of Mexico's culinary complexity but an excellent, informative and interesting read.