Notes about Recipes in this book

• Preserved kumquats with lime and chile

  • bernalgirl on March 14, 2024

    Beautiful and a great way to preserve some of an abundant crop. The brine isn’t as rounded as that of preserved lemons, I’ll have to figure out other uses than the very good vinaigrette in the same book.

• Preserved kumquat vinaigrette

  • bernalgirl on March 14, 2024

    A wonderful citrusy dressing, excellent on lettuces or a root vegetable slaw.

• Hoja santa vinaigrette

  • bernalgirl on February 02, 2026

    Uncharacteristically one-note for this cookbook. I added 1/2 teaspoon each of adobo seasoning and pomegranate syrup, and a jot if pineapple vinegar to get to my preferred level of acidity.

• Pickled oregano onions

  • Frenchfoodie on May 24, 2020

    After only a day of marinading these are good, spicy, crunchy and with a citrusy herbal note from the mexican oregano. Yum.

  • purrviciouz on July 05, 2020

    Very tasty from the oregano and the onion flavor is mild.

  • SheilaS on August 08, 2020

    I love these pickled onions. I've made these with both Mexican Oregano and Oregano Indio and the Oregano Indio really shines so it's worth tracking down if you can.

  • briesposito on December 26, 2022

    These are perfect pickled onions. My go-to now. Especially good with Mexican oregano.

  • lholtzman on April 01, 2025

    This recipe is good and easy. I don’t get much heat from the pepper, but that’s okay. I couldn’t find Mexican oregano. I’ve gotten it before, but it was a while ago. Regular oregano works just fine.

• Pickled gooseberries

  • SheilaS on August 08, 2020

    These are great little flavor bombs! I made them to use in the scallop aguachile in this book and looking forward to adding them to a cheese and charcuterie platter.

• Mexican salmorejo

  • Frenchfoodie on May 09, 2020

    Quick basic though a bit watery with blended full tomatoes, will try deseeded in the future. Broiling/grilling the onion and garlic was a nice touch to reduce the raw taste and add a little smokiness.

  • purrviciouz on July 14, 2020

    I used the tinned tomato but drained all the liquid from the can before blending. I liked the flavor of this salsa and it was super easy and fast.

  • allisonsemele on May 05, 2021

    A good simple tomato salsa.

  • TrishaCP on August 06, 2021

    I liked this but it makes a ton and doesn’t keep that well. I also thought it was quite spicy (I used Rancho Gordo chile powder instead of the book’s blend).

  • bernalgirl on February 05, 2022

    I had run out of the Amá spice mix so I used a combination of Rancho Gordo ground NM chile and Penzeys chile powder, and canned tomatoes as it’s winter. It needed more chipotle but I think with the Amá spice mix it would be more balanced. I liked it with the Brussels sprouts and also with grilled salmon

  • chawkins on October 03, 2022

    Very good and simple salsa. I used garden Roma tomato, garden onion and garden garlic. Used regular chile powder and skimped on the chipotle in adobo because I did not want it to be too spicy.

  • lholtzman on April 01, 2025

    Really easy and yummy salsa. It tastes like what you’d get at a Mexican restaurant that serves chips and salsa before the meal. I made 1/2 the recipe and had enough to make Brussels Sprouts with Salmorejo (from the book), and have some leftover.

• Amá spice mix

  • Frenchfoodie on July 05, 2020

    Tasty with complex heat though the oven roasting took way less than the 10 minutes in the recipe - even after 5 they were a bit more done than I’d have liked.

  • MollyB on August 06, 2020

    What a wonderful chile mix! It's quite a bit of work and requires a lot of chiles, but it is much more complex and interesting than any other chile blend I've made. (I ordered the chiles from spiceinc.com and was very happy with them.) I'm looking forward to trying the recipes that use it! So far I've just used in for the book's chorizo recipe, and I loved it in that. I agree with Frenchfoodie that the oven roasting time is off - I took them out before the 10 minutes when some chiles started smoking. Watch the chiles closely and don't wander off!

  • SheilaS on August 08, 2020

    I've made this a couple of times now and had the same experience as the other posters in that the chiles roasted very quickly. I've been using it a lot and it's earned a spot in my overcrowded spice cabinet!

  • bernalgirl on September 01, 2020

    Makes a good-size batch, worth the work of prepping the chiles

  • hirsheys on April 10, 2021

    As per usual, I made a half batch of this recipe , and once I tasted this stuff, I immediately regretted it. SO delicious. It's definitely spicier than I was expecting, but yum!! I stood in my favorite Latin grocery store for a LONG time staring at the chiles looking for Pasilla de Oaxaca, then googling potential substitutes. Anyway, apparently they are pretty hard to find (even in Pilsen, in Chicago), so I just replaced them with a couple extra chipotles because they are supposedly quite smoky. After reading the reviews here, I could tell that 10 minutes at 350 was going to be way too long for the chiles, so I lowered the temp to 325 and took them out after 5 minutes. The unsmoked ones were all ready at that point (softened and starting to get smoky), but I put the smoked ones and the arbols back in for just a little longer. I used this mix on a plain chicken breast in a caesar salad, and it was excellent.

  • rm31knitter on November 16, 2021

    I toasted the peppers in a frying pan on top of the stove. Some of the thinner peppers toasted immediately. You can tell if they are done by either a color change or a softening of the peppers. I ground them using a blender and this worked well. A Hispanic friend suggested not to use the Arbols as they were too hot and used in Asian cooking, but I used them anyway. I haven't tried the chili powder yet but am excited to try it.

• Mexican Sriracha

  • SheilaS on August 08, 2020

    This stuff is so good. I've been putting it on everything! After putting it through a strainer, mine was like a thick ketchup so I ended up thinning it down. I also added a spoonful of honey to balance the flavors.

  • bernalgirl on September 01, 2020

    Needs a bit of acidity, combined with a homemade vinegar-carrot hot sauce

  • southerncooker on September 17, 2020

    Wow this stuff is powerful. Had my nose running and my eyes watering. I did a little taste before popping in fridge to use in some recipes. It's mighty HOT. My son should love it.

  • Running_with_Wools on May 25, 2021

    I made a batch of this as I was making the shrimp tostadas. I was grateful to have a big bag of the peppers in my pantry. It came out super spicy, and delicious. We used it several times in marinades, and on its own.

