Simply Mexican

December 15, 2008
For the home cook unfamiliar with annatto seeds, crema and tamal, this slim yet worthy collection of Mexican dishes by Castro (founder of the Ars Magirica Cooking School in Miami) is the ideal starter. Accessible recipes ranging from soups and salads, chicken and meat dishes, to desserts are presented with straightforward and easy-to-follow instructions. Recipes, including such classics as tortilla soup, enchiladas and mole chicken, are broken down into sections and accompanied by concise cooking notes covering technique, ingredient information and advance preparation tips. Instructions for techniques like wrapping chicken in banana leaves, assembling tamales and making homemade chorizo are accompanied by captioned step-by-step photographs to guide readers. One won’t discover any outrageous or cutting-edge dishes, yet Castro fulfills her mission to educate and explain the basics of Mexican cooking in a simple, satisfying way.

April 15, 2009
This debut cookbook by a Miami cooking teacher now based in New York offers 60 recipes, most of them shown in color photographs, for delicious Mexican and Mexican-inspired dishes. Some of them will be familiar, but Castro's skills as a teacher are evident in the detailed instructions and numerous useful tips, and she has an engaging style. For most collections.

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