Familia 125 foolproof Mexican recipes to feed your people

Television food personality Valladolid (Mexican Made Easy, 2011) revels in cooking for and with family members. Here, she shares some 10 dozen of her most beloved offerings to entertain other families as well. Favorites shine in all their glory: chilaquiles, tamales, tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, and more. QR codes in some recipes further detail standard processes, such as roasting chiles. While most recipes are accessible to cooks with basic kitchen skills and limited equipment, Valladolid ventures into some more complex classics, such as chiles in nogada, which she simplifies by eschewing deep-frying the peppers and fashioning the rich sauce with raw cashews instead of walnuts. For an innovative take on classic French gratin dauphinoise, Valladolid perfumes the potato slices with rosemary and spices the cream filling with jalapeño and plenty of melty Monterey jack cheese. Current sensation Sichuan chili crisp earns a Mexican version. Luckily, fresh and dried chiles that are the heart of Mexican cooking are more consistently available in supermarkets and online. Photos pop from the page, thanks to the food itself and the vibrantly decorated Mexican ceramic serving dishes.

Emmy-nominated celebrity chef Valladolid (Fiestas) brings 125 foolproof recipes to the table in her latest cookbook, full of dishes developed for her online cooking classes. With delectable photography by Isabella Martinez Funcke, this volume will have readers heading to the kitchen. Valladolid's love of teaching shines through, and she encourages readers to celebrate their roots as she shares her own Mexican heritage, offering recipes that would have been too complicated and not "mainstream" enough for her former Food Network show, Mexican Made Easy. In a nod to the modern chef, the book incorporates flavorful shortcuts for traditional Mexican dishes. Valladolid also brings environmental consciousness to her recipes with suggestions for using organic produce and awareness of how seafood is raised; there are also vegan and vegetarian recipes. For those who might get bogged down in the grocery aisle, some recipes include brand recommendations. The cookbook closes with seasonal and special-occasion menu suggestions. VERDICT A delicious title for libraries looking to add to their collection of Mexican cookbooks.--Sarah Sieg