Mexican Everyday: Spicy Riffs On Mexican Dishes

By Rick Bayless with Deann Groen Bayless
(W.W. Norton & Company, 2005)
Color photographs by Christopher Hirsheimer 336 pages.
ISBN: 039306154x
 
Cooking with Rick Bayless' latest book, "Mexican Everyday," feels a lot like jamming with your best buddies in the basement on a Sunday afternoon. You lay down a little melody, a little harmony, a few variations on the theme, and before you know it, you've got a song. Or, if you're with jeans-clad Bayless, an authentic and tasty Mexican dish.

In his sixth cookbook, Bayless - who has a show about Mexican cooking on public television - focuses on foods from the perimeter of the grocery store: fresh greens, peppers, fruit, cheese, meat and seafood. The goal, he says, is to encourage people to discover not just the festive dishes prepared for holidays, but the basic yet flavor-packed ways Mexican cooks feed their families.

A delicious example was his recipe for soft tacos packed with braised greens, which contrasted beautifully with crumbled cheese (I used feta, which worked well) and bottled smoky chipotle salsa. Besides the recipe, Bayless offers "riffs," freewheeling asides in which he tells you how to add grilled chicken, flaked tuna or even smoked firm tofu to this vegetarian appetizer.

He takes the reader beyond the obvious Mexican choices to dishes like Trout With Macadamias, Serrano and Green Beans. Slow-Braised Lamb or Goat Jalisco-Style was simple with a slow cooker and a sauce of canned diced tomatoes, onion, cilantro and dried spices.

As much as Bayless loves the bold flavors of Mexican foods, he understands that preparing many Mexican specialties requires more time than most of us have. Mexican Everyday is written with the time sensitivities of modern life in mind. It is a collection of 90 full-flavored recipes—like Green Chile Chicken Tacos, Shrimp Ceviche Salad, Chipotle Steak with Black Beans—that meet three criteria for "everyday" food: 1) most need less than 30 minutes' involvement; 2) they have the fresh, clean taste of simple, authentic preparations; and 3) they are nutritionally balanced, full-featured meals—no elaborate side dishes required. Companion to a thirteen-part public television series, this book provides dishes you can eat with family and friends, day in and day out.

Industry Reviews

Publishers Weekly
Bayless, popular Chicago chef and author (Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen, etc.), jumps on the "everyday food" wagon with this lively collection of recipes designed to take no more than 30 minutes to prepare. Known for his painstaking approach to recreating the classics of Mexican cuisine, Bayless moves in a new direction here, substituting easy-to-find ingredients for exotic ones, streamlining complex sauces into a few steps and emphasizing nutrition. Purists may balk when they encounter more boneless chicken breasts than lard-not to mention a cheerful reliance on canned beans and peppers and, in a pinch, prepared salsas-but any time-pressed home cook will welcome this pragmatic approach to the complexities of Mexican food. Bayless's confident, step-by-step recipes lead even the novice through a variety of twists on tacos and enchiladas, staples like tortilla soup and guacamole, and more ambitious dishes such as Grilled Red Chile Steak with Sweet Plantains, Red Onion and Chipotle Salsa. Even the notoriously complex mole tradition is reinvented with the foolproof Chicken in Oaxacan Yellow Mole. This companion volume to the fourth season of Bayless's PBS series Mexican One Plate at a Time will rescue any Mexican food fan who's ever been daunted by the prospect of serving more than chips and salsa. Photos. (Nov. 7) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal
World cuisine is fast becoming everyday cuisine. An award-winning chef and specialist in Mexican food for more than 25 years, Bayless (Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen) has contributed to that movement. His latest book features 90 delicious recipes, including traditional and contemporary Mexican dishes like Chipotle Steak with Black Beans, Green Chile Chicken Tacos, Shrimp Ceviche Salad, and variations on classic salsa. These are easy to follow and complemented with sections on salads, marinades, and grilling techniques, among other useful advice; and anecdotal bits about Bayless's life. Readers will find the introduction particularly engaging. Bayless recommends that everyday food should take less than 30 minutes to prepare, be nutritious and balanced, and have the fresh, simple taste of authentic dishes. This savvy, beautifully designed book demonstrates how to accomplish all three objectives with the right tools and ingredients in record time. Highly recommended wherever Mexican cuisine is part of the scene. [This is the companion volume to the fourth season of Bayless's PBS series, Mexico One Plate at a Time.-Ed.]-S