  • lholtzman on August 02, 2024

    This sriracha is a bit too spicy for my taste. It’s good, but crazy hot (this is mentioned in the head note). I made 1/2 the recipe and am glad I did sense a little goes a long way and I’m not sure I’ll use it all within two weeks.

• Morita-guajillo salsa

  • Frenchfoodie on July 05, 2020

    Seriously good though a bit fiery for us, an extra 2 tomatoes were needed.

  • bernalgirl on October 08, 2020

    An outstanding salsa, rich with the flavors of toasted chiles and tomatoes. This is going to be in regular rotation

  • allisonsemele on April 20, 2021

    First impression was that this was too bitter for me, but the bitterness mellowed a lot in the fridge overnight. I liked the leftovers a lot better. My salsa was a lot thicker and darker than the book image—I will try again with larger tomatoes and see if that produces a more immediately chip-ready version.

• Jesusita's pequín salsa

  • bernalgirl on September 01, 2020

    Flavorful and easy salsa. Edited 11/23: this has become one of my family’s favorite salsas.

• Red-eye spice

  • Frenchfoodie on October 02, 2022

    This is delicious, really deep and warm. I’ve had on chicken thighs and on strips of steak in fajitas and it is a great stand-by when pressed for time.

• Tomatillo salsa

  • patioweather on March 18, 2020

    This is the way I've always made my salsa verde, although I usually use jalapenos rather than serrano because they are more readily available. This recipe was easy and delicious. My guests raved about it.

  • SheilaS on August 08, 2020

    I've made some other tomatillo salsas that boil the tomatillos and like this roasted version better. I love having a tangy green sauce like this on hand.

  • Frenchfoodie on August 10, 2020

    Made it for the green enchilladas and it worked well, even with canned tomatillos (well drained, grilled to char lightly) though I am sure fresh would be much better.

  • hirsheys on April 17, 2021

    Very tasty. Made for the albondigas. Sukhi pointed out that tomatillos (which might not have been quite ripe enough?) had a lovely amchoor type flavor. Roasting took a bit longer because of lack of ripeness...

• Cascabel pimento cheese

  • SheilaS on August 08, 2020

    A perfect fusion between Tex-Mex and Southern cooking. It's not my all-time favorite pimento cheese (that honor goes to the one in Deep Run Roots) but I still enjoyed the twist and would make it again.

  • southerncooker on September 16, 2020

    I wasn't sure about it, but it's really good. I had some on Ritz crackers.. I do love pimento cheese and enjoy trying new versions. This was definitely a unique one. Hoping to try some in the Cheese Chile's Rellenos p. 202

  • hirsheys on April 10, 2021

    All in all, I found this quite tasty, but the balance of cheeses to cream cheese is off for me. This one is quite heavy on the cream cheese and crema (6 oz cream cheese and 1/4 c crema) to only 3 T each diced up cheddar and swiss. Still, I will certainly enjoy eating it - I can even imagine making it again and just tweaking the amounts a bit. I really do like the taste of the spice mix in there.

• Migas

  • southerncooker on September 17, 2020

    Delicious. I did add the red potato. I was afraid it wouldn't be done. I sliced really thin and it was cooked perfect. I liked the crispy tortilla bits. I couldn't find Serrano chiles when I did my grocery shopping so I used jalapeno. I had mine on a whole wheat flour tortilla. I'd eat this again.

  • ginger2212 on April 26, 2022

    This is one of my absolute favorite breakfasts. I usually forgo the potato, but it works well when sliced thinly. Very delicious!

• Kielbasa and potato scramble

  • southerncooker on September 14, 2020

    I was unable to find either pasilla de Oaxaca or dried New Mexico chile. I looked online and found a dried Ancho was a good subsitute so I used that. Chipollini are also impossible to find here so I used a couple green onions. We ate ours with corn tortillas and salsa. So delicious. We all loved it.

• Broiled piloncillo Texas grapefruit

  • patioweather on March 27, 2020

    Broiled grapefruit is good in all its guises and this is no different. I had never thought of pre-segmenting it though. That trick is going to be a game-changer for me.

  • Frenchfoodie on May 15, 2020

    Relatively quick and easy, looks beautiful and tastes pretty good. Turns out I’m not really a fan of hot grapefruit though.

  • southerncooker on September 15, 2020

    I've never been a fan of sugar on grapefruit, but always put a little salt on mine. I've also never eaten a broiled one. With that in mind I was afraid I wouldn't enjoy this. Since I had a red grapefruit I decided why not. I tried to get hubby to try half, but he refused. One of our local grocery stores always has Piloncillo and I've never tried it. I decided to pick some up to do this recipe and maybe the French Toast p 77, but they were remodeling and I couldn't find any so I used brown sugar. It turned out delicious after adding a pinch of salt. I ending up eating both halves. I've always pre-segmented mine though for ease of eating. My Mom taught me to do that.

• Tía Carmen's flour tortillas

  • SheilaS on August 08, 2020

    I used rendered bacon fat to make these. Really good and easy, though I need to work on getting them more perfectly round!

  • pattyatbryce on March 01, 2021

    Very easy to make. I used duck fat and it worked like a charm.

• Carne guisada

  • Lsblackburn1 on July 13, 2020

    Flavors were delicious, but I used bone-in short ribs and there was a lot of grease. I’d totally would make this again, but I’d pour off all the grease after searing the meat (I did try to get some, but not enough!)

  • Frenchfoodie on August 10, 2020

    Tasty and kept and reheated well but was not as much of a hit as some of the recipes in this book.

  • hirsheys on May 14, 2021

    Very tasty, though it took much longer than stated to get tender. We preferred the birria made with beef, but this one is also yummy. Would def make again.

• Grandma Alice's chipotle chorizo

  • pattyatbryce on May 14, 2020

    I love this!! Way better than the mystery meat you get in stores. Super easy too!

  • Frenchfoodie on May 17, 2020

    Man this was good! Warmly spicy, meaty, juicy with little crispy bits. I made with the meaty end of a rib rack. It is not the first homemade chorizo recipe I’ve tried but I’d need some persuading to try another, this was so good.

  • Smokeydoke on July 02, 2020

    Fabulous! I used half pork belly and half ground pork and I"m glad I did because the fat renders out and makes this delicious sauce. It's not health food! It was too fatty to eat on its own, so I made some eggs, cut up some avocadoes and made burritos out of them, they were even better.

