Very inspiring and thought provoking recipes! Not sure where I'll get some of the ingredients but I'm excited to try the recipes!

This book is the real thing, full of recipes you know have been passed down through generations of Mexican families. It feels authentic, from the pozole to the arroz con leche. Beautiful photos throughout.

I really am inspired now to go and cook some Mexican food. I really liked this cookbook, and I think that I will make some good food with this. I cannot wait to try this one out, and see if it will actually work.

I love Mexican food and have other books. I was intrigued by this one, offering authentic home cooking. It has an engaging style. I cooked the pork stew with squash, and the Mexican-style steak.. I enjoyed both but the cooking instructions made me feel uneasy. The diced pork was cooked in water first for 20 minutes, then browned, then back in liquid again. It was OK. The instructions for cooking the beef seemed far too long, and as I was using some very good fillet steak, I was reluctant to experiment and cut it short (delicious).. So, an interesting set of recipes, but I'd be inclined to apply my own judgement to the cooking methods.

The Mexican Home Kitchen by
Mely Martinez
October 25, 2020

Transport yourself to a Mexican home and dinner table. In this mouth-watering cookbook, Mely Martinez has compiled typical dishes, with approachable, budget friendly ingredients, enjoyed by Mexican families.

One of eight children, young Mely collected tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini from her grandmother’s riverbank vegetable garden in Veracruz. She helped grind corn to make masa and mash beans for the farmworkers’ lunch.

Over the years, she collected recipes of the traditional homestyle meals from the 29 towns she lived in across Mexico. Many of the entrees may be a little complicated, but the soups…. Oh, the soups! Lentil, Tortilla, Cream of Potato! And scrumptious salsas, guacamole, and pico.

When was the last time you tried a brand new, out of your box dish?

This book is beautiful and I loved all the little side stories and tips. I also liked that Mely recognized that every Mexican family has a different approach to cooking everything! So some recipes felt familiar, while some were brand new.

The subtitle “ Traditional Home-Style Recipes that Capture the Flavors and Memories of Mexico” is a perfect description for this book. Mely Martinez’s love of her home country’s food and food traditions is apparent from the word go, and makes this a book that is a joy to read.
The first section on the Mexican Pantry is very useful – especially the detail on the different types of chillies. The recipes that follow are well laid out (with both metric and imperial measures) with interesting anecdotal introductions and very useful notas.
But I have mixed feelings about the recipes. I made the Tacos de Bistec; the instructions for making the tacos were very good, and the suggestion of adding some chorizo to the steak made a very simple recipe very tasty. However, the soup base of the Pozole Rojo lacked depth of flavor, which was only partially compensated by the addition of radishes, avocado etc . The Picadillo used to stuff the poblanos for the Chiles Rellenos was also too bland. I am sure the recipes are fully authentic, but for me I was disappointed by the flavors and hence my lower rating.

This is, quite simply, the perfect cookbook. The layout is simple and intuitive and the photography is stunning. There are dishes that I know I do not like, yet the photos make me want to try them again. I can’t wait to try the salsas. Highly recommended!

There are dozens – maybe hundreds – of Mexican cookbooks covering the usual tacos, burritos, enchiladas, etc. But Mely Martinez takes Mexican food a step further in her cookbook, The Mexican Home Kitchen: Traditional Home-Style Recipes That Capture the Flavors and Memories of Mexico by adding recipes that most of us haven’t heard of and that she grew up on. Almost everyone loves Mexican food, and when it’s authentic home cooking, most of us want to try it.

Tacos, enchiladas, tamales, tostados, refried beans, salsas, guacamole, and other familiar dishes are included, but the most fun dishes are from the author and her mother while growing up: Entomatadas (corn tortillas stuffed with cheese and covered with tomato sauce), Calabacitas con Puerco (Pork stew with squash), Camarones en Chipotle (shrimp in chipotle sauce), Discada Norteña (Northern Style Mixed Meats) to name a few. These fun dishes will keep us cooking for weeks.

There are beautiful photographs of most of the dishes, which makes it difficult to decide what to make. However, every recipe made so far has turned out picture perfect, and the recipe instructions are easy-to-follow. Another plus is that most of the recipes call for mainstream ingredients that are available at larger grocery stores.

Not only are Martinez’ recipes good, but she this cookbook is complete with stories and vignettes that are fun to read. This is a good book to curl up with in a corner, although it will make you very hungry and you’ll probably want to get up and cook.

All told, this cookbook is unique and includes enough excellent recipes that aren’t included in mainstream Mexican cookbooks that are both easy to make and mouthwatering to keep cooks busy. Highly recommended.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Yum! The title and overall book cover drew me in. Once inside, the beautiful photography and recipe layout kept me engaged cover to cover.

I appreciated the pantry and tools/equipment sections that opened the book. I LOVED the several sentences at the top of each recipe. Whether a cultural significance, the chef’s personal tips, or a family reference, the intro just made each recipe seem authentic and included for a very specific reason. The book really did seem like Martinez was passing down family recipes and opposed to creating a commercial cookbook.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading and can’t wait to try some of these recipes.

At the start of The Mexican Home Kitchen there is a detailed guide to the ingredients used in mexican cooking and which is really good, especially the list of all the different types of peppers used. The recipes are clear and easy to follow and include may dishes that were completely new to me. The only downside to this book is that as it is so authentic a some of the ingredients may be hard to come by in a standard UK supermarket.

