!demasiada diversion!
Written: Feb 06 '07 (Updated Feb 06 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fun read, great illustrations, useful and tasty recipes.
Cons: If you are looking for authentic Mexican cuisine, it's just not here.
The Bottom Line: If you like retro food, parties, and art, this has them all! Part of a series which deserves a section of its own in your cooking library.
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| hularider's Full Review: Geraldine Duncann - Retro Fiesta: A Gringo's Guide... |
This book is 127 pages of just plain fun!
With no pretensions of cuisine or tradition, the book romps through a rose-tinted 1950s vision of a South of the Border fiesta. It reminds me of the Australian drinking tours that hiccup and sway from bar to bar in Bali - a perpetual swirl of laughter and color in search of the endless party.
My mother has always enjoyed throwing a good party, and here she shares some of the secrets of her success.
Planning tips include a listing of Mexican holidays and decorating suggestions including tips on making perforated tinwork candleholders and temporary serving platters.
Mama also brings up an important point in the table settings - much of the old Mexican pottery used leaded glazes. Do not put food in these pieces, especially acidic foods such as salsa. (Page 11 has a simple tip for testing glaze for lead.) But they can be safely used for dry items and as decor.
Games were an important part of the parties with which I grew up, and a good selection are listed here. I remember Mama making the cascarones for which she gives instructions. At some holidays she made one for each of us children. A cascarone is an egg which has been emptied, cleaned, and re-filled with confetti. You make a wish and crack it on your friend's head. When I was little, Mama's cascarones were so pretty I though she had a magic spell she used to get the confetti inside. And, of course, she includes instructions for making a pinata.
Keep pumping up the theme by learning the "Useful Spanish Words" on page 17 - then surprise your retro friends by greeting them with, "Como estas!" and telling them to put the comidas sabrosas on the mesa. Remember to tell them "Gracias!" for coming!
Planning and shopping tips, creating temporary storage, cooking sequentially, and recruiting help all are covered. Selecting chilies, lard vs olive oil, and a few techniques lead you in to the recipes themselves.
Appetizers include tortilla chips, deviled eggs, and seafood fondue. Salsas are in abundance. The soup and salad section starts with basic stocks and goes from there. The main dishes cover everything from breakfast enchiladas to chicken fajitas, vegetable pie, and a mushroom tortilla casserole. There are even garden fajitas for the veggi-inclined, and for those inclined to the piscine - Fish Filettes in Salsa Verde.
But my favorite dish is in the Beans, Rice, and Vegetables section - the Beer Drinker's Bean Pot. Which, in my opinion, must be served with any of the cornbread recipes.
Desserts also rate a section, and the empanadas recipe is wonderful, though I usually eat them with coffee for breakfast. Candied pumpkin also is an old family favorite I am glad to see here. And I am delighted that Mama has included her basic flan recipe. To me, no Latin meal is complete unless it ends with strong coffee and flan.
And, of course, what party is complete without drinks - alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages complete your fiesta, and recipes here include sangria, fruit punch, smoothies, a coffee freeze, a Mexican-style breakfast coffee, and Rompope - Mexican eggnog.
The thorough indexing speeds things up when you don't have time to browse and be distracted by the wonderful old illustrations.
One of a series, each book by a different author, this book is making me want to collect them all. I'm especially curious to get the Retro Luau, as my own specialty is Hawaiian cooking, which you can check out at www.KauKauKitchen.com.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
hularider
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Member: Leilehua Yuen
Location: Hilo, Hawaii, USA
Reviews written: 70
Trusted by: 8 members
About Me:
HulaRider is an author, artist, and educator who specializes in Hawaiian culture and arts.
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