Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Accomplished professionally both as scholar and restaurateur, Cuban-born Presilla knows just about everything there is to know about the vast history and geography of the cooking of the Western Hemisphere's Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking lands, and her eagerness to share this lore with her readers is almost palpable. Virtually every recipe in this massive volume comes loaded with cultural, historical, and culinary background, distinguishing each from other superficially similar recipes. Even cocktails get their due, and uniquely Latin American spirits such as pisco and tequila will challenge and inspire many a bartender. Presilla's painstaking analysis of spices and flavorings deftly clarifies what can be a confusing topic. In one of her most telling disquisitions, Presilla delineates how cooking has in fact liberated many creative and entrepreneurial Latinas and helped them thrive in a decidedly male-dominated culture. Glossaries serve to instruct those unfamiliar with ingredients, equipment, and techniques specific to Latin American kitchens. This comprehensive and meticulously wrought reference book belongs in every library's cookery collection.--Knoblauch, Mark Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Presilla, who runs a restaurant in Hoboken, N.J., and holds a doctorate in medieval Spanish history, offers this bible of Latin American food. Well researched, organized, and impressive, this book covers dishes from Mexico, Argentina, and the Hispanic Caribbean. Born in Cuba, Presilla has a passion for Latin food that's beautifully illustrated in her latest work. Her goal, she explains is "to adapt and transform the elemental beauty and tastes of Latin American cooking to the modern kitchen, while respecting the food's primary flavors, and to create earthy, intensely flavored dishes." Presilla includes more than 500 recipes for everything from tropical roots to empanadas and meat dishes of every kind. Some are dishes that Presilla learned as a child cooking with her family (she combines personal stories with her recipes) like "My Grandmother's Ajiaco," a soup made with starchy vegetables and dried beef. Others have been interpreted for the home cook, such as yucca bread. Presilla describes the primitive tools used by native people of the Orinoco and Amazon basins, but provides a recipe that uses a food processor to grind the yucca. This comprehensive collection is fascinating, informative, and stunning. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Presilla (The New Taste of Chocolate) is a Cuban-born chef and renowned culinary historian who won the 2012 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic. Her latest, a bible of Latin American cuisine, presents more than 500 recipes for both authentic and modern dishes, from adobos and sofritos, to popular empanadas, tamales, and ceviches, to the less familiar cachapas (corn griddle cakes) and picadillo (a seasoned beef hash). Expertly blending history with travel narrative and memoir, Presilla brings Latin American food culture to life. The comprehensive treatment makes it difficult to isolate information about individual countries, but most readers won't mind. VERDICT An indispensable reference. Highly recommended. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
