Trace Elements of Random Tea Parties (Live Girls)

Average customer rating:

Non-Random Talent Shines

Yummy

A Magical Coming of Age Story

Far Too Cute

Trace Elements of Random Tea Parties (Live Girls)
Felicia Luna Lemus
Manufacturer: Seal Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Lesbian | Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Gay & Lesbian | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 158005126X

Book Description

"Buckle up, doll," urges the narrator of Trace Elements, "I promise I'll try not to tangle your quinceañera dress." So begins the adventure of Leticia Marisol Estrella Torez, who moves north to Los Angeles in an attempt to break from her past: from starched dresses and sleek, tight braids; from Nana, the traditional grandmother who raised her; and also from the seductive Weeping Woman—the siren of Mexican folklore said to fly through the skies at night to steal troublesome children and who embodies, in many ways, Leti's first love. As Leti immerses herself in the post-queer hipster scene in Los Angeles, navigating the twisting road of her own shifting gender and falling deep into "papaya lush blush" love, she rediscovers the strength and meaning of la familia. A striking debut novel in the tradition of Michelle Tea and Sarah Schulman, Trace Elements spins a crazy and beautiful narrative that turns tradition on its head while laying flowers at its feet.

Customer Reviews:

Non-Random Talent Shines.......2004-06-21

With her debut novel, Felicia Luna Lemus treats us with a story filled with corazon and a deceptively easy style. Her protagonist, Leticia Marisol Estrella Torrez, is a young Angeleno who struggles to blend her lesbian life with that of her traditional Mexican-American family. Funny, soulful and heartbreaking, this is a fine novel that establishes that the personal is often political. I hope this is the beginning of a long writing career for Felicia Luna Lemus.

Yummy.......2004-05-27

Rarely do I take the time to right a review for books. Most follow the same hum drum scenerios. Though this one follows the ole "grrl finds grrl" bases, the voice of the author was quirky, colorful and left me praying I didn't get to the end of the book any time soon. I'll be scanning bookstore shelves for up and coming titles from this wonderful author. Bravo Ms Lemus!

A Magical Coming of Age Story.......2003-11-12

This is a story of a Mexican-American young woman leaving her grandmother's traditional ways and becoming her own person. Even though the specifics of this novel include "coming out," and coming to terms with "dyke identity," this novel's protagonist more importantly works toward learning to be comfortable with her cultural history.

The language is fluid, changing to suit the story, from lush, descriptive and tender to snappy and tough. It was a real page-turner. I can hardly wait for her next novel!

Far Too Cute.......2003-11-04

One of the biggest mistakes made by gay authors and gay film makers is that they assume that by virtue of having gay/lesbian protagonists that their stories will somehow automatically become interesting, but alas a book containing finger down throat sentiments in the straight world will have the same messy effect on us gay folks as well.
The characters are over the top cute, and dull to boot. Hanging out with these people and listening to the dull details of their thrift store chic would be the last way I'd want to spend a Sunday. Despite the supposedly risque lesbiana, the book reaks of an irritating girly girl cutesyness that I thought only existed in front of 7th grade bathroom mirrors.
Even worse, Lemus still has to put in stereotypical homophobic villians. An evil skinhead apartment manager? The woman in the cake shop who won't put two girls on a cake? Yeah right.
Nana, who has potential is barely in the book, and then her rantings sound like a poor imitation of the cutesy ethnica of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Nice try, but the humor falls flat.
And as for "K" we can see it coming a few pages after they've met. I had high hopes for this book, but K and Leticia are no Hopey and Maggie.

Average customer rating:

TRACE ELEMENTS OF RANDOM TEA PARTIES
FELICIA LUNA LEMUS
Manufacturer: FARRAR, STRAUS AND GIROUX, NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SIC9X0

Book Description

La estudiosa profesora Marilena se encuentra abrumada por el instinto maternal que la lleva a una odisea espiritual mientras que le oculta a su esposo este deseo. Marilena conoce a una espiritualista que le promete lograr el deseo de su corazón, cumpliendo su destino que un día se cruzará dramáticamente con el de Carpatia. La eterna batalla entre el bien y el mal baja de los cielos a la tierra mientras que Lucifer y sus lacayos conspiran. El nacimiento del Anticristo...