  • MollyB on August 06, 2020

    This was great! I used all pork belly and it was delicious, rendering the fat and getting nice and crispy.

  • SheilaS on August 08, 2020

    Really excellent! Much better than any I've purchased in the store. I used all pork belly as I had it on hand and will make sure to use at least half when I make it again.

  • bernalgirl on September 01, 2020

    Outstanding chorizo recipe, no reason to buy Mexican-style chorizo again

  • hirsheys on March 16, 2025

    Very yummy, though spicier than I expected. Tasted so much like real chorizo that my niece thought that I had bought it. (Used ground pork, but would buy pork belly from the Asian store next time.)

• Tía Mona's picadillo

  • kitchen_chick on November 20, 2019

    We found this surprisingly bland. Not in a bad way, but blander than we expected or wanted. I'll probably use other picadillo recipes in the future. For example, it calls for 1/4 of a jalapeno for the entire dish? Why bother adding any at all. (I used an entire jalapeno.) It definitely needs to be part of another dish. All the dried chiles listed in the ingredients are for the special chili spice blend that is a separate recipe. The recipe says you can substitute chili powder, though it may not be as flavorful. (Maybe that's why ours was bland.)

  • patioweather on March 18, 2020

    I made this with faux, vegetarian ground meat. We enjoyed it a lot, but we upped the amount of chile powder a lot because it was clear that 1 tsp was not enough.

  • Frenchfoodie on May 09, 2020

    Made with just one sub, a mix of regular chilli powder and chipotle flakes for the ama spice mix. It came together quickly and was relatively flavourful but not so good I’d rush back. I do like the book tip that this can be made and frozen then warmed up in a pan from frozen, would be a good standby with a bit more tinkering.

  • southerncooker on September 19, 2020

    I made this so I could freeze some to make Chalupas p. 210 and Breakfast Tacos p. 69. I tasted of it when it got done and it was really good. I used a mix of chili powder and Chipotle instead of the AMA spice.

  • pattyatbryce on March 01, 2021

    Very good. I prefer the chorizo, but this is better if you have people who want a less-spicy meat for some of the recipes in the book.

  • mjes on August 28, 2021

    This is better than my old standard (from Lady Bird Johnson) but not the best I've tasted. But I do think the balance of meat to other ingredients is excellent.

  • lholtzman on August 16, 2025

    I made this with vegetarian ground “beef” and it was excellent. We enjoyed in our tortillas and I loved this for breakfast with a fried egg on top.

  • alliesunne on March 22, 2026

    This ingredient list is missing several items, such as yellow onion and garlic.

• Potato and egg breakfast tacos

  • lholtzman on October 19, 2024

    I always like the flavor combination of this breakfast taco. I omit bacon to make vegetarian.

• Picadillo breakfast tacos

  • southerncooker on September 25, 2020

    Delicious. I used a whole wheat tortilla for mine. I had frozen some of the picadillo p. 66 I had made last week.

• Chorizo breakfast tacos

  • SheilaS on August 08, 2020

    These are so great with the chorizo and freshly made flour tortillas from the book. I added avocado and a few spoons of the Mexican Salmorejo on p 28

• Biscuits with bacon gravy

  • Frenchfoodie on August 10, 2020

    Biscuits were light and soft but bacon gravy was not to my personal taste - and thickened too much for pouring.

• Cornmeal pancakes with maple-molasses syrup

  • Frenchfoodie on May 16, 2020

    These are more decadent than our usual scotch pancakes but cooked up a real treat, plush and plumped up with the odd crispy bit on the edges. I massively reduced the maple molasses syrup and still had loads left over. Quite tender and tricky to turn so don’t overcrowd the pan.

  • Melissa_427 on March 13, 2022

    Such a treat! I should have read the notes prior, as I did over crowd my griddle BUT even with pancakes running together and proving tricky to flip, these were delicious! A very unique texture for pancakes and such a rich syrup. Will make again!

• Mama Grande's chicken soup

  • bernalgirl on September 01, 2020

    Flavorful and comforting soup, the sesame seeds add a nice note

• Chicken and chile tortilla soup

  • Nkrieda78 on February 06, 2022

    A fabulous soup, perfectly balanced.

• Grandma Alice's chorizo and queso asadero

  • SheilaS on August 08, 2020

    So good but also so rich that I couldn't eat more than a few bites. Great to have as an option on an appetizer spread with fresh veggies, guacamole and other lighter dishes.

• Albondigas with tomatillo salsa

  • Lsblackburn1 on May 28, 2020

    This recipe makes a lot of meatballs, but fortunately, they’re delicious so will get eaten! I did not add the water... not sure if it was needed. Everything else as written (don’t forget to add the caraway, which doesn’t get mentioned!)

  • bernalgirl on September 01, 2020

    Delicious and easy, consider baking in mini muffin tin to prevent cheese from leaking out.

  • pattyatbryce on March 01, 2021

    Good, but not my favorite in the book.

  • hirsheys on April 17, 2021

    I followed this recipe pretty much as written. I even did the step of toasting the caraway seeds and then grinding them (I’m often too lazy). The meatballs came out of the oven looking pretty gross - they ooze meat juice and cheese - but I just moved them to a bowl and put the salsa on top and they tasted good so it didn’t matter. I agree that the caraway is a surprise - it takes a minute to get your head around. Once you do, though, the flavor of these is well-rounded and complex and they were beautifully juicy. These are a delicious and unique version I will keep. I served them with plain white rice, which I’d do again.

• Amá's carrot and potato sofrito enchiladas

  • Kduncan on December 28, 2020

    The fried tortillas were amazing, but I think the recipe calls for a bit too much queso. You really need the topping for everything to go together. I thought it was going to be boring, but we really enjoyed this. Also the tiny chopping paid off.

  • meggan on October 03, 2024

    I also thought this would be boring but it was good. That said, I am not sure why the sofrito was not inside the tortilla because that's where everyone ended up putting it.

  • lholtzman on October 16, 2025

    I love this recipe so much. I find it really comforting and it’s great for children. I use sunflower oil instead of avocado oil. Monterey Jack cheese works in place of queso fresco.

• Mom's green enchiladas

  • patioweather on May 26, 2020

    This was easy if using pre-cooked shredded chicken, but I found the filling a bit bland.

  • Frenchfoodie on July 05, 2020

    Seriously good, savoury cheesy deliciousness, even with a feta substitute for the filling. No heat which makes them perfect for a family meal; the adults can spice it up with salsa.

