# Recommend me a good Mexican cookbook with reliable recipies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 8, 2003, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-mexican-cookbook-with-reliable-recipies/173838 "2003-05-08T04:24:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![celestina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/258eb7/32.png) [@celestina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/celestina)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-mexican-cookbook-with-reliable-recipies/173838/1 "2003-05-08T04:24:24Z")
I’m curious and trying to expand my cooking repetoire. What are some good, preferably inexpensive Mexican cookbooks? Y’all Dopers what be cookin’ Mexican food and stuff, help me out. 🙂 I will say that I can’t tolerate spicy food so the cookbook should explain the different kinds of chiles, how hot they are, and how I can cut the heat out of the food, but retain the flavors. Otay. That’s enough. Muchas gracias. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-mexican-cookbook-with-reliable-recipies/173838/2 "2003-05-08T05:08:56Z")
Jeez, the one I use is out of print… It’s by a local PBS cooking show host: > **[The Mexican Kitchen With Rod Santana](https://www.allbookstores.com/The-Mexican-Kitchen-With-Rod/9780963676306)** > > The Mexican Kitchen With Rod Santana by Rod Santana. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-mexican-cookbook-with-reliable-recipies/173838/3 "2003-05-08T06:36:48Z")
I have found that books by Diana Kennedy and Rick Bayless are top notch. They focus more on authentic Mexican cooking rather than Tex-mex. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-mexican-cookbook-with-reliable-recipies/173838/4 "2003-05-08T12:51:21Z")
Yeah, Rick Bayless’s Mexican One Plate at a Time is excellent. If you get into Mexican cooking at all, you’ll find it’s more a technique than anything else. I rarely use cookbooks for Mexican anymore. You get to know the ingredients and spices, and it’s just a matter of combining them in ways that make things yummy. It’s a lot of fun, too - especially when you have a hubby like mine who’s eyes pop out when presented with good Mexican food. ---
**Author:** ![Mooch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mooch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mooch)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-mexican-cookbook-with-reliable-recipies/173838/5 "2003-05-08T14:59:46Z")
Another thumbs up for Rick Bayless’ **Mexico: One Plate at a a Time**. After each recipe (which usually includes a variation or two) he has a page or two with troubleshooting, substitutions, questions you may have and usually a little history on the dish. I highly reccomend this book. ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-mexican-cookbook-with-reliable-recipies/173838/6 "2003-05-08T15:35:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by celestina \* > \*\* I will say that I can’t tolerate spicy food so the cookbook should explain the different kinds of chiles, how hot they are, and how I can cut the heat out of the food, but retain the flavors. Muchas gracias. \*\* Here they say “_sin chile, no tiene chiste_” which roughly translated means “without chili, what’s the point”. But in reality there are plenty of Mexican dishes that are not spicy hot. A lot of them are prepared without chile and the hot sauce is added by each person according to their personal taste. I think the Kennedy books will be what you’re looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-mexican-cookbook-with-reliable-recipies/173838/7 "2003-05-08T16:10:38Z")
In the area where I lived, the food wasn’t spicy in the sense of being “hot” at all. The locals who fancied something hot would usually just alternate bites from a pepper with bites from the rest of the food. The local cuisine ran rather heavily towards grilled meat of various types, served with corn or flour tortillas. ---
**Author:** ![celestina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/258eb7/32.png) [@celestina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/celestina)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-mexican-cookbook-with-reliable-recipies/173838/8 "2003-05-08T16:24:34Z")
Thank you, everyone for the suggestions! 😃 I’ll have to get to the bookstore and see what I can find. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-mexican-cookbook-with-reliable-recipies/173838/9 "2003-05-09T03:09:24Z")
If **uke** were here, he’s also second or third any book by Rick Bayliss. His first might have been _Mexican Kitchen_, but I’m going by memory. Get them all. It’s truly Mexican and well written.