Marilena Carpathia has only one dream: to be a mother. So when a mysterious clairvoyant promises the fulfillment of this dream, Marilena does not hesitate. Through genetic engineering and the power of the prince of darkness himself, Marilena is about to become a chosen vessel, one who will unknowingly give birth to the greatest evil the world has ever known. Halfway around the world, God's plans are subtly being carried out too. Young Ray Steele is determined to avoid one day taking over the family business. Instead, Ray sets his heart on becoming a pilot. Soon Carpathia's and Steele's lives will intersect, and good and evil will clash in an explosion that will shake the world. The eternal battle for souls has come to Earth. The world hurtles through the countdown to the Rapture.

Customer Reviews:

Me encanta esta serie!.......2005-11-08

Me encanto leer la serie de Dejados Atras, y cuando terminaron con la serie queria mas. Ahora hay mas con este libro. No puse parar de leer este libro que habla sobre la madre del anticristo y el nacimiento de Nicolas. Tambien habla de la crianza del piloto. Un narrativo facinante!

Average customer rating:

Excellent read!

Definitely Frankowski's best; I hope he writes more

Most original adventure in years

A character it is scary to identify with

High-jinx and shenanigans ahead

Kren of the Mitchegai (The Boy and His Tank)
Leo Frankowski , and Dave Grossman
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Adventure | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Space Opera | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Frankowski, Leo | ( F ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 141650902X

Book Description

First, the involuntary colonists of New Kashubia rescued their planet from crushing debt by becoming virtual-reality mercenaries, then they successfully revolted against the oppressive government of Earth, but now they are menaced by the Mitchegai, a species whose biology has made them inherently evil. The carnivorous adults lay and abandon vast numbers of eggs, some of which grow into vegetarian juveniles, which are the adults' only food supply. Their culture has no family life, they eat only meat, have nothing like sex., and their main pleasures are gambling, art, and killing each other. They are an ancient civilization, millions of years old, with thousands of densely populated star systems in their realm. Lacking an immune system, they must completely sterilize any planet before they colonize it. The region of the galaxy they occupy is rapidly expanding . . . and Human Space is their next frontier!

Customer Reviews:

Excellent read!.......2005-02-09

This book is one of the best I have ever read of its kind. If you like the Heinlein style of sci-fi, this is a must - truly an homage to his works, and a fascinating story in its own right. I wish he would write the sequel soon!

Definitely Frankowski's best; I hope he writes more.......2004-06-22

Frankowski's New Kashubia series has been a lot of fun since the first book, but this latest work, which focuses more on the upcoming villain than on the hero-to-date, is by far the best in the series, and is in my opinion the author's best work so far.

The Mitchegai are truly nasty, sadistic critters on the scale of Moorcock's Melnibonéans, though in a definite sci-fi world rather than the fantasy land of the Elric saga. They torture and eat their own offspring alive, among other things, and Kren is no exception. Nonetheless, I really found myself rooting for Kren to succeed, and actually liked his character in many ways more than I like the human main character.

This book tells the story of Kren in parallel with the story of the humans' preparations for his invasion. The human side of the equation is a bit too reminiscent of a future Conrad Stargard, but the Mitchegai story is really original, and a real winner.

The story ends just before the big battle is about to commence. It reminds me a lot of Ringo's "Gust Front" in that (and other) ways; spending lots of time developing the villain, ending just before the action heats up, etc. I think this is a far better book, though.

According to Frankowski's web site, his publisher thinks this book should be the last in the series, which would be a terrible pity. Perhaps if the hardcover sales go well enough, they'll reconsider.

Most original adventure in years.......2004-06-18

This is REAL science fiction. No ghosts, goblins, witches or goddesses. Mr. Frankowski has come up with a totally original, absolutely believable, fascinating alien race and a great monster. The Kren side of the book reads so fast that just you can't put it down.

Warning: While it stands alone very well, it IS a prequel and you will spend restless nights waiting for the rest of the story. This is the probably best thing that this author has ever written.

A character it is scary to identify with.......2004-03-04

Leo Frankowski's latest edition of the "A Boy and His Tank" series let's us see the enemy that destroyed humanity. Kren is a reptillian Duke, who has been granted rights to conquer a world populated by humanity. The story covers the preparation of the protagonist Mikolai and the history of Duke Kren. A very enjoyable read.

