Encarnación’s Kitchen: Mexican Recipes from Nineteenth-Century California (Volume 9)

by Encarnación Pinedo, Dan Strehl (Translator)

In 1991 Ruth Reichl, then a Los Angeles Times food writer, observed that much of the style now identified with California cuisine, and with nouvelle cuisine du Mexique, was practiced by Encarnación Pinedo a century earlier. A landmark of American cuisine first published in 1898 as El cocinero español (The Spanish Cook), Encarnación's Kitchen is the first cookbook written by a Hispanic in the United States, as well as the first recording of Californio food—Mexican cuisine prepared by the Spanish-speaking peoples born in California. Pinedo's cookbook offers a fascinating look into the kitchens of a long-ago culture that continues to exert its influence today.

Of some three hundred of Pinedo's recipes included here—a mixture of Basque, Spanish, and Mexican—many are variations on traditional dishes, such as chilaquiles, chiles rellenos, and salsa (for which the cook provides fifteen versions). Whether describing how to prepare cod or ham and eggs (a typical Anglo dish labeled "huevos hipócritas" ), Pinedo was imparting invaluable lessons in culinary history and Latino culture along with her piquant directions. In addition to his lively, clear translation, Dan Strehl offers a remarkable view of Pinedo's family history and of the material and literary culture of early California cooking. Prize-winning journalist Victor Valle puts Pinedo's work into the context of Hispanic women's testimonios of the nineteenth century, explaining how the book is a deliberate act of cultural transmission from a traditionally voiceless group.

Genres: Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, History

222 pages, Hardcover

First published October 4, 2003

Reviews

[Melina Watts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books. The author helped her sister and brother-in-law raise five nieces during the ranchero era and as she saw her babies being married off to Yankees, she wrote this cook book so that their children would have her culture on their plates. There are five exquisite pudding recipes, one for each of her girls. So touching.

The recipes are astonishing, they demonstrate a knowledge of classic Mexican cooking, fine French cooking, with a UK influence due to the Irish nuns of her own childhood. Honestly you could put these recipes in the middle of a high end California restaurant today and people would be dazzled by the innovation and fresh combinations of flavors. They are like 150 years old and feel incredibly hip. This book is a great look into California history. Love. Love. Love.

[Camilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the book fascinating. First, she was a rarity. Not only was she a published female writer in the 1800s, but she wrote in both English and Spanish. So she was clearly a member of California's cultural elite who hailed from Spain but was adapting to Mexican and Yankee influences in her household.

And, second, the way she writes her recipes displays a depth of knowledge of ingredients and cooking techniques. She includes very few measurements and just the most bare descriptions of how to make the dishes. It's as if you're learning from your grandmother, Abuéla Encarnación's.

[Susan Liston · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's great that this cookbook exists, and I'm sure the recipes are wonderful, but as far as making them yourself, they are just translated as she wrote them, not re-written with actual measurements. So unless you are a much more confident, knowledgeable cook than I am....