Cooking the borderlands : spice and smoke between Mexico and the States / Claudette Zepeda ; photographs by David Alverado.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A culinary journey along the Mexican American border, telling the story of its intertwined cultures and communities with more than 100 vibrant, flavor-packed recipes from Top Chef star, Iron Chef Mexico finalist, and Tijuana-San Diego border kid Claudette Zepeda.

The Mexican American border has been an inflamed political focal point within the US; at the same time, Mexican food has long been the most popular "ethnic" cuisine in America. A child of the border herself, Claudette Zepeda grew up in both California and Mexico and sees the border as a vibrant, vital, and unique cultural and culinary place. A gifted storyteller and chef, Claudette's recipes and ruminations humanize border culture through 100 accessible and beloved dishes such as-

. Coahuila's Esquites (Street Corn)
. Las Calandrias Caballitos (Chicken Sopes)
. Arroz Poblano (Poblano Pepper Creamy Rice)
. Camarones al Ajillo (Baja Style Garlic Shrimp)
. Capirotada (Bread Pudding)

This is a story of a personal and culinary identity that formed betwixt two cultures, told through recipes, anecdotes, and an irreverent sense of humor. Borderlands details the Mexican dishes Claudette grew up eating and loves, their American counterparts, and how the fluidity and flexibility between the two nations shows us a way of being in the world. With her sophisticated, first-hand perspective of the Mexican American border, immigration, and the feet-in-many-worlds attitude of Border Kid culture, Claudette shines a human light on the imaginary line stretching from California through Texas and shows how vital this place is in American culture.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

In her first cookbook, Zepeda, an award-winning celebrity chef, culinary anthropologist, and entrepreneur, combines storytelling with 100 delicious and accessible recipes. She approached this work from her experience growing up in both San Diego and Tijuana, Baja California. The introduction focuses on her family's history and recipes, including the Zepeda family's birria and Tía Lore's pozole. One section covers dishes found everywhere in Mexico, while regional sections cover California's border, Sonora, Chihuahua, and the three states in the northeast of Mexico that border Texas: Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. Zepeda shares information on each region's Indigenous peoples, immigrant communities, and history. Recipes include a variety of foods and drinks, including agua fresca, salsas, churros, tamales, chile colorado, tesgüino (fermented corn beer), menudo norteño, and cured nopal and wild purslane salad. The book has a cohesive Southwest-inspired color palette: rose, green, brown, and yellow. Vibrant photos depict delicious food, fun moments, and regional snapshots. VERDICT Zepeda's cookbook brings the culture and cuisine of the Mexico-United States border to readers' kitchens. A must for every collection.--Nicole Gaudier Alemañy

Publishers Weekly Review

"The borderlands between have always been home to beautiful tales of migration, immigration, resilient and often misunderstood people, and of course a shared love of food," writes San Diego chef Zepeda in this gorgeous debut recipe collection that doubles as a valuable work of culinary anthropology. She kicks things off on a personal note, with a brief history of her immigrant family; an opening chapter on the staple recipes that are "found on our table every day, sometimes all at once," including corn and flour tortillas and nine types of salsa; and a second chapter of meals sourced from the women who raised her. Among these dishes are chicken sopes ("little masa cakes") from her aunt's Guadalajara restaurant and her grandmother's chicken tostadas. Subsequent sections zoom out, with recipes organized by place of origin. The Mexicali fare of California's borderlands is predictably seafood heavy but offers some surprises including historic Chinese influence and Caesar salad, which was invented in Tijuana's Hotel Caesars. Sonoran food favors intense spice, char, and smoke, while dishes from Chihuahua reflect a "story of adaptation," bridging Indigenous and Spanish influence. A final chapter, on Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas, offers Tex-Mex classics and a fascinating history of nachos. Desserts and drinks are scattered throughout. Zepeda's chatty tone makes her a charming storyteller, and vibrant photos accompanying the recipes appeal. This impresses. (June)

Booklist Review

Add yet another U.S. chef-author to the Mexican cuisine expertise of Rick Bayless and Diana Kennedy (among others). From a family that freely hopscotched between San Diego and Tijuana, Zepeda zeroes in on those Mexican states that border the U.S. These nearly 100 recipes are not necessarily geared to novices. There' s an insistence on made from scratch--tortillas, sopas, churros--using equipment like the molcajete (mortar and pestle). To her credit, long narratives enhance both the recipes and the home cook's understanding. For example, Chinese immigrants have influenced Mexican cuisine ever since 1882, when they were "banned" from the U.S. and migrated down south. The book's four chapters center on the borderlands--Tijuana, Ensenada, Mexicali, and Calexico--as well as on Sonora, Chihuahua (the largest state), Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tama Uilipas. Each chapter features regional standards like Caesar salad and margaritas as well as salt and pepper-style chicken wings, mesquite chocolate teacakes, sweet pineapple empanadas, and peanut praline bars. Zepeda proves that the phrase "melting pot," once only attributed to the U.S., also belongs to Mexico.