High-jinx and shenanigans ahead.......2004-03-01

Leo Frankowski (and Dave Grossman) have done it again in the newest of the New Kashubia series which started with A Boy and His Tank then The War with Earth, very good books I might add, and now finally covers a war with some other species than humans. Namely the Mitchegai a very well done, nasty, villain species who due to their biology are seen as evil- they practice faginism (infanticide cannibal style)! However, the reason I knocked this wonderful book from 5 to 4 stars is because, and this is a bit of a spoiler, the whole book is basically a hook or rather a extended introduction to the next book, It even ends with TO BE CONTINUED!!!! But for fans of the New Kashubia series such as my self it is a invaluable must buy and I recommend this book along with the rest of the New Kashubia series to anyone who injoys good Science-Fiction.

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A Polish writing, and I am an Polish American citizen...
When you live in hell WAR is paradise!
Plot Had Potential, But Frankowski Doesn't Make It Work
Light and human military SF
A Boy and His Tank

A Boy And His Tank
Leo Frankowski
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0671578502

Amazon.com

Leo Frankowski, author of the popular Conrad Stargard series, postulates a future in which the former Yugoslavia is still torn by civil war between Serbs and Croats. But now they've taken their endless conflict to space, and wars between minority factions are fought by starving workers symbiotically bonded with Mark XIX Main Battle Tanks. These sentient tanks provide for all their human pilots' needs (and we do mean all their needs).

Our hero, Mickolai Derdowski, is a Polish Kashubian who chooses to be inducted into the Croat branch of the army and bonded with a sexy female tank in lieu of being reduced to his organic components and used as fertilizer in the hydroponic vats. The real forces behind the war are the Tokyo Mining and Manufacturing Company, which makes money off the hapless Kashubians unfortunate enough to have colonized a brutal, barren metallic hunk of a planet, and the Wealthy Nations Group, which squeezes water from turnips all over the galaxy.

Like most military SF, the lighthearted Boy and His Tank is full of guns, girls, and galactic adventure, and Frankowski throws in a surprise ending that will make you either laugh or cry. --Adam Fisher

Customer Reviews:

A Polish writing, and I am an Polish American citizen..........2004-01-03

A KASZUBIAN with Polish ancestry - parents - Ellis Island at a tender age in the very early 1900's; I am the youngest of 10 siblings, 5 girls/5 boys, expanded to continuing generations. I spent two spectacular weeks in Poland, including Warsaw and Cracow hosted by Poland friends met in Manhattan NYC - my first trip 1999 and the first sibling to do so. I am drawn to anything written by those who care enough about Poland and its heritage(s), struggles no matter the classification of media.

Frankowski's books got my attention due to the Kashubian & Poland connection. I read the author's sci-fi series but allow only two stars for the author's vivid imagination; his Polish name even though I am not sure of his ancestry and where his heart lies... and less stars due to the negatives for his presentation of the story(ies) with obvious outlandish chauvinism (resolved bachelor or not), his blatant and insulting unsuitable comedy of the Polish people, and his spite, bigotry, prejudice and discrimination throughout the whole series of his sci-fi pundits... his books do not "Stand Tall" in the science fiction category of reads. Readers look more for James Luceno; Kevin Anderson; Kathy Tyers; Vonda McIntyre; Matthew Woodring Stover; Kathryn Rusch, and so many more who deserve readers attention.

To readers interested in Poland's history - novels, etc. I strongly refer you to fiction and non-fiction translated classics by authors including Henry Sienkiewicz (classic "Quo Vadis"), plus his trilogy including "With Fire and Sword", trilogy made into theater movies in recent years, and don't miss Sienkiewicz's other novels; Nobel winner writer/poet Czeslaw Milosz (whom I had the humbling experience and honor to personally meet in Manhattan); author W.S. Kuniczak ("The Thousand Hour Day"); Norman Davies' "God's Playground - A History of Poland Volume I and II"; "The Way of My Cross" by Father Jerzy Popieluszko, the Polish priest who was brutally murdered for participation in the 1990's revolution led by Lech Walesa, and the shipyard workers; and I cannot fail to mention Nobel Laureate - Poetess Wislawa Szymborska. And don't stop there... and I cannot forget Massachusetts USA author - Polish Suzanne Strempek Shea and her novels such as "Lily of the Valley", and her own biography of her fight with cancer... there are many Polish authors and writings of people to admire for courage and talents, including patriots Kosciuszko (Foundation in Manhattan NYC), and Casimir Pulaski; classic composer Chopin; intellectualist Copernicus; and histories of the Jagellonian influences, with further reference to Poland's nobility.

