The ¡Salpicón! Cookbook: Contemporary Mexican Cuisine

One of my very first food memories is of the Mexican food that a friend of my mother's sent to her in cold New England all the way from Santa Fe. Those canned tamales certainly were nothing to write home about, but they were a rare treat in 1952, one that delighted my mother's heart and sparked a lifetime love of all food Mexican for me.

I bought The ¡Salpicón! Cookbook: Contemporary Mexican Cuisine several weeks ago for just a single recipe, the Pescado a la Veracruzana on page 102. Strongly reminiscent of one of my favorite Puerto Rican dishes, this is simply sublime. The salsas are wonderful, the sides dependably delicious and the dessert section, while not large, is enticing. If you are looking for inspiration, you'll find it here - and rest assured that if I ever again get to Chicago Salpicon will be my first stop for dinner.

In all honesty, though, there are only a few dishes here that I would make exactly as written. Many of the dishes (particularly the appetizers) are built around crab, shrimp and the like, foods that we cannot cook because of the allergies of one of our household members. There is an emphasis on duck, quail and veal, meats that only rarely grace my kitchen, and little in the way of beef. I rarely present a separate appetizer course (though these look just lovely) and hate waste. In my house the Papas Con Crema y Queso Anejo comes in squares rather than circles and when I want 2-inch tacos I either buy the bagged chips or make my own.

Do note that this book is titled "Contemporary Mexican Cuisine", not "Contemporary Mexican Cooking." This is high end food, not the street food more commonly seen in Mexican restaurants here in the US. And this is not a primer on Mexican cooking. For that look to Elena Zelayeta, Dianna Kennedy & Rick Bayless. ( )