The Salsa Guidebook

Book Description

As Tito Puente's pianist, Sonny Bravo, said, "This will be the salsa 'bible' for years to come." A complete method book on how all the various styles of Afro-Cuban music are played, plus sample charts showing what each instrument is responsible for, a complete history of the music, numerous classic photos, 50 pages just on piano montunos, and much more. Endorsed by Carlos Santana, among others.

Customer Reviews:

Great for learning salsa piano.......2007-01-19

My son is the pianist and he thought it was very helpful and thorough.

Comprehensive and well written.......2005-03-15

For students of Latin rhythms, this book is essential. It has a good historical perspective and develops the concepts from the history in a clear methodical fashion. The examples of each instrument's parts in various rhythmic styles are perfect and it is an essential reference for anyone who wants to understand the rich culture of Latin music.

The information given is so accurate and vivid........1999-08-04

This book is for anyone who is hungry to aquire the knowledge and history of the rhythms from Cuba and how these rhythms came from Africa to the caribbean. The format is very easy to follow, the information given is great and very accurate, the people that knows some of the great salsa performers will appreciate the wealth of pictures printed on the book, like Israel Cachao, Luis Quintana "Changuito", Juan Formell, Tito puente, Isaac Oviedo, etc. The discography list is a must for anyone who wants to learn about salsa and rhythms alike. The musical examples, like the montunos on the piano are a must to learn. Excellent book! Rebeca Mauleon is an excellent musicologist.

Paul Kirk's Championship Barbecue Sauces: 175 Make-Your-Own Sauces, Marinades, Dry Rubs, Wet Rubs, Mops, and Salsas

Average customer rating:

Bad recipes
5star BBQ Book!
Excelent Discussion of flavor Contruction
Learn from a master
Excellent and indispensable!

Paul Kirk's Championship Barbecue Sauces: 175 Make-Your-Own Sauces, Marinades, Dry Rubs, Wet Rubs, Mops, and Salsas
Paul Kirk
Manufacturer: Harvard Common Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Sauces, Salsa & Garnishes | Cooking by Ingredient | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

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Barbecuing & Grilling | Outdoor Cooking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 155832125X

Amazon.com

Paul Kirk has been participating in barbecue competitions for 15 years. He has been named World Barbecue Champion seven times. If you are really serious about barbecuing, Paul Kirk's Championship Barbecue Sauces will help you learn about slow-cooking meat over smoke and teach what you need to know to start approaching barbecuing like a pro. Along with teaching about all the ingredients useful in making rubs, marinades, sauces, and salsas to accompany barbecued meat, Kirk's approach gives a sense of what barbecue competitions are all about. (One of Kirk's goals for this book is to help those who are interested join in and compete.) Recipes are bold and bursting with flavor.

Book Description

The author offers up 175 recipes that impart bold zesty flavor to every cut of meat!

Customer Reviews:

Bad recipes.......2007-07-05

I know Paul Kirk won alot of competitions but for the most part I think these recipes are horrible.

5star BBQ Book!.......2007-06-08

This is probably the best bbq book I have ever bought. It covers making a sauce, marinate and mop in a simple and easy way to understand!

Excelent Discussion of flavor Contruction.......2006-11-30

This book is focused on helping you make the most out of what Paul knows. It talks about the barbeque flavor profile and gives the basic construction. Then it takes you through making your own rubs, sauces, etc. As a cook that loves to experiment, I totally dig this book! I can experiment until I'm blue in the face. I've used several of his base flavors and created my own rubs and mops with amazing results. If you are just looking for recipes you'll only use about half of this book. If you like to experiment, you'll never put it down!

Learn from a master.......2004-07-20

You can buy lots of books on how to cook barbeque, but very few from accomplished masters such as Paul Kirk. Only two things surpass his ego in this book: His willingness to share some great recipes and insights, and his recipes themselves.

Pretty much every sauce, marinade, and relish I tried from this book turned out great. It's no surprise to me that Paul Kirk is so accomplished with several bold and unique recipes. Don't miss the orange-chile marinade, which he used to win a barbeque contest in Ireland.

I should mention that the book has a strong Kansas City-style slant to the barbeque, although Paul Kirk does make an effort to include different regional styles.