A great gift for anyone interested in Mexican cooking as they are sure to find new recipes to try.

I was given a copy of The Mexican Home Kitchen by NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

The Mexican Home Kitchen is filled with simple yet delicious recipes to add some real spice and flavor to your home cooking game! I mean, there are some serious yummy Mexican recipes in here for your tastebuds delight!

I have long found that in order to really learn down-home (from wherever your home is) is usually taught at the elbow of your grandmother. And oh boy, did I feel like I was sitting at someone's abuela's elbow throughout this whole book. The recipes were fairly simple with simple ingredients (some may have to be sourced through specialized grocers or online but not a lot). The instructions were detailed enough that I feel even a novice would be able to do a fairly good job. The pictures were beautifully done. The sauces and salsa recipes alone would be worth the price of the book!

I seriously can't wait until my next grocery shopping trip. I have so many recipes I want to try! I seriously recommend picking this one up!

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Visually (and Taste) Inspiring Cookbook

As I grew up in northern California, I am very familiar with Mexican cuisine, though I mostly ate it at restaurants. I have made a few dishes on my own, like red sauce enchiladas, but I haven't delved too deeply into authentic Mexican home cooking. So, for me, looking at this cookbook was fun and has inspired me to want to try some of its recipes. I enjoyed seeing home versions of some dishes I had eaten at restaurants, like the red rice recipe that looked very much like one I had enjoyed at restaurants up and down the west coast. I was particularly pleased to see bunuelos in the dessert section, as I had enjoyed that particular sweet treat at a restaurant near my north coast town. While some recipes are certainly complex and take ingredients not familiar to the average American cook, others are relatively simple and seemed easy to make. I am a vegetarian, so I was a little disappointed that most main dishes seemed exclusively for carnivores. However, the authors did include a few vegetarian-friendly dishes that piqued my interest, like flautas that are essentially stuffed with mashed potatoes. How fun! There were a few other potato and legume dishes that looked good. I wish the main dish section was divided by protein or main ingredient so it would be easier to flip to what precisely might interest you. The book has gorgeous photographs, increasing my wish to attempt some of these dishes myself. If you're interested in Mexican home cooking, you might want to check this book out.

The Mexican Home Kitchen is a well organized and well-written cookbook! From the table of contents alone, I knew I would be hooked, and I wasn’t disappointed. The author, Mely Martínez, did an excellent job explaining the ingredients for those unfamiliar with this style of cooking. Also, she provided substitutes for items that may be unavailable in your location. For novice cooks, the instructions are detailed enough for you to comprehend and adequately prepare your dish! The cookbook is filled with beautiful pictures of the dishes and an added touch of background information. I love Mexican dishes and to receive this cookbook to test some of the recipes was exciting! The Chiles Rellenos recipe, although simple, was delicious. Thank you, Quarto Publishing Group – Rock Point, for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

Absolutely wonderful recipes! I cannot wait to make a few and surprise family and friends. A real authentic cook book.

I was really excited to dig into this new cookbook on Mexican cooking! I think this is a phenomenal introductory cookbook for Mexican home cooking, but I would not recommend this to someone looking for super in depth knowledge or trying to learn more technical aspects of Mexican cooking.

It was very basic which makes the recipes very accessible and could be easily tackled by most home cooks! There were some helpful tips at the end of some of the recipes. Otherwise it did sometimes feel a bit generic.

One thing I wished was that this book was a bit more personal. It felt a very holistic in the range of recipes it gives, but I didn't feel like I really learned that much or connected to the author.

I'd highly recommend this for home cooks looking to learn about Mexican cooking and want one book that can provide a holistic range of basic recipes to tackle and to have in their home cook arsenal. If you're looking for something more personal or technical, I would recommend looking elsewhere.

This is a must have cookbook, filled with essentials (such as tortillas), classic dishes (like Pozole) and so much more. It's a beautiful cookbook, loaded with colorful and appetizing pictures. As a lover of Mexican cuisine, I will use this book often.

Thank you Quarto Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mely Martinez's new cookbook has long been awaited, especially for those who have closely followed her blog for years. This book encompasses the heart of Mexican cooking beyond what people typically see. These recipes conjure beautiful memories of my mother, tias, and abuelita in the kitchen, stirring rich caldos, atoles, menudo and pozoles, and of course, chopping meats and vegetables for asados like asado de puerco, discada nortena, and carne con papas. Mely's recipes take you on a deep dive into the Mexican food made in our homes and does a fantastic job portraying what is served on our family tables. I wholeheartedly recommend this book and her blog (link in my bio).

I love this cookbook!! I am a HUGE fan of Mexican cuisine and I am so excited to be able to create versions of all the dishes I love so much at home!! We have recently moved to an area where good Mexican restaurants are rare, and this cookbook is going to be a lifesaver!! The pictures are beautiful and the recipe choices make me so happy!! This cookbook is a gem and now I know what I'm getting my sisters for Christmas!!

This is a beautiful cookbook with tantalizing recipes, great photos, and many anecdotal stories. The author, Mely Martinez has such a personable and friendly tone. The book is organized well and has traditional and classic recipes from throughout Mexico. I would love to own a hard copy of this book! It would make a lovely gift for family and friends too.