Marilyn Tausend - Cocina de la familia : more than 200 authentic recipes from Mexican-American home kitchens

FIRESIDE
Rockefeller Center
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 1997 by Marilyn Tausend

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

First Fireside Edition 1999

F IRESIDE and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster Inc.

Permissions Acknowledgments begin on page 393.

Designed by Bonni Leon-Berman

Manufactured in the United States of America

3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4

The Library of Congress has cataloged the Simon & Schuster edition as follows:

Tausend, Marilyn.

Cocina de la familia : more than 200 authentic recipes from Mexican-American home kitchens / Marilyn Tausend with Miguel Ravago.

p. cm.

1. Mexican American cookery. I. Ravago, Miguel. II. Title.

TX715.2.S69T38 1997

641.5926872073dc21 97-26979

CIP

ISBN 0-684-81818-3
0-684-85525-9 (Pbk)
eISBN 978-1-439-13720-8

Also by Marilyn Tausend

Mexico the Beautiful (coauthor)

To Ed Lewis and Fredric Tausend Without these two men in my life book would not be.

My father imbued me with a curiosity about all foods and a deep respect for those who made feasts out of meager offerings. My husband rekindle my love of Mexico, and his influence is shown on every page.

M.L.T.

Cocina de la Familia is more a historical cooking story than a cookbook. If it were a stage production, there would be a cast of more than a hundred Mexican Americans and one Mexican Canadian to be applauded. And I do sowith all my heart. They are the voices in their own stories; I only put in writing. The pages of this book acknowledge my gratitude to all who contributed.

My ability to interpret their recipes is built on knowledge I have gained from more than a decade of learning from innumerable cooks throughout Mexico. In so many instances when I was interviewing someone in the United States and found the person was from a specific region in Mexico, I was able to say I had been in that village or city, eaten the local dishes, and on several occasions even knew the same cooks.

Diana Kennedy opened the wonders of Mexican cooking to me, as she has done for so many. From he I learned to respect the honesty and integrity of Mexican cooking and gained an understanding of its flavor dimensions. I seldom cook a Mexican dish without heeding her many procedural admonitions. Dearie, dont boil the cactus to death. Or, Dont wash away the flavorevery germ is going to perish anyway when we cook it. Thank you, Diana, for sharing your knowledge and friendship with me.

My loving thanks to Susy Torres in Puerto Angel, Oaxaca, a member of my second family who traveled with me during my research and acted as an interpreter when needed, and to Carmen Barnard, my friend and business associate in Morelia, Michoacn, who cheered me by faxing a constant stream of puns and humorous drawings, and for her unconventional wisdom.

Wherever I went, I was welcomed into the homes and lives of new and old friends. They provided me with shelter, good meals, and companionship. So thank you, Rosie and Don Price in Idaho; Claire Archibald in Oregon; Mary Jo Heavey and Lupe Peach in Washington; Mario and Diane Montaa, Rusty Mitchell in Colorado; Joe and Elena Kurstin in Florida; Angelita Espinosa in Michigan; Rick and Deann Bayless in Illinois; Shirley King in New York; Jeannaine Brookshire in Arizona; Park Kerr in Texas; Bill and Cheryl Jamison in New Mexico; and Bernadette Guitierrez, Nancy Zaslavsky, Peg Tomlinson, Kirsten West, and Kurt and Kitty Spataro in California. I want to thank you allalong with so many others who freely shared insights and information with me.

If a cookbook is to be of value, then the recipes must be accurate and easily understood. While Miguel and I tested and tasted our way through many, many dishes before selecting the ones that became part of this collection, there was an informal coterie of cooks who for over a year diligently and repeatedly tested each recipe. I wish to express my deep appreciation to these volunteers: Rene Downey, Doris Evans, Marilyn Farrell, Albert Furbay, Joan Wickham, Allen and Suzanne Peery, Claire Archibald, Shelly Wiseman, Amy Neal, Darcy Clark, Jessica and Bill Baccus, Nancy Leushel, Kelly Martin, Maria McMahon, Jeff Pilcher, Terri Pomerenk, Rusty Mitchell, Dane and Wendy Henas, Nancy Irwin, Shirley King, David and Margaret Juenke, and Corinne Hagen.

Before I started this book, I never appreciated the role of an agent. Maureen and Eric Lasher have been indispensable, working with me for several years and through many drafts until we were all satisfied. The Lashers then found for me a publishing company with an editor, Sydny Miner, with equal enthusiasm, skill, and patience. Thank you.

Im one of those strange creatures who write everything by hand on legal paper. My saving grace is Carole Jordan, my assistant, who for about thirty years has been deciphering my scrawl and, with the help of her mother, Gwen Jordan, a former newspaper proofreader, putting into proper form.

I owe a special debt to Miguel Ravago, a second-generation Mexican-American. For over twenty years he was the co-owner and chef of Fonda San Miguel in Austin, Texas one of the finest Mexican restaurants in the United States. We were together when my agent and I first explored the possibility of this book, and Miguel immediately and wholeheartedly offered his invaluable assistance. Cocina de la Familia has been four long years aborning. Throughout this time, we worked harmoniously, even though thousands of miles apart. Often, both of us were preparing the same recipe at the same time and consulting back and forth by phone and fax. Miguels vast experience in cooking savory Mexican food and his discerning testing provided me with constant assurance that we were on course.

For over a year my daughter Sara McIntyre opened the front door everyday with an ungrudging and joyful Buenos dias, Mama, and set about washing the constant accumulation of pots and pans and cleaning up the debris from my cooking. It was the most unrewarding task of any, yet it was Saras unending optimism that kept me goingto try just one more dish, to verify another fact, or to rewrite another pageeven when I was past all desire to continue.

M.L.T.

Que bonita es la vida cuando nos da de sus riquezas. (How beautiful life is when it gives us its riches.)

As a little boy I spent countless hours in the kitchen watching my wonderful grandmother, Guadalupe Velsquez, prepare traditional Mexican dishes while telling me old family stories from when she was a little girl in Mexico. She transmitted to me the knowledge of this great cuisine as well as the pride of my heritage. She changed my life forever. Without her riches I would never have become a chef. Gracias, Abuelita!

I also want to thank my familiamy dear mother, Amelia Galbraith; my sister Betty Saenz; my aunt Linda Mendivil; and my cousin Dina Mendivil Lansdellfor their contribution and encouragement, and for just being the best family in the world.

Nushie Chancellor, who gave so much of her time in testing recipes with me, who helped me with her knowledge and her great Mexican cooking tips, who brought so much fun to my kitchen all the time we were working,