Patricia Quintana is a remarkable woman: chef, restauranteur, author, and advocate for the cuisines of Mexico. This work, Mexico’s Feasts of Life, was published in 1989. It still shines as an emblem of Patricia’s expertise and love for every detail of a dish.
She is a fourth generation Mexican foodie from Mexico’s culinary soul: Oaxaca. She still has the notebook her great grandmother compiled as a bride in Oaxaca. In that notebook, the ingredients and preparation steps were recorded in exacting detail. All the colors, textures, flavors and smells of the street markets filled those pages. And those words, and all the other sensations, have flowed into Patricia.
If you went to Paris, you might sample a sauce and you’d appreciate that the sauce was made the utmost precision to achieve its unique flavor. Visit Patricia’s restaurant in Mexico City, sample a salsa or a mole, and you will eat a dish prepared with equal precision. The Mexican classics have all the stature and structure of their cousins in France or Italy.
Patricia has been the leader in gaining, for Mexican cuisine, the respect and understanding it deserves.
Mexican food culture includes, like ours, special festive days where cooks strive for new heights and diners happily ascend the new flavor experiences. In Feasts of Life, Patricia takes us on a journey for six particular festive days and the dishes that celebrate them. Oh, one of those holidays is called Breakfast. Happily, in Mexican culture the start of everyday is a celebration. You will surely be happy if you sample any of these dishes.
Here are the feasts and some of the special dishes to enjoy on each one.
The Christening Feasts mark the beginning of life. The journey begins with sweetness and spice:
Pineapple and Coconut Tamales
Chicken with Almond Mole
Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Onion, Corn and Zucchini and Topped with Poblano Cream Sauce
Christmas in Mexico often focuses, as does ours, on turkey. Yes, turkey, a bird enjoyed far more there than here. And, just when was the last time you steamed your turkey?
Squash Blossom Quesadillas
Roast Crown of Pork with Avocado
Steamed Turkey in Adobo Sauce
Codfish with Olives and Chiles
Pine Nut Balls [Christmas has to have candy]
Weddings and Birthdays naturally offer a step up in the cuisine. A special day involves something exceptional, a culinary treat offering a lasting impression.
Stuffed Shark, Lobster and Fish Fillets in Puff Pastry
Meat and Shrimp Fondue
Cream of Walnut Soup
Breakfast comes everyday but every day is a new beginning. These hearty, fulfilling dishes fulfill a Mexican proverb: don’t do anything today before eating.
Eggs Poached in Tomato-Chile Sauce
Meat and Vegetable Stew with Chiles, Saffron and Chorizo
Garlic Soup
Foods of Lent is a clever chapter. Doesn’t Lent mean sacrifice? Not in Mexico. It does mean seafood, lovely seafood.
Shrimp Pie
Sardine and Avocado Stuffed Chiles
Individual Fish Tarts
Crab Soup
Day of the Dead is that peculiar Mexican holiday merging ancient Mexican and medieval Spanish cultures. It’s strange amalgam of the scary and comedic. But it is marked by exceptional food:
Egg Bread [for dipping into hot chocolate]
Pork Loin with Coloradito [Little Red] Mole
Spiced Lentil Stew with Plantains and Pineapple
Feasts of Life is now 26 years old. It contains recipes that are centuries old, recipes that have nourished and pleased endless generations. So, this book is still young and will offer pleasure for all the rest of our lives.