When I was in culinary school a friend of mine gave me a copy of Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen for Christmas. Since then I haven't looked back. Rick Bayless is the sole authority on Hispanic cooking in my life. We have all read celebrity chef cookbook introductions that say :"my only secret is the freshest possible ingredients blah blah blah..... with Rick Bayless it is very easy to see his commitment to the best product available. You can feel the love, so to speak. It almost floats from the pages of his new book, Mexico : One plate at a time. The book is well written with great photographs and line drawings. It covers a broad range of topics ranging from snacks to drinks and desserts.

The book is really fun to read. It was published as the companion book to the television cooking series by the same name. I think it far surpasses Charlie Trotter's similar effort that was published in 1999. This book is a definite must read for anyone who likes Mexican food. It has a beginning introduction and a ending Q&A section for each recipe chapter that is helpful and interesting to read. I am fortunate enough to live in the city where Rick Bayless's restaurants are located so I have been able to sample his food there and at home out of his cookbooks. I know his recipes work and I strongly suggest this book. My guess is that it will probably be a award winner this year. Remember, you read that here first!!!