The aforesaid are deeper in intellectual content vs. the sci-fi of Leo Frankowski. Outstanding are writers who call attention to beautiful country of Poland, its heartwarming people, rich culture, history and amazing architecture, but especially the strength through so many centuries of living through conquering factions. Frankowski is not one those writers; again, his imagination is lively but his "honor" to the people of Poland is more than ill.

When you live in hell WAR is paradise!.......2003-01-14

The planet of New Kashubia is a ball of heavy metals in orbit about a pulsar that bakes the planet's surface with deadly radiation. The people are the poorest in the universe, having to import carbon, oxygen and even dirt. They live in tunnels drilled into the layer of gold because it is the LEAST dangerous metal to their health, giving birth is a crime and they go around naked because they can't afford clothes. You would think being inserted into a smart tank that will feed you, take care of you and allow you to do almost anything you want in virtual reality would be a good thing when compared to being sent to the hydroponic vats.
And it was a good thing...till you and your tank had to face REAL combat.

Plot Had Potential, But Frankowski Doesn't Make It Work.......2002-11-27

This is the first book I have read from Leo Frankowski. The only reason I came across it is that due to some genealogical research I recently found out I am 25% Kashubian and so have become somewhat obsessed with finding anything pertaining to that particular region/ethnic group. My opinion of the book is if you are a high school male interested in military sci-fi, and can fantasize about making love to a tank (literally), you probably think it's great.

The part that bothered me the most is that the book's core plot actually had some potential, but was very poorly written. It should have taken place in an entirely different setting. Mr. Frankowski thinks it is important to perpetuate racial stereotypes and conflicts, even hundreds of years into the future. In fact, the whole book is based on the Wealthy Nations Group giving each minority its own planet. Well, after all those people are given their own planet, who the heck is left in the Wealthy Nations Group?? He never does explain. The Japanese, who are one of the wealthiest nations in the world is not part of the group, although they apparently live on Earth. The American Blacks are given a planet by the name of Soul City (puh-lease Mr. Frankowski, this is pitiful!), but he never explains what happens to the African Blacks, or any of the Hispanic or Native Indian cultures. However, we do know that the Chinese, Kashubians, Croats, and Serbs are all given their own planets.

But then the rules get even more confusing. He states that even if a person is one-sixteenth Kashubian that they have to go to New Kashubia, which results in both blacks and Chinese ending up on New Kashubia because someone in their background is Kashubian. So, why could they not go to the Black or Chinese planet?? They apparently have a higher percentage of those ethnic groups in their background. And if you are required to move with only one-sixteenth of a minority bloodline in you, well, as I said before, very few people would be left on Earth.

This is definitely a male fantasy book. The only thing I found to fantasize about, as a female, was the picture of Mickolai on the cover. If all male Kashubians looked that way, I'd speed up my planned trip to Kaszuby. Heck, I'd even spend the time to learn the Kashubian dialect! But, alas, the picture is probably only indicative of how Kashubians look in Frankowski's Dream World.

Light and human military SF.......2002-06-25

New Kashubia is a planet of almost pure wealth. When its star went nova, the lighter elements were blown away leaving a complete planet of molten metal--which then cooled in neat layers. New Kashubia is a miner's delight, an industrialist's best dream, and the worst possible nightmare for any colonists unlucky enough to be sent there. With no oxygen, no hydrogen, no organic chemicals, essentially nothing to support life, the Kashubian population is condemned to slowly starve--while living in their gold-lined caves. When they discover that the industrialists left a vast array of military equipment, the Kashubians see a ray of hope--they can become mercenaries, exchanging their equipment and soldiers for the organics they require. Of course, without enough volunteers, it is tempting to resort to stripping the prisons--hence tank operator Mickolai.

The warring clans of the former Yugoslavia form ideal targets for mercenaries. The Kashubians sell their services to all sides and prepare for a friendly time with plenty of shooting and no casualties. Unfortunately for their plans, the Serbians discover that the divisions they paid for are severely undermanned and take over the largely automated tanks themselves. As a result, the hoped-for cake walk turns into real battle.