  • Samallyn6 on August 22, 2020

    I also found this a bit bland. I would like to make it again, but need to figure out how to make it a bit more flavorful.

  • TheresaH on April 13, 2026

    These are my favorite enchiladas. They hit the spot every time.

• Beef cheek barbacoa

  • Frenchfoodie on May 24, 2020

    Having sourced the right chillis and followed the recipe to the letter I felt this was ok but lacking in flavour. I’ve reduced the sauce down and simmered the meat in it a bit longer, here’s hoping that works.

  • hirsheys on July 19, 2021

    Made this tonight using chuck roast, rather than beef cheeks (hard to source). Also used the instant pot to speed the process - high pressure at about 50-60 mins works (I started with 45 mins, then added another 5 after checking it.) Anyway, this was tasty, but we all still preferred the birria from this book made with book. All three braised meat dishes (birria, barbacoa, and carne guisado) are delicious and different from each other.

• Fideo

  • bernalgirl on September 01, 2020

    Oddly bland but would try again with additional spices.

  • southerncooker on September 20, 2020

    The fideo I found was in a 7 oz package instead of 5. I used chili powder instead of the spice mix. For the liquid option I chose vegetable broth. I used the whole tablespoon of the Mexican Sriacha p. 29 and wow was it spicy. I added some Mexican crema to mine to tone it down. Very flavorful. Next time I'll use less sriracha.

  • lholtzman on August 02, 2024

    This was a great recipe for kids. I couldn’t find fideos, so I just broke up a combo of vermicelli and spaghetti noodles. I think the only difference is the lengths won’t be as even. One thing I hate about making spaghetti is you cook the pasta and sauce separately and the sauce never really sticks. For this recipe you cook the noodles in the sauce and the noodles absorb it as they would the water. It’s genius! I omitted the Mexican sriracha because the dish would have been way too spicy for my little ones.

• Vegan cashew queso

  • patioweather on March 18, 2020

    Even non-vegans thought this was great. The tomatillo salsa gives it a unique freshness it and makes it less "cheesy" than some other nacho cheese. If you eat a lot of vegan nacho cheese, you become used to the flavor profile of nutritional yeast or other similar ingredients. This has an entirely different flavor profile and so it's a nice change of pace. Will boil some pasta to eat my leftovers on.

  • Rradishes on August 24, 2022

    I wouldn't call this cheese, but it definitely is a delicious dip/sauce.

• Super nachos

  • patioweather on March 18, 2020

    Hard to go wrong with nachos, honestly.

  • metacritic on November 01, 2020

    I found these less than the sum of their extravagant parts. Fine, sure. But not equal to the labor and costs they entail.

• Hibiscus syrup

  • patioweather on March 18, 2020

    I made both this and the ginger hibiscus syrup in the book and they are both so delicious and easy. Why do I not have hibiscus syrup round ALL THE TIME???

  • EmilyR on January 07, 2022

    Made this to use with Birdie G's rose petal pie. It works well and comes together quickly.

• Hibiscus-ginger syrup

  • patioweather on March 18, 2020

    I made both this and the plain hibiscus syrup in the book and they are both so delicious and easy. Why do I not have hibiscus syrup round ALL THE TIME???

  • Frenchfoodie on October 11, 2020

    So so good, drizzled over ice cream and/or fruit salad or used to flavour lemonade (and give a great pink colour). Had a tang and depth of flavour that is hard to place if new to hibiscus but utterly addictive.

• Amá's margarita

  • bktravels on May 05, 2020

    This is the best margarita we've ever made at home. Deliciosa! Cinco de Mayo, 2020

  • lholtzman on May 11, 2026

    Easy to make with a little kick and not too strong. The margarita is on the sweeter side, so add slightly less agave nectar if you prefer. I used my own chili powder mix because that’s what I had on hand.

• The Nacho

  • Frenchfoodie on May 09, 2020

    This was good, even tequila agnostics liked it. Made with an approximation of the shrub using a vinegar/sugar based chilli sauce plus a dash of soda water. Will definitely re-run with the shrub.

• Peel-n-eat shrimp with chile and peanuts

  • pattyatbryce on May 14, 2020

    Really good and you can scale the heat easily.

  • bernalgirl on March 06, 2022

    Absolutely delicious, and very very spicy if made to the recipe. I tone down my Mexican sriracha with half the chiles, and made this without the other hot sauce and it was still quite spicy. But delicious! My family did not love the peel and eat aspect because they felt they lost too much of the sauce, so I might try this with tail-on shrimp next time.

• Mom's rice

  • Frenchfoodie on May 15, 2020

    Came together quickly and easily and looked beautiful. Tasted a bit bland though even with homemade stock and really tasty veg juice so needs playing with a bit and seasoning more heavily. Definately a repeat though.

  • southerncooker on September 29, 2020

    We thought too bland so added hot sauce and that did the trick. Daughter also added cheese and said delicious.

  • bernalgirl on September 01, 2020

    I find it a little bland but my family loves this rice and the V-8 juice makes it so easy! After making this multiple times, I’ve settled on the following tweaks : double the diced onions, add a can of roasted diced green chiles, one T of tomato paste, 1.5 t chile powder, and a full t salt. Really what I’m keeping is the liquid proportions and the v-8 juice hack, but my family loves it this way. The leftovers are outstanding in chicken soup with rice

  • Rradishes on May 20, 2020

    V8 juice is a genius shortcut, might be best Mexican rice I've ever made. very easy too

  • mamacrumbcake on November 29, 2020

    This is almost as good as Arroz a la Mexicana from Diana Kennedy’s The Art of Mexican Cooking—and much easier to make. But I made one change and that was to increase the salt to 1.5 teaspoons. I understand why others said this was bland. The recipe calls for a mere 1/4 tsp salt for two full cups of dry rice. There is no way that is close to enough. The increased salt brought forth the flavor of the aromatics and the stock. My stock was unsalted so if you use regular stock, you might need less than 1.5 teaspoons.

  • Lsblackburn1 on May 28, 2020

    Loved this! After doing the dry rice, shallots and garlic in a skillet, I put it in the rice cooker with the liquid. Came out perfectly.

  • allisonsemele on April 20, 2021

    I cut back on the liquid, but this came out as total mush. I used california basmati rice--which was what I had on hand--and it didn't work for this at all. Tasted okay with beans on top. I second the need to up the salt--I didn't, because I was using better than boullion for the stock, which is salty as all heck, but I thought it needed just a bit more.

