By now I admit I am dying for warmer weather, this snow has got to go! I have been wearing summer shoes around the house, swapping white wine for my brown liquor and other things just to make me believe the sun is actually out. So to get me further in the mood, I picked up a copy of Cantina: Recipes from a Mexican Kitchen by Paul Wilson. I admittedly don’t know a whole lot about Mexican cooking. Well, maybe a bit more than average, but still in the dark about a lot of the flavor combinations that make excellent Mexican cusine. I wasn’t sure where to start, but I definitely wanted stay away from anything that looked to cheesy and atypical. So I found this cook book by Paul Wilson and honestly, it looked a bit fun and summery. It also had an endorsement sticker from Anthony Bourdain, so I knew I was in good company. It doesn’t disappoint, I will say its a bit laborsome but worth it in the end. There are a few quick meals but for the most part each recipe will take some time, a few days in some cases. I like to call them my weekend recipes. These are the recipes that I make when we have people over for the weekends or I’ll do the prep on Sunday and get to reap the benefits all week long. Like I said, totally worth it.

One such recipe was for the “Black & Blue Corn Tortilla Soup with Bacon & Pumpkin” Which I made over two days but WOW the depth of flavor was amazing. This is not your plain black bean soup, it has so many flavor levels it will knock your socks off. The base is black bean soup with bacon and then there is this wonderful combination of butternut squash (pumpkin) with jalapeños and oregano and then bits of the smoked ham hocks and a velvety goat’s crema to top it all off. Ridiculous!

This cook book has a great selection of cocktail and beer recipes along with street food and comfort foods, but all held to such a higher level. You know we don’t go for the “Quick and Easy” here, because sometimes it’s worth it to do it right instead. This book is it, and I can’t wait for you all to try it out.

Let us know what you cook up!