In addition to the recipes, Kirk provides "Master Classes" on barbeque sauces, rubs, and marinades. I took this opportunity to develop my special secret rub with secret spices reflecting my partly Greek heritage. Following Kirk's "Master Class" on rubs, I concocted a rub that I hoped would create gold in my Weber kettle. Have I developed a killer rub to take the barbeque contest circuit by storm? Well, probably not, but it was fun giving it a whirl, and if I say so myself, the results were pretty good.

But if you ask me, most of the fun of barbequing is coming up with secret recipes, and putting your own stamp on things, and Paul Kirk has got me going.

Excellent and indispensable!.......2004-05-22

This great little book covers every aspect of preparation for barbeque. If you think barbeque is nothing more than tossing a few burgers on the grill, this book will open up for you a myriad of possibilities. Even experienced cooks can find plenty of good suggestions from which they can develop their own rubs, sauces & mops. I have the most fun putting together my own recipes based on his suggestions. If you aren't interested in devoting that much energy to perfecting your slow-cooking, stick with the recipes, which display an impressive variety. It doesn't hurt that this book is extremely affordable. I cannot recommend it enough.

Average customer rating:

bilingual poetry
Spice For All
Just as it is named, Cool....
TEACHERS
Andres

Cool Salsa
Lori Carlson
Manufacturer: Fawcett
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 044970436X
Release Date: 1995-04-01

Book Description

"Poetry with a distinct flavor: a skillfully mixed appetizer."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred)
Here are the sights, sounds, and smells of Latino culture in America in thirty-six vibrant, moving, angry, beautiful and varied voices, including Alicia Gaspar de Alba, Ana Castillo, Sandra Cisneros, Luis J. Rodríguez, Gary Soto, and Martín Espada.
Presented in both English and Spanish, each poem helps us to discover the stories behind the mangoes and memories, prejudice and fear, love and life--how it was and is to grow up Hispanic in America....
"The subtle but singing lyrics frequently have a colloquial tone that will speak to many young readers."
--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred)
"Excellent enrichment...Whether discussing the immigrant's frustration at not being able to speak English...the familiar adolescent desire to belong, or celebrating the simple joys of life, these fine poems are incisive and photographic in their depiction of a moment."
--School Library Journal (starred)

Customer Reviews:

bilingual poetry.......2006-07-09

I love this little book of Spanish and English poems that so well captures the experience of growing up bilingual and / or as an immigrant in the United States. Although that is not my personal experience, I have been an ESL teacher for 25 years, and Spanish is my second language. I have watched many students from a wide variety of first languages and cultures go through experiences similar to those expressed in the poetry. I think this inexpensive book is a great addition to the study of poetry in ESL, bilingual, or literature classes, and can inspire bilingual / bicultural students to express their own feelings and experiences in poetry.

Spice For All.......2001-07-31

If you like mild, medium, or hot there is something for anyone in Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing up Latino in the United States, and just like nachos, there is a whole lot for everyone. This book is a compilation of first, second, and third-generation Latino writers, and it includes a diversity of writing styles and themes. The combination of the poems captures the essences of Latin rhythms and ways of life in America. Students of all races will relate to different aspects of this book, and two examples of poems that all students should be able to identify with are "Translating Grandfather's House" and "The Aquatic Show." "Translating Grandfather's House" depicts in a semi-sarcastic tone a very common situation. A teacher is looking at a student's sketch, and she tells him that it looks like a house from a Zorro movie instead of a picture of a real house. However, the student says he is drawing the house that his mother was born in and she was born in Mexico. On the finished picture of a Spanish style house in an elaborate natural wild grass setting of his grandfather's town, he titles the picture "GRANDFATHER'S HOUSE." The teacher realizes her error, gives the picture an "A+," and then displays the picture on the "green" blackboard. The teacher-student miscommunication battle is timeless, and the irony or confusion over why green chalkboards are called "blackboards" is classic as well. The "Aquatic Show" is a very charming and funny poem. A kid is talking about singing and sort of dancing in the shower. He explains how much he enjoys this activity. Also, he assumes that the bathroom fixtures, which are his audience, really enjoy it too. He mentions songs from different Latin countries, which is a nice form of cultural exposure for non-Latin Americans. In addition to the poetry, this book has an excellent glossary and an interesting "Biographical Notes" section that gives a brief synopsis of accomplishments for each poet.

