Salsas That Cook : Using Classic Salsas To Enliven Our Favorite Dishes

by Rick Bayless

From America's leading authority on definitive Mexican cooking comes a brand-new collection of recipes based on six classic, versatile salsas, each featuring the flavor of a diffferent chili.

Salsas That Cook is a breakthrough in contemporary American cooking. Here, Mexico's classic salsas get put to work in our kitchens in the same way we use a variety of international condiments, from teriyaki sauce to balsamic vinegar, to enliven and redefine the flavor of many American favorites. While most of us have enjoyed salsas as chip dips, salsas show great versatility when weaving complex flavor into simple dishes, from pasta to potatoes to meats, fish and vegetables.

Salsas embody the essence of Mexican the lusciousness of slow-roasted tomatoes, the full-flavored spice of chiles, the fragrance of cilantro and the mellow sweetness of garlic. Rick Bayless, the country's leading progenitor of real Mexican cooking, writes the six salsa recipes with such detail and personality that even beginning cooks will turn out masterful creations.

The uniqueness of this book, though, is in the way these six salsas are used. Here they give their pizzazz to chile-glazed roast chicken, grilled pork tenderloin and seared sea scallops with jalapeño cream. Familiar Mexican favorites have always used salsas for vitality, and many are here, from tangy guacamole to tortilla soup and grilled chicken tacos. In Salsas That Cook, the magic of Mexico transcends all borders.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 11, 1998

About the author

Rick Bayless has written six cookbooks, including Mexican Everyday and Fiesta at Rick's. His product line of prepared foods is sold coast to coast. With his wife Deann he owns and operates Chicago’s casual Frontera Grill, named “Outstanding Restaurant” by the James Beard Foundation, and the four-star fine-dining Topolobampo. XOCO, a Leed-certified quick-serve restaurant, opened in 2009. He is the host of the public television series Mexico—One Plate at a Time.

Reviews

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The salsas that make up the beginning of the book are all fabulous. Very flavorful and not too fussy to make. If possible, would lose one-half star for the dishes made from the salsas. Though I really like spicy food, I found many of them too spicy to enjoy. What works as a dip for tortilla chips gets to be too much when you are making an enchillada lasagna.

[Clifford · Rating 5 out of 5]

The salsa recipes were the best part of this book. The author includes what he says are 6 classic salsas. The goal it that once you are comfortable with these, you can then use them to make the other recipes in the book that use those salsas. I have only used it to make the salsas but they are amazing.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Using cooked salsas as a sauce replacement for European cuisine, dump that boring bechamal!

You will find the salsa recipes in his Authentic Mexican 20th Anniversary Ed: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico as well.

The only caveat I have on the recipes is that Bayless is a midwesterner and loves his salt, he uses 2-4 times as much salt as compared to others.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daunting, but delicious.
Ricky B makes a book in which you have to make two recipes(!) for any dish. First, make the salsa, then see all the different dishes in which the salsa would be a good ingredient.
So far, I've just made the salsas, canned them, and eaten them with chips. They're really good; they never last more than a day or two. Some day I'll have the patience to move to round two.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good little book with several salsa recipes and ways to use them--I have tried the Tangy Green Guacamole (one of my favorites) and the Roasted Tomatillo Salsa with Serranos, Roasted Onions and Cilantro, as well as the Mac 'n Cheese with Salsa and great Tortilla Soup and all were excellent.

[Wendy Crittenden · Rating 5 out of 5]

his recipes are always a delight.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mitch likes this cookbook. There is a yummy pork and white bean recipe his sister introduced us to.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, a classic.

[Rooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

So excited to try these.