Author Leo Frankowski follows the tradition of Robert Heinlein more than that of David Drake with a personal adventure and coming of age story--yet he certainly doesn't neglect the battles. Frankowski's descriptions of the future tanks is a reasonable extrapolation from modern trends, which makes his story more compelling and interesting.

I did think that Mickolai's relationship with Kasia went a little too easily and the romantic conflict between the tank, the boy, and the girl could have been more fully developed, but this is a small quibble. A BOY AND HIS TANK is fun light reading.

A Boy and His Tank.......2002-04-19

Best book in my collection I just hope there will be a sequel coming out soon. the ending leaves you wonting more and then you find out that your not going to get it. Can't ask for a better cover.

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BOY AND HIS TANK
LEO FRANKOWSKI
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PFYGQY

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A Boy and His Tank Prepak
Leo Frankowski
Manufacturer: Baen Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

High Tech | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

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Salsas that Cook

Wow!

More salsa recipes please

An important essay on salsas. Very useful for entertaining

Kitchen That Cooks

Salsas That Cook : Using Classic Salsas To Enliven Our Favorite Dishes
Rick Bayless
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0684856948

Amazon.com

There's a lot more going on with salsa than its traditional role as a dip or dunk for corn chips. Rick Bayless, author of the bestselling Mexican Kitchen, is on a mission to prove to home cooks everywhere that this spicy sauce adds oomph to pasta, zest to meats, passion to potatoes, and invigoration to vegetables. Bayless takes six salsas (which can be made in the comfort of your own home or bought via mail order) and then uses them in more than 50 recipes, including a fiery tequila chaser! His Layered Tortilla Lasagna with Greens and Cheese captures a piece of both Italy and Mexico for one tasty little number. Chipolte-Cascabel Salsa is the key ingredient, which is combined with tortillas, three cheeses, heavy cream, corn, spinach, and mushrooms. Following the simple step-by-step instructions, you can concoct this as a main course for 8 or as appetizers for 16 in less than an hour. Even salad benefits from a brush with salsa. Particularly captivating is Bayless's Poblano Roasted Vegetable Salad with Peppery Watercress. Here a colorful combination of beets, fennel, watercress, potatoes, salted farmer cheese, and the Roasted Poblano Tomato salsa make for a wild and wonderful salad. Even desserts put in an appearance, although they are salsa-free!

Full-color photographs and many innovative ideas for spicing up mealtimes make Salsas That Cook a flavorsome addition to the home kitchen. --Naomi Gesinger

Book Description

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 DIFFERENT CHILE.

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 flavor: 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.

Customer Reviews:

Salsas that Cook.......2007-01-11

this was listed as "good" used product. It came almost overnite and was in superb condition

Wow!.......2006-02-23

Valuable, useful, and interesting information for us chile-heads. I couldn't put the book down, and my family members were fascinated, too.

More salsa recipes please.......2005-12-07

I am a fan of Bayless earlier cookbooks and I love his TV show, but I was a little disappointed with this book. I bought it hoping to learn some new salsa recipes, but the book is more about dishes that are made with the 4 or so salsas that he teaches us at the beginning. Authentic Mexican is a much better book.

An important essay on salsas. Very useful for entertaining.......2005-06-26

`Salsas that Cook' by renowned Chicagoan and Mexican cuisine expert, Rick Bayless is not your mama's ordinary salsa cookbook. If that is all you want, go to Mark Miller's very good `The Great Salsa Book' in the noisome Ten Speed Press tall and skinny format. Bayless' book is much more than that, and, in a sense, much less.

Bayless' agenda is very much like Ming Tsai's programme in Tsai's book, `Simply Ming' in that Bayless gives us recipes for six (6) classic Mexican salsas and then shows us how to use each of these salsas as an ingredient in several other classic Mexican dishes. While Tsai's objective was to simplify cooking by making it modular by doing intermediate preparations in advance. Each intermediate can then be used in several different dishes. While Bayless' technique is very similar, his object is rather to make authentic Mexican dishes more accessible to the average American cook.