  • megbgraham on April 02, 2025

    I used basmati and I wish I had used regular white rice. It was pretty bland though, needs more seasoning and salt. The color turned out pretty but next time I would add some chopped tomatoes and a little corn or peas. It was a let down.

• Blood orange flan de queso

  • patioweather on May 16, 2020

    I made it with regular orange instead of blood orange. Makes an extremely easy flan without the syrup layer.

• Borracho beans

  • Frenchfoodie on May 17, 2020

    Good solid bean recipe. Made with mogette as had no (have never seen..) cranberry beans. Nice savoury flavour from the beer but not ‘beery’. Will happily make again.

  • southerncooker on September 25, 2020

    Good but I did have to add salt. Looking forward to using leftovers in a few more recipes.

  • fultre on January 17, 2023

    We enjoyed these beans, but really used the recipe as a jumping off point based on the ingredients I had on hand. Used Rancho Gordo cranberry beans, much less (turkey) bacon, much less lager, guajillo instead of pasilla chile, 1 can diced tomatoes instead of fresh, dried oregano in lieu of fresh, and fresh thyme instead of rosemary. Didn’t soak the beans, simmered them with water and a bit of salt for awhile, then cooked the extras in a sauté pan, and added them to the pot of beans and finished cooking. Next time I’ll increase the cumin, and likely use pre-ground.

  • chawkins on June 12, 2025

    This was good with a bit of doctoring. I had to use red kidney beans for the cranberry beans. Used 6 slices of thick bacon and blotted off some of the fat. Added 1/4 tsp of untoasted cumin powder(will double or triple the amount called for next time), a tsp of kosher salt, no salt was included in the ingredients. Had trouble charring the pasilla chile on the open fire, it just caught on fire. After simmering for 2.5 hrs, the beans were creamy but still very soupy and the diced tomatoes and the pieces of pasillas were still distinguishable, so I removed the lid and turned up the heat a bit and added the salt. An hour later, the tomato dices and pasilla pieces dissolved into the cooking liquid which also cooked down nicely.

  • lholtzman on March 23, 2024

    In the future I won’t add the tomatoes until the end. My beans took a long time to cook and didn’t get as soft as I like. The acidity of of the tomatoes can slow or hinder the cooking. Also, I made these vegetarian. I omitted the bacon and used 2 tbsps of olive oil. If you do this, add 1 tsp kosher salt (I used Morton’s) or salt to taste, otherwise it will be extremely under seasoned.

  • Lsblackburn1 on August 28, 2020

    These were great, although need salt, which I don’t think the recipe mentions! I also cooked them for about 3 hours, adding some veggie stock I had that needed using up. Served with cheese, avocado, and flour tortillas.

  • purrviciouz on July 18, 2020

    Delicious, I ground the chili along with the cumin and used about 3x the cumin. Frenchfoodie's descriptions is perfect, it's a solid bean recipe.

  • SweetLittleBytes on January 21, 2021

    I used pinto beans since cranberry beans weren't available to me. This recipe makes a lot but freezes very well.

  • allisonsemele on April 20, 2021

    I liked this a lot--with the beer, chile, and cumin, it reminds me a bit of chili. The beer and bacon add a lot of flavor. Would make this again.

• Roasted cauliflower with cilantro-pecan pesto

  • mirage on June 24, 2024

    Went beautifully with the meatballs, p. 86

  • jenburkholder on July 28, 2021

    This was good but it didn’t wow us. Leftover pesto didn’t get all eaten even by this family of cilantro-and-pecan lovers.

  • lholtzman on November 09, 2023

    Add more salt than you think you need otherwise this will be bland. This recipe is quite adaptable. I used manchego cheese instead of Cotija because it’s what I had. I also used cashews as suggested.

  • Skamper on August 13, 2025

    We both liked this. Made a half batch, using cashews. Nice accompaniment to tacos.

  • Rradishes on May 20, 2020

    The cilantro pesto is bright and flavorful, infinitely adaptable. Definitely will repeat

  • hirsheys on April 18, 2021

    Didn’t bother to blanch the cilantro - if I’d been cooking in my own kitchen I might have (for curiosity’s sake), but I was cooking at my cousins’ and I try to minimize dishes/mess if possible. I also chose to cook the cauliflower on the stove because 1) their broiler sucks (I hate Viking ovens) and 2) I wanted to keep the main dish in the oven as long as possible to get tender. So I just charred the cauliflower in a cast iron on the stove, then covered it with foil so that it would cook through. I was impressed at how well it cooked, honestly - the texture was good and it had nice charred spots. The pesto was also very tasty. I’m planning to eat the leftover on pasta, which I bet will be good. All in all, I wasn’t blown away, but it’s definitely yummy.

• Scallop aguachile with tomato-habanero water and gooseberries

  • SheilaS on August 08, 2020

    I thought this was tongue-tinglingly delicious. I didn't have a lemon cucumber so I used a hot house cuke but otherwise followed the recipe. Since the pico de gallo that's drained to get the "tomato-habanero water" uses pineapple vinegar, I mixed the leftover solids with chopped pineapple to make a salsa to have with this and some freshly fried tortilla chips.

  • Frenchfoodie on October 11, 2020

    Delicious and very elegant looking.

  • allisonsemele on September 07, 2021

    Made a half recipe pretty much as written, but with white wine vinegar and a regular farmers market cuke. This was tasty and felt fancy, while not being difficult or even that fiddly to put together. My favorite part, though, was eating the solids leftover from the “tomato-habanero water” as a salsa! I had some with chips, and served the rest with salmon and avocado. I might not make the scallop dish again, but I will make the salsa, especially during this time of year when the pepper and cherry tomato plants are both overflowing with fruit.

• Nana's deviled eggs with bacon

  • SheilaS on August 08, 2020

    I don't usually like "stuff" in my deviled eggs and these have a lot but I liked them anyhow!

  • lholtzman on January 10, 2026

    These were delicious. I omitted the bacon to make vegetarian and they were still yummy. These aren’t over the top spicy, but they definitely have a kick.

• Nana's deviled egg sandwiches

  • SheilaS on August 08, 2020

    I made these as little open-faced crostini on toasted whole wheat baguette and topped them with the crispy bacon instead of mixing it into the egg salad. Delicious!