Furthermore, the "Editor's Note," provides an outstanding description of what the reader should expect from this book, and it gives a great rationale for the writing of this book. The purpose of this book is to inspire the desire in others to learn other languages. Finally, the introduction, written by Oscar Hijuelos, presents a heartfelt, compelling, and poignant picture of what it was like to live in America over 40 years ago as a Latin American. It relays the trials of a life when people were "Hearing one language on the streets, another at home, and a third at school..."(p.xxi), and one where there were no books or attitudes of sympathy for anyone dealing with this issue.

Just as it is named, Cool...........2001-07-03

....

This book is really what it says it is, COOL SALSA...it goes in hot yet cooling to the senses, then slides warmly all the way down to the last page! This book in awesome for anyone who is interested in just reading something that isn't Americanized. These poems are true and real, great for children and Adults.

Some of the greatest Latin Amertican writers are featured in this book like Sandra Cisneros, Oscar Hijuelos, Ana Castillo, etc. There are many books that I think about and this one is at the TOP of my list for children and adults to read, if you like poetry.

TEACHERS.......2001-04-19

Great for offering multicultural poetry to students. Poems are mature and interesting and written in both Spanish and English.

Andres.......2001-01-04

Cool Salsa Edited by Lori M. Carlson is a book that brings Latino culture in America to life. The majority of the poems are both in English and Spanish. However, 5 of the poems are written in English and Spanish both. It is very interesting to see how words in Spanish translate to English and also English to Spanish.

The most interesting part about the book is looking at the way the Spanish translates to English. Most of the Spanish lines endings are; -a, -ar, -o,, and -os. In one of the poems the majority of the Spanish words end with -er or -ar but translate to words such as jump, run, and shine in English. Also the rhythm is hard to maintain when the translation of the poems occur. Basically poems turn to stories and stories to poems.

"Good Hot Dogs" is a story about how two Latino children go and eat a hot dog every day after school. When the go it is very exciting. It is a cheap way to gather and not wreak havoc. The Latino Culture is not significantly different from American Culture.

"Dia de los Muertos" is one of the poems in a language that I like to call Spanglish. This poem discusses the difference between our fear of death and the Latin embrace. The day of the dead is a holiday and is explained in this poem.

The most confusing of all the poems is "An Unexpected Conversation". It talks about the relaxing time. A mother and daughter are sitting in the garden. A quote is made to the father and I can not figure out what it means.

"Race' Politics" by Luis Rodriguez is a poem that shows the hard ships of Latino American's in our country. It is a story of two brothers who decided to cross the tracks to get the "good food". The two Mexicans were only six and nine when beat up by five American teenagers. This is one of the few poems that shows strong suffering and hardship.

"Nothing but Drums" discusses different items that can be used as drums. This poem starts out with a description of conga drums and ends with "oars dropping...into-the-water" drums. Through this poem a person can understand that sometimes when the correct item is not available others can be substituted. And example would be a bucket for a drum.

"Solidarity" is the happiest of all the poems. After every line there is an exclamation mark. The people being spoken to are animals, water, and a diamond. The diamond is told to shine just like diamonds do.

Some of the authors include Oscar Hijuelos, Ana Castillo, Sandra Cisneros, and Gary Soto. Oscar Hijuelos is the 1st Hispanic Author to win a pulitzer prize for fiction. Ana Castillo and Sandra Cisneros are noted for being "modern american poets". Gary Soto has won many awards and his name can be recognized by most as an author. All 4 were born in the 1950's.

Oscar Hijuelos' award winning novel "The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love" is about the time of Cuban influence on America. Ana Castillo and Sandra Cisneros are noted for publishing Latin poetry. Gary Soto writes about th lif and the struggles that people go through.

All in all I enjoyed Cool Salsa a lot. The poetry contains such descriptions that make it easy to mentally visualize the scenes. The Latino culture can find good in all. A person can not help but feel these poems.

Average customer rating:

Wasn't what I was hoping for...

