Mamacita: Recipes Celebrating Life as a Mexican Immigrant in America

Born in central Mexico, Andrea Pons came to the US with her family as a child. The original version of this book was self-published in an effort to pay her family's legal fees after decades of struggling with US immigration laws.

Pons's recipes are drawn from her family, many from women like her mother, who, as she says "has yet to use a measuring spoon. Instead she is guided by the palms of her hand, knowing by heart how much to add." 

While some books by recent immigrants or their children tell the story of cultural melding, Pons is more interested in preserving the traditions she knew from childhood. Her headnotes often pay tribute to the cooks from whom she learned.

There are some special occasion dishes, but most recipes are for weekend family cooking or a casual dinner with a few friends over enjoying sobremesas, the extended time spent around the dinner table over dessert and coffee. A simple salad of sliced zucchini with vinegar and cotija cheese; a mildly spicy fish soup redolent of parsley and cilantro; chicken breasts with lime, garlic and onion; melon with white wine and ginger.

Enchanting and appealing.

Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.