• Borracho bean dip

  • SheilaS on August 08, 2020

    This cheesy Borracho Bean Dip is absolutely delicious. Honestly, the borracho beans from this book by themselves are so delicious, all you'd need to do is smash them up to make a great dip, this just takes it over the top. I've never added cream cheese to a bean dip but it made it super creamy and rich.

  • bernalgirl on December 28, 2023

    Such an easy and delicious dip, I’ve made it multiple times with various salsas and it’s a huge favorite. We like the warm version best.

  • Frenchfoodie on May 17, 2020

    Made with regular chilli powder as I am waiting for chilli for the Amá mix. This was amazingly good, so tasty and moreish. I made as part of a much bigger spread with layered nachos, salsa, salad etc but it really would stand up with just chips.

• Corn quesadillas with poblano, cilantro, and green onions

  • SheilaS on August 08, 2020

    Corn and green peppers are such a classic combo, it's no surprise they make a great quesadilla. Very good!

  • bernalgirl on September 01, 2020

    Once the peppers are roasted these come together easily and they’re absolutely delicious. Don’t be intimidated by the ingredients list, for some reason this recipe includes all the ingredients in the Amá spice mix *and* the tortillas. The filling is simply roasted poblanos, corn, scallions, cilantro, lime, Amá spice mix, and the cheeses. The recipe calls for fresh mozzarella and Monterey Jack. I already had the spice mix and used store-bought tortillas.

  • bktravels on January 07, 2023

    Jan 2023 I made these for breakfast and they were delicious. I prepared the poblanos yesterday, and i took a few shortcuts, so they came together quickly this morning. Such a delicious change for breakfast. I used store-bought tortillas, and I used Chili 3000 from Penzey's instead of making the Ama spice mix. I also chopped a tomato to add to the filling and I sliced an avocado instead of making guacamole. This was a real treat.

• Tex-Mex Caesar salad

  • MollyB on August 21, 2020

    This was a great dish, especially the dressing. It was, however, a LOT of work for a salad, what with chopping garlic and fresh herbs, making croutons, and making the dressing. I might do either the dressing or the croutons in the future to make it a little faster, or else make the dressing the day before.

  • bernalgirl on September 01, 2020

    I love the result of lightly cooking the garlick and blooming the spices with the melted anchovies. I know we’re missing out but my family doesn’t like croutons (??) so I used pepitas for some crunch and this was still a flavorful, complex salad worthy of repeating.

  • pastaplease on November 03, 2022

    Delicious. Added sliced NY steak and raw red pepper to make into a full meal. Totally forgot to heat the garlic and anchovies but the dressing was still outstanding. Dressing and croutons can easily be made ahead of time (earlier in day or night before) so that it's a quick dinner to throw together. Plan to make this a lot!

  • acwebb2 on May 26, 2026

    While I didn’t make the croutons that everyone raves about, as this salad was an accompaniment to nachos from the same book, the dressing alone makes this a 5 star recipe. The anchovies gave it that familiar Caesar funk, and the smokiness from the chiles and freshness of the lime made it quite unique and addictive. Caught myself dipping tortilla chips in it.

  • pattyatbryce on August 31, 2024

    A favorite in our house. Make extra croutons! They are snack worthy. Served with the grilled shrimp fajitas from this book for a really nice meal.

  • Maefleur on July 13, 2020

    This was a very nice spin on Caesar salad with the spices and cheese for both the dressing and croutons. I topped ours with some leftover hot sauce chicken. Delicious!

  • Rradishes on May 20, 2020

    Yum, the dressing is very good, elevating it to a salad worth serving at a dinner party.

  • lholtzman on October 19, 2024

    Very yummy and a twist on the classic Caesar salad. I used regular white sandwich bread for the croutons. They are a bit sweeter than sourdough would be, but they work well.

  • purrviciouz on July 18, 2020

    This was great! The dressing is super easy and I like the step where you lightly cook the garlic and anchovies before adding to the dressing. It takes some of the raw bite edge out of the dressing. We added some of the steak fajitas for protein to make a dinner salad.

  • Lsblackburn1 on August 27, 2020

    Loved this! Excellent variation on a Caesar salad. I added chopped poached chicken breasts and extra avocado and it made a very filling dinner.

• Turmeric-ginger chicken fajitas

  • TrishaCP on August 06, 2021

    These were easy and had a nice flavor. I marinated the chicken for about two hours.

  • bernalgirl on September 01, 2020

    Updated July 2025: This is amazing as suggested with the Amá Mexican Salmorejo salsa. Flavorful and very easy

  • purrviciouz on July 14, 2020

    Incredible! This was very easy and added a unique flavor to the fajitas tacos.

  • adelina on January 15, 2025

    We enjoyed this a lot! I just cooked it in my castiron on my stovetop and combined with tricolor roasted peppers and onions. The marinade was perfect. Since I did not have fresh turmeric, used ground. I skipped the serrano pepper and bay leaf and used cayenne since I also was out of this as well. Served with the salsa and homemade tortillas.

  • chawkins on October 03, 2022

    Very tasty. I marinated the chicken for 5 and a half hours. Served on corn tortillas with avocado and the Mexican salmorejo from the same book.

• Amá's guacamole

  • southerncooker on September 16, 2020

    He's right you really can't tell there's celery in it. It was good with tortilla chips. There are other versions I enjoy more but I would eat this version again.

  • Maefleur on May 09, 2024

    Very nice flavor. My husband, who is not a fan of guacamole, said this is good! I know he meant it by how much he ate. ??

  • lholtzman on March 30, 2024

    This is delicious. I love the depth the celery adds.

• Dad's steak fajitas

  • southerncooker on September 19, 2020

    Very tasty and the green onions were a great addition. Instead of grilling I did in a cast iron skillet. Hubby and son added some favorite toppings. I had mine on a whole wheat tortilla with salsa.

  • bernalgirl on August 14, 2022

    The flavor of this steak is outstanding, especially given the low level of effort required. This is destined to be a family favorite.

  • purrviciouz on July 18, 2020

    We added the steak to the tex-mex caesar, super good!

  • pattyatbryce on July 24, 2025

    Excellent - can easily sub regular onion and a red pepper as grilled veg with the steak. Skirt wasn't available, so used some great flank steak. Couldn't stop raving. Served with the Tex-Mex Caesar from same book.