A great find

Worth a Try

Good Stuff

MIxing up salsa

The Great Salsa Book
Mark Miller
Manufacturer: TEN SPEED PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

The Great Chile Book

Salsa Lovers Cook Book: More Than 180 Sensational Salsa Recipes for Appetizers, Salads, Main Dishes and Desserts

The Best 50 Salsas (Best 50)

Tamales 101: A Beginner's Guide to Making Traditional Tamales

The Chile Pepper Encyclopedia: Everything You'll Ever Need To Know About Hot Peppers, With More Than 100 Recipes

ASIN: 0898155177

Book Description

This sparkling full-color cookbook features 100 widely varied recipes - tomato and tomatillo, chile, tropical, fruit, corn, bean, garden, ocean, exotic, and nut, seed, and herb. Includes hints on handling volatile peppers, suggested accompaniments, and, of course, a heat scale.

Customer Reviews:

Wasn't what I was hoping for..........2007-09-05

I was looking for a book that would show some really good red salsa recipes. This one has I think 2 total. The rest are not what I would call 'salsa'. But maybe that's because I'm just a hick from Missouri. If you call just about anything mixed up in a bowl 'salsa' then you might like this book, personally I didn't think it was worth the shipping cost.

A great find.......2006-10-01

If you like homemade salsa, this book may be just what you're looking for. THE GREAT SALSA BOOK by Mark Miller is all about salsa. The book includes over one hundred pages of salsa recipes. Everything from tomato salsas to chile salsas to tropical mango salsa and other fruit salsas is coverd. Corn and bean salsas, nut, seed and herb salsas, and plenty of other salsas are covered too. Miller includes color photos of all his prepared dishes as well, making this is truly a great salsa book.

Worth a Try.......2005-08-14

I have only tried 3-4 recipes to date, as I wait for my pepper crop to come in. Each recipe so far was very good, particularly the avacadoe and serrano pepper dip. I will be tweaking to my own taste, but this is a great headstart.

Good Stuff.......2005-07-28

I bought this book as a gift and they love it. It has lots of fruit, veg, and smoked salsas. They use it a lot.

MIxing up salsa.......2004-07-05

Salsa anyone? THE GREAT SALSA BOOK by Mark Miller is all about salsa. If he wanted to be cute, he could have titled his book, "Everything you wanted to know..." and not have been far off the mark. Miller's book includes over one hundred pages of salsa recipes: Tomato and Tomatillo salsas; Chile salsas; Topical salsas (Tropical mango salsa and Mango mash); Fruit salsas (Apple Pasado Salsa, Moroccan Date Salsaa0; Corn and Bean salsas; Nut, seed and herb salsas; and plenty of other exotic salsas. So you see, salsa isn't just that stuff you get at the Taco bar.

Book Description

en years after the publication of the acclaimed Cool Salsa, editor Lori Marie Carlson has brought together a stunning variety of Latino poets for a long-awaited follow-up. Established and familiar names are joined by many new young voices, and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Oscar Hijuelos has written the Introduction. The poets collected here illuminate the difficulty of straddling cultures, languages, and identities. They celebrate food, family, love, and triumph. In English, Spanish, and poetic jumbles of both, they tell us who they are, where they are, and what their hopes are for the future.

Customer Reviews:

STRAIGHT TO THE HEART.......2006-07-17

There are dozens of poignant poems, each written in Spanish and English. I used these in my writing program, and even with parents on back to school night. Parents and 7th grade Latino students responded and the activity spawned a deeply thoughtful dialogue. Highly recommended.

Great book!.......2005-10-14

As a latina born and raised in Mexico with a gringo father and now in the U.S. I found many of the poems to be an accurate reflection of being bicultural and the many directions it pulls you in.

I found the book (along with discussion questions and activities for classroom use) at: http://www.colorincolorado.org/inclass/books_month_oct05.php

Get Saucy: Make Dinner a New Way Every Day with Simple Sauces, Marinades, Glazes, Dressings, Pestos, Pasta Sauces, Salsas, and More

Average customer rating:

Great book
A home cook's go-to book
Highly Recommened Time-Saver!
very thorough collection, inviting and approachable
Extremely broad collection of recipes. Weak writing.

