Tortillas To The Rescue cookbook Give Away!

Growing up in New England I can honestly say that tortillas were not a staple part of my diet.  In fact, I do not think my mother has cooked with tortillas EVER in her entire life.  After graduating college and moving down to Houston for 7 years I ate tons of tortillas and loved them!  Fajitas, burritos, chimichangas…my eyes were opened to the joys of eating food wrapped up in a tortilla.  To this day, my son’s favorite snack is a simple cheese quesadilla.  Cheddar cheese melted between 2 tortillas and dipped in salsa.  Easy, healthy, and he can make it himself.  When I was sent a copy of Tortillas to the Rescue: Scrumptious Snacks, Mouth-Watering Meals and Delicious Desserts–All Made with the Amazing Tortilla
I was thrilled to expand my collection of recipes using tortillas!

Tortillas to the Rescue

Title:  Tortillas to the Rescue

Subtitle: 150 Quick-and-Easy Recipes You Stuff, Roll, Fold, Wrap and Stick in Your Mouth

Author: Jessica Harlan

ISBN:  978-1612431000

Publisher:  Ulysses Press (August 28, 2012)

Pages/format: paperback 180 pages

My Review: 5 stars out of 5

From the Publisher:

About the Author (From Amazon):

Jessica Goldbogen Harlan has always had a passion for food and cooking that dates back to her childhood when she enjoyed the disparate cuisines of her New Mexican and Jewish heritages and when making the family dinner was one of her weekly chores.

After getting a degree in rhetoric from the University of Illinois, she revisited her love for food by getting a job as an assistant editor for a gourmet food trade magazine. Later, she moved to New York City and attended the Institute of Culinary Education to get a thorough education in professional cooking.

Currently, Jessica is the Cooking Equipment Guide for About.com and writes a regular kitchen tools column and recipe for Clean Eating magazine. She has written about food, cooking and kitchen products for Town & Country, Pilates Style, Arthritis Today, Consumers Digest, Time Out New York and Mobil Travel Guide, among others.

My Review:

Tortillas to the Rescue is a well but together guide to help you incorporate the tortilla into your family’s meals even if they aren’t fans of traditional Mexican recipes.  Ms. Harlan introduces readers to a ton of unique ways to use what seems to be such a plain little bread product.  If you aren’t familiar with tortillas, the book has a nice introduction to discuss the background, nutrition and storage of tortillas.  The book also has several ideas on how to warm up a tortilla.  I always just wrap in foil and throw in the oven but I think I am going to try grilling them next time.

The cookbook is divided into meal type so you have basic categories like breakfast, starters, and snacks but there are also a couple of unique chapters I would not have considered.  There is a soup section where the author teaches you how to make tortilla strips to put on top of your soup and a whole chapter dedicated to meatless main dishes.  Since I am trying to find some unique vegetarian meals this was a big hit with me.    The other chapter that I was really drawn to was the desert chapter.  I have never considered using tortilla as a desert ingredient but they sound simple and incredibly tasty!

There is a nice balance of recipes in this cookbook.  Some have a traditional Mexican flair to them but others (like the hamburger wraps, yum!) are classic American with a twist.  Some have a few more ingredients than others but they are all pretty simple and straightforward.  If I could change anything about this cookbook it would be to add pictures.  I always prefer cookbooks with pictures so I know what my recipe should look like!  Overall, though, I loved this cookbook and will be stocking up on tortillas now that I have been inspired!

WIN IT:

I have been given permission to give one of my readers a copy of Tortillas to the Rescue.  This is a Rafflecopter giveaway.  Just follow the directions in the form to enter.  This giveaway ends at midnight EST on  October 5th, 21012.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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