• Refried borracho beans

  • southerncooker on September 29, 2020

    Delicious. We liked the beans even better this way.

  • Frenchfoodie on May 21, 2020

    Delicious, though think this was as much about the (excellent) borracho bean base recipe maturing than anything else given the simplicity of the recipe.

• Fried chicken with honey and mint

  • southerncooker on September 29, 2020

    My family had mixed feelings about this one. One loved, one said good, one didn't like. I thought good with honey and even better next day cold with touch of honey. I didn't use mint.

• Tía Alice Jo's curry-chile pork roast

  • bernalgirl on April 19, 2021

    Absolutely succulent but I wanted more chile and slightly less curry. I’m pretty sure this is because I used country style spareribs instead of a whole piece of pork shoulder. I’ll make again though. It made for great tacos with pickled onions

  • purrviciouz on July 05, 2020

    Fantastic, the curry smells amazing while cooking and the flavor is pretty subtle in the finished pork. I used new mexican ground chile instead of chipotle in the marinade b/c that's what i had and it worked great however I did put chipotle hot sauce on the tacos.

  • purrviciouz on July 07, 2020

    We loved this. It was very simple and made for great tacos with the oregano pickled onions, store bought guac, and hot sauce. I used New Mexican red chile powder instead of chipotle.

  • pattyatbryce on October 07, 2024

    The cook time/technique on the meat was perfection. The rub was not. Too much curry, maybe didn't need the rosemary. Left with a weird taste and wouldn't make as written again.

  • chawkins on February 07, 2022

    Very easy, not much work after getting the marinating going. I had a 3.5 lb piece of pork and marinated for about 6 hrs. Pork was fork tender after four and three quarter hours in the oven. As mentioned previously, the house was filled with the curry aroma when the shoulder was in the oven but all the flavor of the spices used in the marinade were very subtle in taste. Served on corn tortilla with avocado and hot sauce as suggested, also good with cilantro and lime juice.

• Broccolini torrada with aged cheddar and lime

  • bernalgirl on September 01, 2020

    Outstanding vegetable side. The torrada is excellent on other vegetables and swiped on a sandwich.

  • Lsblackburn1 on April 08, 2021

    Loved this - nutty, salty, charred... lots of great flavors.

  • lholtzman on August 02, 2024

    Very yummy. I omitted the chilis because my kids were eating. I also only used pecans. One can definitely substitute broccoli for the broccolini. I found that my broccolini was getting a bit too crispy at 8 minutes, so I switched to bake at 400 for the last two minutes.

• Snake's blood

  • bernalgirl on September 01, 2020

    An outstanding cocktail, well-balanced

  • hirsheys on April 10, 2021

    This is absolutely delicious! I made a half recipe of syrup - I went a touch light on the sugar (1/8 c total) and it worked great, though for my next batch (and I'm guessing there will be one!) I will try the full strength to see which I prefer.

  • jenburkholder on August 17, 2020

    Delicious, but very, tooth-achingly sweet. Save for a special occasion.

• Brussels sprouts with salmorejo and pickled onions

  • bernalgirl on February 05, 2022

    Broiling the Brussels sprouts did not work, I’d prefer to roast or to blanch and pan-char. But the combination of salmorejo, pickled onions and mint were outstanding.

  • lholtzman on April 01, 2025

    This was a winner for us. Don’t be intimidated by the prep of pickled onions and Mexican Salmorejo (other recipes in the book). Both are easy and can be made in advance, so this becomes a super quick side to put together. I pre-heat the broiler for a bit before putting in, so that it roasts in addition to browning the top.

• Chile shrimp fajitas

  • bernalgirl on December 14, 2022

    Another outstanding dish from Amá, this marinade is so complex and accents the shrimp perfectly. I cut the scallions and added them with the shrimp based on my family’s preference. This recipe is so easy, I oook forward to making it again.

  • chawkins on January 18, 2023

    Another warm day this winter, so we could grill. This is very good and easy. I used only about 2/3 of the adobo sauce and it was not spicy at all. Served on corn tortillas with salsa verde and feta cheese.

  • Smokeydoke on April 24, 2026

    Pan-fried instead of grilling. Loved it. A showstopper. Pic included.

  • pattyatbryce on August 31, 2024

    A really good, standard shrimp fajita. Made as written and didn't think these were too spicy using adobo. Served with the Tex-Mex Caesar Salad from this book for a great meal.

  • bwhip on June 04, 2022

    These are really tasty. A bit spicy, but not too much (we used adobo sauce). I served with a nice avocado-tomatillo salsa and some fresh avocado slices, and they were delightful.

  • Lsblackburn1 on May 27, 2021

    I used adobo sauce in the marinade and it wasn’t too spicy at all (I’m not a fan of spicy food). Served them with tortillas and red cabbage, which was a great combination.

  • ginger2212 on March 25, 2023

    Fantastic!!! What a delicious marinade. I cooked differently because I much prefer a sheet-pan fajita to a skillet/grill (I know - not traditional) I roasted peppers at 450 for 10 minutes then add the shrimp to the sheet-pan for 5. Made a simple avocado mash (avocado, lime, salt, cilantro) to go with the fajitas. Came out perfectly!

  • Running_with_Wools on May 25, 2021

    My first batch was very spicy. And because I served them as tacos, there was nothing really holding them together and they fell apart. Next time, I cut back on the Mexican Siracha and added sauteed kale to the tacos to help hold them together. Really delicious.

  • spatterson88 on May 22, 2021

    I halved the amount of shrimp because there’s only two of us, and cooked in the air fryer. Delicious!

• Fideo with octopus

  • Apepin on February 07, 2021

    I followed the recipe for the fideo, but cooked the octopus sous vide--blanching it for 30 seconds so that the tentacles would curl and then putting it in at 175 degrees for 5 hours. It was the best octopus I've ever eaten. Next time I'll crisp it up for a little longer. Everyone loved it. The fideo was a great complement.

• Watercress, Mahón cheese, nectarines, and creamy lime dressing

  • celesteprevost on October 11, 2024

    Really nice, great with plums

• Sautéed corn with cotija, mushrooms, and bacon

  • lholtzman on June 02, 2025

    This was delicious, but I made vegetarian and I think I would add smoked paprika and more salt in the future. I also used shiitake mushrooms instead of Hen of the Woods, because I couldn’t find them. I didn’t have a Serrano pepper, so I left it out, but I wish I hadn’t. It would have added a little kick, which was needed. Overall though, very good.