Get Saucy: Make Dinner a New Way Every Day with Simple Sauces, Marinades, Glazes, Dressings, Pestos, Pasta Sauces, Salsas, and More
Grace Parisi
Manufacturer: Harvard Common Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Sauces, Salsa & Garnishes | Cooking by Ingredient | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

General | Quick & Easy | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

Product Features:

Get Saucy by Grace Parisi
HARVARD COMMON PRESS

ASIN: 155832237X

Product Description

Get Saucy is bursting with 500 simple and flavorful sauce recipes to help you inject variety into dinner every night of the week. If you can your own fresh fruits and vegetables, you'll now have even more sumptuous ways to use them. This comprehensive and contemporary collection covers them all, from Alfredo to zabaglione, from Asian dipping sauces to Southwestern salsas. What's more, these sauces are a healthful yet convenient alternative to preservative-and sodium-laden commercial sauces and dressings.

Customer Reviews:

Great book.......2007-05-13

the book covers every kind of sauce you could imagine, so it's a great reference as well as a "recipe" book. I love to make my own sauces to that I can control the additives, and this book takes the guesswork out of figuring out quantity as well as quality.

A home cook's go-to book.......2006-06-22

Quite frankly, having no more than 30-45 min. after work to fix dinner for a family everyday, I will invariably go for the dish with the least amount of work. As such, roasting, quick sauteeing, grilling, etc. are what meats, poulty and seafood are subjected to nightly in my kitchen.

Having "Get Saucy" is of tremendous help to me. I'm able to vary and improve the tastes of our everyday fare. I'm not making the same spaghetti sauces or the same gravies week in and week out. I've made about a dozen sauces, pestos, marinades, etc. from this book and each one has been simply delicious. I will usually prepare the sauce the night before, stick it in the fridge and warm it up or incorporate it with what's cooking for dinner next day.

As to whether the sauces in this book are authentic or not hardly concerns me. If it's quick to prepare, reasonable in cost, tasty and complementary to the main dishes and sides I cook, then it's a keeper for me.

Highly Recommened Time-Saver!.......2006-01-22

This gem threw itself at me in my local cooking store and I have been very happily "saucing!" Sure, there are many wonderful books on sauces already, some very sophisticated and some not. This book is a mix of both worlds. It is like someone has gone through all my cookbooks (and there are many...) and pulled out most of the sauces, from classic to fusion. It is well organized, directions are clear, ingredients are easily obtained (and if you are a card-carrying foodie like me, you already have almost ALL the ingredients already...) and it has a great pairing section for easy, no-brainer combinations of sauces for salads, pork, fish, beef, desserts, etc. This book helps spiff up whatever you are serving from salad to dessert.

My very first experience with the book successfully hooked me. Having scored a counter-top, electric roaster for Christmas, I have been experimenting with the cooker to see what it can and cannot do by using larger roasts, chickens, etc. Granted my 16 year-old is 6'1" and eats eight meals a day, but left-overs are not his cup of tea. After you slice off lovely large pieces of a six-pound pork roast for Sunday dinner, what the heck do you do with the rest to make it interesting and different and creative without a degree from the CIA? Grab this book: Sunday, I roasted the six-pound roast and served it with the "Creamy Sherry Vinegar Pan Sauce"; Monday, I cubed some of the meat and served it over rice with the "Sweet-And-Sour Stir-Fry Sauce", pineapple and some green peppers; Wednesday, the rest of the roast got shredded and mixed with "Smoky Texas-Style BBQ Sauce" and was served with coleslaw on hamburger rolls to my son and two of his friends. The plates were clean.

Now, THAT's economical, and fun! Three meals for the cost of one pork roast (on special, by the way) all very different and very tasty. This is not gourmet cooking, I know, I know...but at 5:30 pm on a week-night when my creative juices are well, not as "juicy" as I'd like, this is just fine by me.

