Tamales; Fast and Delicious Mexican Meals

I've always been a fan of Mexican and Hispanic food so I was super excited to try this cookbook. My cooking experience has primarily been limited to tacos and enchiladas, and this book seemed like a great way to branch out.

Alice Guadalupe Tapp's "Tamales:Fast and Delicious Mexican Meals" breaks down an intimidating food into a manageable process for the adventurous cook. Unlike some of the other cookbooks I've reviewed recentl, this was much more user friendly. Ingredients are pretty straightforward. Other than some of the chapter of "Nose-to-Tail Tamales" which uses everything, from nose to tail, you should be able to find all ingredients in your local grocery store.

I haven't had a chance to try anything yet with midterms and lab reports and whatnot, but I've picked out the Sirloin Beef tamales, a bit of a splurge for a college student with the sirloin, but looks extremely promising. The instructions are clear without being overly descriptive (like the Bahn Mi Book) and ingredients are all easy to find (unlike Cerviche, Peruvian Kitchen)

I'll write up and update once Matt and I get a chance to make these.

UPDATE: THEY WERE DELICIOUS. We made the pork tamales, and the dessert tamales with bananas and nutella. The ingredients were straightforward (other than finding the masa) and we used parchment paper instead of corn husks. Once assembled, the tamales steam and its very low intensity. Absolutely recommended :)

Overall thoughts on this cookbook: Very good if you like tamales. Straightforward instructions using accessible ingredients that shouldn't be too expensive. Definitely recommended for any Mexican food fan who doesn't mind trying something a bit more adventurous.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. However, all the opinions are entirely my own.

French Roots

I've always had an interest in French culture. It all started with Madame Martin, my 6th grade French teacher. Since she sparked my initial interest in all things French I continued my taking classes until I graduated high school, a couple semester at college, and proceeded to study abroad in Montpellier, France. So yes, I might be what most people consider a Frencophile.

Whenever I get wind of a book on French cooking it piques my interest.  I got to cook with my host mom in France and I'm always eager to try out new recipes. I'm no culinary expert, but I do enjoynew recipes, as you can tell from this blog.

Unfortunately, most of these will be outside of my college-student price range, but there are a few simple classics that I'll be able to make, My host mother Isabelle got her recipe from a friend in Bordeaux, and made them for us on occasion. I was eager to compare the recipes, and see what Jean-Pierre and Denise recommended. Although I don't have a cannele pan, perhaps one day, I gave these a try and was pleasantly surprised with the result.

The cookbook itself is a combination between a traditional French cookbook, (no pictures, continual recipes and less descriptive instructions) and a narrative about the authors', Jean-Pierre and Denise. It was fun to read about their lives, and the food plays in it.

My rating: Only if you're really into French recipes and don't want to invest in the traditional Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French cooking.
Overall, I enjoyed this cookbook. However, if you don't have more exotic taste, and aren't willing or able to drop a bit of money on a single meal, this isn't for you. Although there is a range of recipes, most call for more expensive and somewhat harder to find ingredients, this isn't for you.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. However, all the opinions are entirely my own.