  • Lsblackburn1 on June 12, 2020

    Delicious! Served as a side dish for grilled sausages with onions. Perfect combo.

• Roasted Asian squash with piloncillo and butter

  • lholtzman on January 15, 2025

    This recipe was disappointing. I found that it didn’t have much flavor. I reduced the salt because it seemed like a lot, so maybe that is why. I still didn’t get any kick from the pepper.

• Anchovy butter-roasted red onions

  • dzant on June 03, 2020

    One of the best recipes in the book.

• Hot sauce chicken with cabbage and kale slaw

  • Maefleur on July 10, 2020

    The chicken came out tender, juicy, fiery and flavorful. Love the oregano vinaigrette on the slaw. Perfect combo.

• Oven-roasted baby back ribs

  • Frenchfoodie on May 21, 2020

    Delicious. I cut sugar in the dry rub by 1/3 but that was my main change. Ribs were tender with beautiful sticky bbq glaze and hum of chilli heat but in good balance with sugar and wider spices. Husband still thinks nigella’s are best but I’m on the fence, these were that good.

  • Io.veronicascott on January 24, 2023

    The BEST. The first time we made them for friends, they showed up a day or two later with another rack!

• Tex-Mex roast turkey

  • Nettmahoney on March 08, 2023

    This was my experimental turkey for Thanksgiving and wound up a huge hit. The flavor was lovely and robust, the gravy went perfectly.

  • Frenchfoodie on May 21, 2020

    Cooked this with a chicken (turkeys rare here in France) and it was great - burnished bronze, well flavoured and juicy inside despite inadverently cooking too high and too long.

• Turkey chili

  • valbe on December 28, 2021

    The recipe calls for roast turkey, chopped (actually, leftover Thanksgiving turkey) which to me is different from the indexed "whole turkey" ?

  • spatterson88 on December 05, 2023

    This is a great use of Thanksgiving leftovers, but is a fairly liquid-y chili. I don’t think this will become a go-to other than that. However, the roast turkey has been a hit three years running at Thanksgiving, so having a built-in recipe for leftovers is plus.

• Lamb birria

  • Lsblackburn1 on September 07, 2021

    This was excellent. I used only 3lb of lamb (only for the family and so pricey!) but kept everything else the same. Served with Mom’s rice and corn tortillas. Will repeat for guests in the future!

  • allisonsemele on May 20, 2021

    This was fantastic. The cinnamon was very prominent on the first day, but all of the flavors melded beautifully the next day. I was a smidge short on lamb, so I threw in a cubed potato per a recipe in another book, and liked that addition. I would leave time for a long slow cook or perhaps make it the day before serving it. Served with flour tortillas the first day, and rice the second. Corn tortillas might have been better than flour, but selection wasn't great at the store on the 6th of May!

  • hirsheys on April 18, 2021

    Birria is a really big thing here in Chicago, but I don’t love goat and so I haven’t actually tried it before. I thought this was a good chance to try it with beef (chuck), instead. The recipe is pretty straightforward, though it has a lot of ingredients. After 2 hours, my chuck was still a bit less tender than I’d have liked, but it was dinner time, so we ate it anyway. We left the rest in for another hour and it got beautifully tender after another hour. That said, despite not being as tender as I’d have liked, it was delicious served with corn tortillas, limes, avocado, and sour cream (though the latter two aren’t traditional I think). You’re supposed to add cilantro but I forgot. Would definitely make this again (and probably will!) - we really enjoyed it. ETA: Cooked for 3 hrs this is magnificent. Def make again. ETA: Can put in instant pot after browning for 1 hour and it's perfect. Use only 1 large can tomatoes.

• Queso

  • Jviney on September 26, 2021

    This is the first queso recipe I've tried - it seemed kind of Velveeta-forward on the flavor, but our guests remarked on how good it was so maybe that's just me. I used Taleggio in place of the Brebirousse d'Argental and it seemed to work fine. It had a nice consistency, not too runny, and it solidified quickly at the table so I would serve it in a small warmer, I think.

• Cold borracho bean dip

  • lholtzman on March 30, 2024

    This was also good as a taco filling.

• La pina

  • hirsheys on May 04, 2021

    Delicious. Reduce sugar syrup by half (for my taste). Canned pineapple juice works fine - no need to bother with fresh for such a small amount. (Buy baby cans).

• Mezcal Negroni

  • Lsblackburn1 on August 10, 2025

    Delicious and easy to prep. We used a young mezcal.

• El más chingon

  • lholtzman on May 25, 2024

    This was super spicy. I liked it, but just an FYI. I’ve also made this drink with a jalapeño and it’s less spicy. I find that 1/2 oz of agave nectar is too sweet, so I reduce to 1/4 oz.

  • hirsheys on April 17, 2021

    Delicious!!! Didn’t have Fresnos, so I used a jalapeño, which worked great. Also, replaced agave with honey (a nice flavorful one) though I only just realized I accidentally used half the amount (forgot to double for a double recipe). The balance of sweetness was perfect for me with half the honey, so I’d do that again. Really yummy drink - Sukhi and I loved. (Just shook the pepper slices and honey hard with the ice instead of muddling.)

• Berries with hibiscus-ginger syrup

  • Frenchfoodie on May 24, 2020

    The ginger-hibiscus syrup is phenomenal! I didn’t think it was necessary on the beautifult ripe berries I had it with but drizzled over ice cream and paired with tonic water and lime for a mocktail it was delicious. I may have snuck the odd tablespoon straight from the jar too, it is that good.

• Tex-leches chocolate-coconut cake

  • ellwell on July 07, 2024

    This was so disappointing. I had heard rave reviews about it on the Cookbook Club podcast, so I wanted to try it despite the warnings of the effort involved. There are 4 different elements to the dessert: the cake, the coffee cream, the icing, and the crumble. It was expensive—so much butter, cream cheese, etc. I served it to visiting family who thought it was just ok, the rest of the 9x13 cake went uneaten. It was that bad. I am not sure if there was an error in my version, but the cream that is to be poured over the cake never got fully absorbed. It only made the cake float. The cream cheese icing tasted mostly of butter and wasn’t really very sweet. I don’t think I have ever made a dessert that was rejected by the family until this one!

• Dulce de leche

  • pattyatbryce on April 27, 2024

    Similar to recipe in Bouchon. Very easy and tasty.