My only complaint was that my book is a paperback. But Amazon has again saved the day: Just ordered the hardcover for myself and my daughter will get this one.

very thorough collection, inviting and approachable.......2005-06-08

I've been a subscriber to Food and Wine magazine for years and have really come
to depend on Parisi's recipes. So when I read about her book Get Saucy
recently, I was very excited for its release.
I found the collection of recipes to be thorough and the recipes themselves
concise and totally approachable. I've nearly made my way through the pesto
chapter and particularly loved the Wild Mushroom and Herb pesto, Scallion
Macadamia Nut pesto, Green Chile Scallion pesto and Romesco. The fact that
these are not included in the pasta sauce chapter was initially a little odd,
but upon closer reading, the reason becomes clear. Pestos have multiple uses
that most of us wouldn't ordinarily think of. To put that to the test, I tried
the Green Chile pesto worked into meatballs and inside quesadillas and it was
super!My only quibble is that I wanted more than the recipe made. Next time
I'll double it.
I also liked how the author begins a chapter with a standard type of recipe and
then makes numerous variations. If my pantry lacked a certain ingredient, I
always felt like there was something else I could make or find some
approximation since she offers lots of alternatives to harder to find
ingredients.
Based on my level of cooking, I'm sort of glad Parisi didn't include the dozens
of classic French sauces she could have. Though interesting historically, I'd
never make most of them anyway. She makes a good point that the ones she did
include probably have the most universal appeal or at least are the most
indicative of the technique.
I quite enjoy reading the informative, quirky and anecdotal headnotes. They
make good reading and spark my interest. One issue I have with the organization
of the book however, is that the side bars, recipes contained in boxes and
other tips aren't included in the index. You have to read through a chapter to
find that information. It would be helpful to have those recipes at least
included in the index. I tried the Stir-Fried Beef with Scallions and Mushroom,
a recipe that shows you how to use a stir-fry sauce and it was delicious. There
is a page at the back that lists all those recipes, but it should be easier to
find them. The index otherwise is so overwhelmingly complete. The Sauce Index
by Suggested Use breaks down the food groups and pairs food with them.
Brilliant.
It seems fitting (though maybe a bit contrived) to end the book with dessert
sauces. But I'm never too full at the end of a meal to have something sweet and
I guess the same could be said of reading and using this book.

Extremely broad collection of recipes. Weak writing........2005-05-28

`Get Saucy' by food writer Grace Parisi is based on a really terrific idea and it has a great value as a multiplier of diversity in familiar dishes with relatively little effort spent learning new recipes. The biggest problem with the book is that this general subject of sauces has already been addressed by James Peterson's classic, award winning book `Sauces' which was so good and so popular, it warranted a second edition, something very uncommon in the world of cookbooks.

Ms. Parisi's book would not suffer much in comparison with Peterson's work if Parisi had not gone too far in simplifying great classic recipes, possibly in the interests of making recipes easier for the amateur cook. But then, this means that you think you are getting a pedigreed dog when you are actually getting a half-breed. The best example I found of this is in the comparison of Parisi and Peterson's recipes for `beurre blanc', French for `white butter', a relatively simple, extremely useful sauce of butter flavored with shallots, wine, and vinegar. The great value of this sauce is that it is a relatively crude emulsion similar to a vinaigrette which can be whipped back into shape easily instead of going through a lot of high maintenance procedures to bring back mayonnaise or hollandaise. It is most notable in being the darling of `nouvelle cuisine' because it was much lighter than bechamel or veloute. I say all this to emphasize that cutting corners in the presentation of this sauce is a more serious shortcoming of this book than one may think.

One can argue that while Peterson's book was written for professional cooks and Parisi's book has been written `for the rest of us', I will only recommend Parisi to those who simply want a quick and easy reference book for lots of common sauces which appear day in and day out in magazines, newspaper columns, and TV cooking shows. Having all these recipes in a single place with the added value of lots of cross references telling us what sauces are good for what dishes and ingredients. If you are a foodie or simply a serious amateur cook of any stripe, get James Peterson's book instead of this one.

For example, Peterson spends four pages discussing `beurre blanc' versus Parisi's half page column. Where Parisi gives an abbreviated (incomplete) recipe, Peterson, after giving us the historical perspective on the sauce, gives the full recipe in six steps (versus three in Parisi) and detailed instructions on how to store leftover sauce, including tips on how leftovers can be used in future hollandaise or béarnaise sauces. In the twice as long procedure for preparing the sauce, Peterson adds tips on what to look for to prevent bad things from happening, adds the butter over high heat rather than low for quicker incorporation, and adds checkpoints to taste the sauce for any needed adjustments. The most important step that Parisi leaves out entirely is the suggestion to strain the sauce before using. I have used `buerre blanc' both strained and unstrained and I am certain the strained version is superior, especially when entertaining. The bits of shallot remind one far too much of a vinaigrette and add little to the taste. Parisi would have done well to add this step as an option.

