My Mexico City Kitchen: Recipes and Convictions [A Cookbook]

I really want to like this book. I have enjoyed eating at Contramar and love Mexican seafood dishes. The book is good as inspiration, but it suffers from poor recipe testing and some odd flavor decisions. So far in cooking about 6 recipes I've found two with significant errors - the aguachile includes peppers in the ingredient list that don't show up in the recipe, and worse, the adobo includes 1/2 c of oil that is never used. Should it be used to fry the sauce? Is it simply mixed in? Who knows? More in the realm of personal taste the pumpkin seed salad dressing is a bit bitter and might be better if the seeds were toasted first and the writing has a pedantic tone on obvious subjects: Don't use wilted lettuce! Not wasting food is important! Etc. Anyone who has read a cookbook in the last 15 years will be unlikely to need such admonitions, and anyone who hasn't won't be able to make heads or tails of recipes missing vital steps.All that said, if you know your way around Mexican cooking and need a little inspiration, this is a pretty, well designed book with some tasty suggestions.

This cookbook is flashy but lacks the fundamental characteristic of an exceptional cookbook: exceptional recipes. It's good for introducing you to various ingredients and flavor combinations of pan-Mexican cuisine, if you are a beginner. But no single recipe is a show-stopper. Even the recipes that are analogous to what is served at Contramar seem off. But the single most unforgivable aspect of this cookbook is the lack of editing, or recipe testing. Various recipes call for ingredients that are never referenced in the instructions.As someone who has used many cookbooks in the past couple of years, I've come to learn that if you want to get a sense of the quality of a cookbook, try making one of the baked goods. The reason is that baking is a process that requires very precise ingredient amounts, prep instructions, and baking times, so a cookbook that can help you execute this to perfection is one that has strong fundamentals. I made the anise rolls from this cookbook and they were a flop--and I'm not an inexperienced baker. Same with the chocoflan--the instructions messed up even some of the most basic ingredient-to-receptacle ratios. I will still try to make my own adjustments , as I have with other recipes in this book, but I highly doubt that all of the recipes were tested prior to publishing, which to me is unacceptable.

Where do I even begin with this book? I will admit I have not known about Chef Camara very long but dived right into what she does and came away like a kid on Christmas in anticipation to get this book. I had a strong feeling Gabriela would deliver and she did. This book is very well written and put together. There are so many recipes that I cannot wait to make. The one that I will make by this weekend is the Camote A Las Brasas Con Salsa Negra Y Tuetano aka charred sweet potatoes. The Chiles Rellenos Con Frijoles Refritos Y Queso is another recipe I will knock out by this weekend. Too many Salsa's to even talk about that I look forward to. Going to make the Mezcal margarita tonight with all the Mezcal's I have as I watch the Warriors win game 2. I hope you see this review Gabriela and get the opportunity to meet you one day. Good luck on your political adventures ahead back in Mexico City. Thank you for sharing these wonderful recipes and look forward to becoming a better Mexican chef.

As other reviewers have said, this book suffers from terrible/non-existent kitchen testing. The ingredient proportions are just plain wrong - the "Mexican lasagna" called for so much sauce the dish resembles a soup, the Pork-and-Corn soup called for such vast quantities of corn that it overwhelmed the other ingredients. Recipes also seemed to be habitually underseasoned. If you have your wits about you to correct the proportions and season it yourself, the recipes can be good - but that's a big if. For someone like me, who was attempting to learn the cuisine, this book was more hindrance than help.

I was very excited about this book. But unfortunately too many recipes are unclear or flat-out incorrect. Or filler (looking at you, potato leek soup).She suggests cooking pork carnitas on low for 1.5 hrs then cranking to med-high for another 1.5 hours. If I wasn’t paying close attention and didn’t pull this off the heat, I would have burnt a beautiful 3 lb pork butt...and maybe my house (especially since she says you don’t need to watch it very long).Other recipes are incorrect as well. Roasting peppers in a skillet for two minutes over medium heat will effectively pepper spray your entire house.Just go to Rick Bayless’s website for free versions of the same recipes with no fuss.

I have only tried a couple of recipes, which turned out great. The salsas are specially good, plus quite a few to chose from. I'm looking forward to visiting either restaurant and I like the idea of sharing some wonderful food. I recommend seeing the documentary on Netflix...very interesting.

I have been a serious amateur cook for over sixty-five years. Over those years I have acquired 400 to 500 cookbooks. This is one of the best. Beautiful prose that conveys the author's thoughts and feelings on the cuisine of her home country and its efflorescence over the past few decades. Clearly written recipes with meaningful comments on their history, development and potential variations. A masterpiece of the genera.

I spent ages researching Mexican cookbooks and decided on this one, it is a present for my daughter's birthday. The content might be OK but the outer cover is filthy! I am so disappointed as it isn't cheap. Doesn't seem to be a way of contacting the seller so this is the only way to leave feedback.

Having been to Mexico including Mexico City, recently for 2 weeks and having tried the real food, I wanted to buy my first Mexican cookbook. Having researched a lot, I have heard about Contramar and Pujol in Mexico City. Sadly didn’t get to eat there as they were both fully booked. For me this is the best cookbook I could find with authentic recipes of what I ate in Mexico. It’s a beautiful book with recipes you can make.

Lovely book

It’s my husbands new cookery ‘bible ‘!Beautiful recipes, stunning photographs

We've loved eating at Contramar in Mexico City, so this book was a must for me. I have recreated a few of her dishes already, and they are fantastic - even on a home range. One aspect of the book I also loved was the story telling - so much fun to read through it.