I love this book. Used it so much it has fallen apart:

Mexican Everyday, by Rick Bayless with Deann Groen Bayless. (W.W. Norton & Company)

My favorite is Diana Kennedy's "The Art of Mexican Cooking". The new edition is supposedly better illustrated than my old edition. And her "The Essential Cuisines of Mexico".

After that:

Rick Bayliss' "Authentic Mexican"
Diane Soliz-Martese' "Mexican Cooking Made Easy"
Evie Righter's "The Best of Mexico" (really illustrated)
Jane Milton's "Mexican Cooking: The Authentic Taste Of Mexico"

Joe

Did Diana Kennedy used to have a cooking show? I remember a woman who did authentic Mexican cooking on tv - I only caught her show 2-3 times, but I remember being impressed and wanting to see if she had any cookbooks, but of course I told myself I'd remember her name and didn't write it down and, as always, I can't remember her name!! You'd think I'd learn by now to write things down!!

Lisa

Diana Kennedy's "The Cuisines of Mexico" has been my most important source. It covers the basics, such as making tortillas. Her instructions are meticulous and she strives for authenticity. She learned Mexican cooking through extensive study and research while living in Mexico for several years, much as Julia Child did with French cooking.

I also have Kennedy's "Mexican Regional Cooking". There is little, if any, duplication of recipes. "Mexican Regional Cooking" is like a supplement to the more fundamental "The Cuisines of Mexico". Both are good, but get "Cuisines" first. The two books mentioned by Joe sound similar to "The Cuisines of Mexico" and probably are equivalent. I haven't seen them.

I also have one of Rick Bayless' books. Don't remember which one. I don't use it much. He's good, but deviates from the traditional a little IMO.

Jim

I have more Mexican cookbooks than any other kind, and by far my favorite is México the Beautiful Cookbook. It's beautifully illustrated, the recipes are authentic, and I use it the most of the ones I have. My next favorite is Fonda San Miguel: Thirty Years Of Food And Art, put out by the restaurant, Fonda San Miguel in Austin, which is probably my favorite Mexican restaurant, and this includes restaurants in Mexico. This book is also beautifully illustrated and includes pictures of art as well as of the food. Both books are good for covering the major regions of Mexico, especially the central parts plus the Yucatan. I also have The Esssential Cuisines of Mexico by Diana Kennedy, which someone gave to me. It has no photos at all, and the recipes can be tiresome at times, but useful from a historical perspective. She always describes the longest and most labor-intensive method of making a recipe, and so I don't bother with most of them, since many of them take two days to make. If you have servants to do your work for you, then this would be a good book for them to use, but not for the home cook who doesn't have hours and hours to make a single dish. I find this book useful as a reference and for comparing other recipes to, but not as a cookbook.

I don't especially like Rick Bayless - he puts too many of his own twists into recipes that are not to my taste. He's also rather annoying to watch on TV and a bit too whiny for me.

I have three or four books that are in Spanish, and they mostly have quick and easy recipes, but no pictures, and you said you liked picture books. My first two recommendations would be best for combining great recipes with great photos.

Lars

Here is a link that might be useful: México, the Beautiful Cookbook

I'd vote for any Diana Kennedy cookbook. I took one of her cooking classes in San Francisco a few years back, she is inspiring (and very funny).

Wow! Thank you all so much for educating me:) I'll keep a list in my wallet and see what I can find at the second hand book store first.
Lars, I have a few of the big books, Italy, Mediterranean, Greece, Asia and love them all. The pictures are great aren't they? I'd forgotten about looking for the Mexico one.
Thank you again...GW buddies come thru again :)

It's important to recognize the different types of so called "Mexican" cooking. Much of what is considered Mexican, and enjoyed as such in this country, is really Tex-Mex, California Mexican, Chicago Mexican or some other variant. All of these are valid cuisines even though they are not classical Mexican cuisine.

Mexican cooking is one of the great cuisines of the world, along with Chinese and French (a "refinement" of Italian in my opinion). By its nature, classic Mexican cooking is laborious. Typically, each component is cooked or processed two or three times in different ways before the dish is done. The result is elegant. This is the style of cooking describes by Dianna Kennedy in her books. Many of these dishes are rarely offered in restaurants except in short cut preparations.

I advocate Kennedy's books as the best guide to classical Mexican cuisine. They may or may not match your concepts and preferences. There is no doubt that they will give you a solid foundation for all types of Mexican cooking though.

Incidentally, "The Cuisines of Mexico" is illustrated with color photos and line drawings. Not extensively, but sufficiently.

Jim

I have the Mexico: the Border Cuisine Beautiful Cookbook - it is fantastic, thoroughly covering Mexican and Texican cuisine with the usual gorgeous full-page color photos. Lorijean sent it to me in a swap.

I have been enjoying Fonda San Miguel (I believe it has a forward by D Kennedy). Very pretty book too.

Julie's comment caused me to click on the link Lars provided. Indeed, Fonda San Miguel and its cookbook are attractive and interesting. If I ever get back to Austin, I'm heading for Fonda San Miguel.

Jim

Julie's comment caused me to click on the link Lars provided. Indeed, Fonda San Miguel and its cookbook are attractive and interesting. If I ever get back to Austin, I'm heading for Fonda San Miguel.

Jim

For a more detailed discussion of Mexican cookbooks, visit Mouthfuls Food Forum, which has a separate forum for Mexico and Latin America. There are quite a few Mexican posters there who post in English. I linked to page 16 of the discussion (since it is near the end), but you might want to go back to the beginning of the discussion, which started in 2005!

Lars