Since this book was published in 1998, I suspect many of the Mexican ingredients Bayless says may be difficult to find have become much more common throughout the United States. In these brief seven years, I have seen a great growth of Latin American ingredients in even the most provincial of supermarkets. And, Bayless himself has contributed to this change with his own line of salsas under the `Frontera' trademark. In fact, this book may in some small way be considered a promotion for that product line, except that the book is so good in its own right that this does not concern me. Bayless, in a very gentlemanly voice, says his brand of salsas may serve in these recipes, but encourages us all to make them ourselves.

The recipes in this book are presented with a very novel and genuinely useful feature in that the quantities of ingredients are given for three different amounts of final product. I simply have never seen this outside professional baking recipes. At the very least, this is a useful feature when you just want to try out a recipe and may wish to make no more than a cup or two. If it pleases your palate, you can make the eight-cup amount for your next party.

A second major `surprise' is that none of these recipes follow the familiar chunky `pico de gallo' style. This is the first of three salsa archetypes Bayless identifies. The second is the vinegary, hot, and spicy cousin to our Louisiana hot sauces. The third is based on cooked tomatoes and tomatillos and fresh or dried chiles. All six recipes in this book belong to the third class, which Bayless considers the most versatile and is based on the widest range of flavors.

Bayless also gives some thumbnail advice on preserving and canning the salsas, but I suggest you get some expert advice on the subject before plopping this goodness into your hardware store Ball jars. Even the `Good Eats' episode on preserving and canning is scary enough about bacterial diseases to make you want to be especially careful. I would be especially careful as Bayless specifically states that he uses less than the usual amount of vinegar, which makes the recipes a bit less bug resistant. While Bayless speaks often of the now famous molcajeta, the heavy mortar of Mexican cooking, he is quite happy to see you use a blender or food processor to make these recipes.

The six salsa recipes are:

Roasted Jalapeno-Tomato Salsa with Fresh Cilantro used in seven recipes.
Roasted Poblano-Tomato Salsa with Fresh Thyme used in six recipes.
Roasted Tomatillo Salsa with serranos, roasted onions and cilantro used in eight recipes.
Mellow Red Chile Salsa with sweet garlic and roasted tomatoes used in ten recipes.
Roasty Red Guajillo Salsa with tangy tomatillos and sweet garlic used in six recipes.
Chipotle-Cascabel Salsa with roasted tomatoes and tomatillos used in nine recipes.

Each recipe is enhanced with alternatives for the main chile ingredients (although I suggest you be very careful in subbing an habanero for any other chile species.) In addition to the three different columns of ingredient amounts, the procedures for all these recipes are fairly long as Bayless writes them, as his descriptions are very detailed with lots of little hints for scraping down, spreading out, and checking the taste. Even so, the procedures are pretty long even without Bayless' frequent hints. One thing I do notice is that I am certain it is Bayless who is writing these recipes, as I recognize his `chunky', slightly ungrammatical use of adjectives and adverbs I have seen in his other books.

The forty-six `used in' recipes cover Starters; Soups, Salads and Side Dishes; Egg, Vegetable and Tortilla Main Courses; and Poultry, Meat and Fish Main Courses. I certainly can't judge how authentic these recipes are, as Bayless himself is, hands down, the best expert we have for what is authentic and what is not. I also believe that if you follow Senor Bayless' instructions closely, you will be happy with the results, assuming you don't have the anti-cilantro gene or an aversion to mild to high levels of capsicum.

Almost as if there is a cookbook writer's union regulation that every cookbook must have dessert recipes; Bayless includes four desserts and two drink recipes in the last chapter. This is not quite as gratuitous as it may seem, as the recipes are specifically oriented and sized for entertaining a crowd large enough to fill your house. This fits the central point of the book that includes both small and large numbers of servings.

When I opened this book, I had the suspicion that it may have been extracted from one of Mr. Bayless' other books, but I was wrong. It does compliment his `Mexico One Plate at a Time' book in that salsas play only a very small part of that book.

This may be Bayless' most useful volume. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys cooking. Only warning is that if you want easy recipes, see Miller's book cited above.

Kitchen That Cooks.......2005-06-23

I haven't had any problems with the binding of my copy, it sits open flat and often on my cookbook stand as I make the recipes as directed and use the many varieties for those recipes that Rick includes. I understand that this book will see recipes repeated in later books, but I believe that it stands very well on it's own with Rick's other titles. I've used it at least as often as the others and many times in combination with later recipes. It's an excellent foundation book for many salsa- based creations.

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