Now such differences in a single recipe may seem a bit trivial for lowering the rating of a 440-page book that has genuine value and lots of high-powered blurbs on the back cover from Jacques Pepin and Bobby Flay. But I find minor annoying things on every other page. For example, I think the organization of chapters is poorly done. Why have a chapter for pasta sauces when you have separate chapters on tomato sauces and pestos?

Other annoyances are based simply on the lack of skill used in the writing. In one sidebar on how to fix a broken hollandaise, I found two or three redundant expressions within two sentences. In another recipe, I was puzzled when the instructions had me putting butter in a microwave safe dish, with no instruction to put the dish in a microwave.

I also found other recipes that are not as good as ones available in standard texts. Ms. Parisi's recipe for Puttanesca sauce takes 17 minutes of cooking time while what is essentially the same ingredients are cooked up within 10 minutes in the `Cooks illustrated' version in their `Italian Classics' book. Aside from being outrageously flavorful, Puttanesca's main claim to fame is the speed with which it can be made. So, Ms. Parisi certainly does not have `the best recipe'.

In the long run, I think Ms. Parisi did an excellent job of collecting an amazingly comprehensive selection of sauce recipes that perform exactly the function she intends. That is, it multiplies the amateur cook's ability to vary dishes far beyond what can be offered by just another book of recipes. My only reservation is that the amateur needs to apply just a little critical judgment in applying sauces to dishes, and Ms. Parisi does provide the material with which to make good choices. I suspect Ms. Parisi and especially her copy editors may have been just a bit less careful than they should have in checking out English usage and recipe pedigrees. The very best thing this book could have included would have been a reference to each and every recipe to books that give more information and alternatives to Parisi's material.

I will still recommend this book to people who just want a fast reference to sauces, dressings, stocks, and salsas. But, I would recommend Peterson's `Sauces' to the serious amateur.

Let's Dance: Learn to Swing, Foxtrot, Rumba, Tango, Line Dance, Lambada, Cha-Cha, Waltz, Two-Step, Jitterbug and Salsa With Style, Elegance and Ease

Average customer rating:

BEAUTIFUL BOO K - ALMOST USELESS INFORMATION
good complement for beginning international dancers
Can't learn how to dance from this book.
Good overview of ballroom dance
Disapointed

Let's Dance: Learn to Swing, Foxtrot, Rumba, Tango, Line Dance, Lambada, Cha-Cha, Waltz, Two-Step, Jitterbug and Salsa With Style, Elegance and Ease
Paul Bottomer
Manufacturer: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1579120466

Book Description

Step-by-step lessons from the basics of the Foxtrot to the nuances of the Argentine Tango are presented in detailed description and over 1300 informative full-color photographs, illustrations and diagrams. Beginners and advanced dancers alike will find the lessons easy, fun and a novel way to spend time with new partners, add spice to mature relationships or find a new dance mate.

This book covers an immense selection of styles for every kind of music from the Electric Slide, the Hustle and the Chicken Walk to the Viennese Waltz, the Slow Foxtrot and the Modern Tango. Specific dance moves like Spot Turns, Hip Twists and Feather Steps will make any couple an instant sensation on the dance floor.

Full of footprint diagrams, style tips, music suggestions and hints on getting started, this big book has everything that you need to explore the exhilarating world of ballroom and club dancing.

Customer Reviews:

BEAUTIFUL BOO K - ALMOST USELESS INFORMATION.......2002-06-25

BEWARE: This book describes the International Style of ballroom dance. NOT the American style. Perhaps 10% of American dance students are learning International.

EXAMPLE: THE WALTZ

American Waltz:
The basic figure is a square in which the man starts by stepping forward with the left foot and the dancers return to the starting position in 6 beats, making a square.

International Waltz:
The basic figure is a zig-zag. The man starts with the RIGHT foot and the dancers travel around the dance floor in a zig-zag pattern.

It would be great if Paul Bottomer would write a similar beautiful book for American ballroom dancers.

Dave Palmer

good complement for beginning international dancers.......2001-11-08

Many of the dances taught in this book are international style. If you plan to dance in the USA, you should know that social dancing is mainly American style for beginners.

