Mexico The Cookbook by Margarita Carrillo Arronte

What: The definitive bible on Mexican home-cooking by Mexico’s leading culinary authority Margarita Carrillo Arronte.

Who: Margarita Carrillo Aronte

Why: The book itself is absolutely beautiful,  I love cooking and I wanted to discover what Mexican food was aside from fajitas  (which I do love) -although the book is rather daunting in size.

Recipes:

Birria from the region of Jarisco

Slow-cooked lamb shoulder broth style soup with lots of fresh herbs, ginger and chilli. It has to be noted some of the ingredients you will have to go seeking out as they won’t be in your local supermarket and it’s definitely one to do at the weekend as the lamb needs 5hrs marinating and then 3-4hrs cooking. However, it’s bloody delicious and you can add lots of little bits and pieces to the top to season it to  you own tastes.

Bean Stew from Oaxaca 

Firstly I love the fact there is a whole section dedicated to simply rice and beans with each recipes simple and providing an amazingly tasty side dish alternative. This pretty much needs black beans and chorizo with a couple of sprinkles of store cupboard essentials -just remember to soak your beans overnight if they’re dried! I served mine with roasted chicken thighs, avocado and coriander. It also makes vast amounts for leftover lunches for the rest of the week.

Review:

This cookbook is amazing -it’s ridiculously large but it is described as the ‘definite guide to Mexican food’. I’m already happily working my way through the soup section and plan on working my way into the slow cooking meat section throughout winter and perhaps even invite some friends over for a Mexican buffet! It’s also interesting to see which region of the country the recipes comes from and highlights the diversity of one cuisine.

Rating: 8 out of 10  -buy it or put it on your Christmas list and then research where you can buy a range of dried chiles!

 

The Stylist by Rosie Nixon

Title: The Stylist

Author: Rosie Nixon

Publisher: Mira

Publication date: 11th February 2016

Synopsis

When fashion boutique worker Amber Green is mistakenly offered a job as assistant to infamous, jet-setting ‘stylist to the stars’ Mona Armstrong, she hits the ground running, helping to style some of Hollywood’s hottest (and craziest) starlets. As awards season spins into action Mona is in hot demand and Amber’s life turned upside down. Suddenly she catching the attention of two very different suitors, TV producer Rob and Hollywood bad boy rising star Liam. How will Amber keep her head? And what the hell will everyone wear?

Review

Most women, and men for that matter, whether they admit it or not, hold a fascination with the life and times of ‘celebrities’ – the glamour, the extravagance and the swapping of bed partners – there’s a reason the Mail Online’s side-bar of shame is the widest read newspaper in the world.

Witty and with an edge of genuine experience and insight into the industry – thanks to Rosie’s extensive experience working at glossy magazines like Glamour and Hello – The Stylistprovides a genuinely entertaining, and indulgent, addition to women’s commercial fiction and one where I can already see Jennifer Lawrence stepping into Amber Green’s cinematic shoes.

The Brits definitely come out on top in terms of character traits; Amber is intelligent and fun, gets drunks at the worst times after one bottle of wine often turns into two – an eventuality that is all too familiar with certain friends of mine. Her best friend Vicky is a strong supporting act and one I hope is brought into the spotlight a little more in the next book. Equally I am amused by Trey, a director, who provides some comedy gold towards the end.

Our friends across the pond don’t get off so lightly. Mona is insane, tragic and absolutely brilliant a bit like how you imagine Karl Lagerfeld to be (although he’s French and Male) but also with echoes of Eddie and Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous. Mix those altogether and you’ve got Mona. Equally Beau, an up and coming actress, epitomises those celebs who hold the belief that somehow they’re above ‘normal’ people and therefore able to use, abuse and manipulate whenever they want.

Smart and addictive Rosie Nixon delivers her debut novel with panache

Rating: 7 out of 10