Latin American Cooking Across the U.S.A.

November 15, 1997
These two excellent new collections featuring contemporary Latin American cooking in the United States complement each other nicely. Tausend, coauthor with Susanna Palazuelos and others of Mexico the Beautiful (LJ 11/15/91), traveled throughout the country seeking the simple, traditional dishes that second- and third-generation Mexican Americans are cooking for everyday meals, recipes from their mothers and grandmothers. With Ravago, former chef/owner of Austin's Fonda San Miguel, she presents a broad selection of mouthwatering recipes, for both more familiar dishes such as Crispy Chicken Tacos and unusual ones like Pork and Purslane Stew. Tausend writes well, and headnotes include background on the various dishes as well as on the contributor. Highly recommended. Novas and Silva's more wide-ranging book draws on the diversity of Latin American cooking from 26 different nationalities in this country. Although the authors include homey, traditional dishes, they offer more sophisticated and elegant recipes from both home cooks and chefs, often in the cross-cultural nuevo style: New Southwestern Gnocchi di Patate, for example. The knowledgeable headnotes give culinary and cultural context for each recipe, often describing similar dishes from other Latin American countries, and more "exotic" ingredients are identified in glossary sections scattered throughout the book. Highly recommended. [There is also a Spanish-language edition, La Cocina Latinomericana en Los Estados Unidos, ISBN 0-679-44803-9.--Ed.]

October 15, 1997
Novas and Silva began by sampling Latin American cooking in New York City and went on with their "game of culinary pursuit . . . across Latino America." The result is this heady collection of 200 tempting Latin American recipes representing the cuisines of all 26 sovereign Latin American nations and ranging from soups to desserts and drinks, with chapters on rice, beans, and vegetables, and on tamales, empanadas, and other turnovers, as well as on appetizers and salads and main entrees. The recipes are easy to follow and have introductions that may include any of the following: mouth-watering descriptions, cooking tips, personal anecdotes, cross-references to similar dishes in other Latin groups, or suggested accompaniments. Occasional sidebars comment on such matters as varieties of chiles, tamales, and Latin American fruits and vegetables. Both inspiring and fun; cooks, grab your aprons. ((Reviewed October 15, 1997))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1997, American Library Association.)