The book is richly illustrated with photos. However, the angle of the photos changes randomly. So if you see a dance couple facing different directions in consecutive photos, maybe they have turned, or maybe the photographer moved. You have to read the accompanying text to tell.

I think this book is a good complement for beginning to advance-beginnning international dancers. You cannot completely rely on the book to learn techniques because while it does touches on them somewhat, it mostly concentrates on dance patterns. It will give you a rough idea of what a particular step looks like and give you the name of the step. If you have learned the step before, this would serve as a good review.

Can't learn how to dance from this book........2001-09-13

It's a good reference book if you know how to dance. If you're a beginner and try to learn from this book, you're in deep trouble. Unless you can translate "move you left foot to left, reflex your right knee, shift your weight on to the left on beat 3" description into movement right away, you'll go through one basic movement in hours. If you want to improve your dance skill, it may be helpful. Since I'm a total beginner, I can't say that for sure.

Good overview of ballroom dance.......2000-08-13

This book outlines most of the ballroom dances from a pictorial point of view with the assistance of footstep illustrations. Its virtue is it is pretty comprehensive, with most of the ballroom dances discussed. Even some dances considered a little risque, such as the lambada, are discussed in the book. No doubt that professional instructors will find areas of disagreement in the advice and the patterns developed, but no book can cover all the idiosyncrasies of styling that exist in ballroom classes. A good book to have when learning ballroom, and the price is very reasonable.

Disapointed.......2000-05-06

Disappointed

It looked like a very easy reading book, and it turned out to be a very confusing bunch of steps and pictures. And by the way, I have asked my swing instructor about the steps and he had found some mistakes.

Average customer rating:

Excellent latin piano playing

Great Resource

Salsa & Afro Cuban Montunos for Piano (Book&CD)
Carlos Campos
Manufacturer: A.D.G. Productions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Plastic Comb
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ASIN: 1882146549

Book Description

Salsa And Afro Cuban Montunos For Piano is an extremely informative 100 page book containing over 400 musical examples showing you how to play in these aforementioned Latin styles. Mr. Campos who teaches a course in Latin piano styles at the Berklee School Of Music originates from Lima Peru and has studied Latin music for over 20 years. This book contains great study material for learning the various techniques and rhythms used in playing Latin piano styles. It can be used as a source to practice reading syncopated rhythms. A CD of Latin percussion rhythm tracks to play along with accompanies the book.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent latin piano playing.......2007-05-12

I am a full time musician. I am currently studying the materal in this book..Right on the money for learning how to play this style !

Great Resource.......2006-08-14

As a professional musician seeking to broaden the scope of what I play this book was just the ticket. Very sensibly laid out, easy to follow and some great Montunos to get you underway. A practical useable book and great with the CD to play along with.

The City of Musical Memory: Salsa, Record Grooves and Popular Culture in Cali, Colombia (Music/Culture)

Average customer rating:

The City of Musical Memory: Salsa, Record Grooves and Popular Culture in Cali, Colombia (Music/Culture)
Lise A. Waxer
Manufacturer: Wesleyan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0819564427

Book Description

Salsa is a popular dance music developed by Puerto Ricans in New York City during the 1960s and 70s, based on Afro-Cuban forms. By the 1980s, the Colombian metropolis of Cali emerged on the global stage as an important center for salsa consumption and performance. Despite their geographic distance from the Caribbean and from Hispanic Caribbean migrants in New York City, Caleños (people from Cali) claim unity with Cubans, Puerto Ricans and New York Latinos by virtue of their having adopted salsa as their own. The City of Musical Memory explores this local adoption of salsa and its Afro-Caribbean antecedents in relation to national and regional musical styles, shedding light on salsa's spread to other Latin American cities. Cali's case disputes the prevalent academic notion that live music is more "real" or "authentic" than its recorded versions, since in this city salsa recordings were until recently much more important than musicians themselves, and continued to be influential in the live scene. This book makes valuable contributions to ongoing discussions about the place of technology in music culture and the complex negotiations of local and transnational cultural identities.

Salsas That Cook : Using Classic Salsas To Enliven Our Favorite Dishes

Average customer rating:

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

Herbs, Spices & Condiments | Cooking by Ingredient | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

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Mexican | Regional & International | 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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