Description:
Diners at Manhattan's top-rated Rosa Mexicano have long begged its owner-chef, Josefina Howard, to write a cookbook. She has done better. Rosa Mexicano: A Culinary Autobiography with 70 Recipes provides an introduction to Mexico itself, as well as examples of her restaurant's vibrant, authentic cooking. In chapters such as "Tacos: An Endless Adventure," "My First Pozole," and "Mexico City: Life in Another Dimension," Howard seamlessly weaves memoir, social history, and culinary investigation. Lovers of richly personal food books will be delighted, as will cooks who enjoy learning about the world's great dishes. The recipes themselves are as diverse as the country of their birth. Dishes such as Lamb Shanks Coated with Three Chiles, Garlic and Spices, a savory meal wrapped and steamed in parchment; a superbly delicate Corn and Chipotle Soup; and the mighty pozole itself, a stew made with pork, chicken, and hominy, are delectable and uncomplicated to prepare. Howard also provides a brief dictionary of chiles, an exploration of Mexican herbs such as the pivotal epazote, and ongoing information about other typical ingredients, which most cooks will find readily available. The book is illustrated with Howard's own award-winning color photographs, providing yet another glimpse of the real Mexico. --Arthur Boehm
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