Josef Centeno

Amá
A Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen
by Josef Centeno and Betty Hallock

I miss Mexican food and do my best to make it here in Lebanon. I learned to make authentic tortillas from a woman in Saudi Arabia, learned to make salsa from a Mexican cookbook to serve to an embassy friend missing home and I have enjoyed reading and eating food from south of the border for years. I have more than one Mexican and Tex-Mex cookbook in my collection but NONE of them have the varied recipes using so many tasty ingredients as this one does. In fact, as I began reading I immediately wrote to my daughter (a foodie) to tell her about this book suggesting that she should see if she can find it. Sadly I won’t be able to find all of the ingredients where I live BUT I might be able to find substitutions and approximate the recipes. I certainly hope so. In addition to the recipes there is a great deal of family history that enriches this book. We learn of generations past that the author remembers fondly while sharing their recipes and history.

What I liked:
* The history of the author, his restaurants and family’s
* The ease of reading the recipes and feeling I could recreate the recipes if the ingredients were available
* The flavors that popped in my mind as I read through the book
* Being reminded of home and eating out decades ago in Los Angeles
* Seeing twists on recipes I make now or have made in the past using Centeno’s family seasonings and recipes

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I buy it for myself or others? Yes
Which recipes would I want to try first? Perhaps some of the salsas, desserts and mixed drinks and I have to say I am fascinated by the idea of using beer in cooking beans.

Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars… (meer)