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Encarnacion's Kitchen: Mexican Recipes from Nineteenth-Century California By Victor Valle, Dan Strehl

Though this bible of 19th-century California cuisine is now more than a century old, a new and seamless translation by Strehl (The Spanish Cook) proves that common sense culinary advice is timeless. Pinedo's introduction to her recipes offers guidance on selecting produce and cuts of meat that stands the test of time, including this gem: "Foods are much more appetizing and healthy when they are cooked in a clean and tidy manner. Many lives have been sacrificed because of a lack of cleanliness in bronze, copper, and ceramic pots." Many of the recipes themselves-which are organized traditionally, beginning with soups and ending with desserts-also stand up to today's picky tastebuds. Good examples of century-straddling delights include Pinedo's recipes for whitefish stuffed with hazelnuts and almonds and for Relleno Para Ganso, or stuffing for goose, which, like many of the recipes, shies away from specific quantities ("Finely chop some cooked mushrooms...add a good piece of butter, with some lemon juice"). Touted as traditional "Californio food" (cuisine prepared by Spanish-speaking California immigrants and residents), these recipes may be a little too exotic for the contemporary health-conscious palate: Menudo a la Espanola (Spanish-style tripe) and Morcilla Negra a la Espanola (Spanish-style black blood sausage) are two such examples. Still, the book, with its Bunuelos, o Suspiros de Monjas (Puffy Fritters, or Nuns' Sighs), serves as a window on another time, as a cultural document as much as a culinary one. And the simplicity with which these dishes can be recreated more than makes up for a deep-fried dependence on lard. Victor Valle (Recipe of Memory) provides an enlightening introductory essay that briefly chronicles the life and times of the remarkable woman who shaped present day Cal-Mex cookery.

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