The Great Chile Book

Rating:
Summary: What kind of chile is that?
Review: A fabulous resource book for the chile head or novice seeking knowledge. The book is limited on the written word except for a brief survey. The survey gives you all the general information needed for the average person interested in cooking with heat. The strength of this book lies in it's beautiful color photographs that are the actual size of the chile itself. This book serves a number of purposes, one of which is the identification of the various closely related strands od chiles. Probably the most commonly known chile is the jalepen~o but there are variations. One is knnown as huachinango that originates from Oaxaca and the Puebla region. I was able to identify the huachinango chile from my garden after first thinking it was an ordinary jalapen~o. Turns out they have a distinct "sweetness" and are a highly prized, (translation, they cost 3-4 times more) and are used to make "chipotle grande" in it's dried form. There are a few chiles that are exotic and unfamiliar to most people outside of the area of origin. There is a section showing four different types of the ever growing in popularity habanero. The dried chile section is informative and provides helpful hints in curing your own chiles. There is a small receipe section that compliments the chile heads kitchen. To round it all out there is a source of information with addresses and phone numbers for chile seeds and fresh and dried chiles. A handy little book for the amateur grower of chiles or cook who on occasion forays into the kitchen to serve up some heat.

Rating:
Summary: It has pictures!
Review: If you've ever read a cookbook that tried to verbally go into the differences on chiles, and you felt yourself get just a little lost when it came to the physical descriptions, than this book will be a great resource. The full color photos are nicely done, actual size, and very helpful, especially since chiles often get misnamed, or get labeled with a regional name that is not the one most widely used. Actually knowing what to look for by sight has been very helpful at the market.

Rating:
Summary: Great Chile Identification Book...
Review: Mark Miller's book has a picture for every chile he has in the book. He goes over both fresh and dry chiles. Does not have every chile in the world, but it does have quite a few. Well worth the price of the book.

Rating:
Summary: Almost everything you wanted to know....
Review: Salsa anyone? THE GREAT SALSA BOOK by Mark Miller is all about salsa. If he wanted to be cute, he could have titled his book, "Everything you wanted to know..." and not have been far off the mark. Miller's book includes over one hundred pages of salsa recipes: Tomato and Tomatillo salsas; Chile salsas; Topical salsas (Tropical mango salsa and Mango mash); Fruit salsas (Apple Pasado Salsa, Moroccan Date Salsa; Corn and Bean salsas; Nut, seed and herb salsas; and plenty of other exotic salsas. So you see, salsa isn't just that stuff you get at the Taco bar.

As I am trying to eat more vegetables, I find the `Grilled Vegetable Salsa' with chiles, eggplants, shiake mushrooms, zucchini squash, and asparagus, most appealing. Or, if you want something sweet as well as colorful, try is the sweet potato and pecan salsa with maple syrup and cranberries. Miller includes color photos of all his prepared dishes. This is truly a great salsa book.

Rating:
Summary: Almost everything you wanted to know....
Review: Salsa anyone? THE GREAT SALSA BOOK by Mark Miller is all about salsa. If he wanted to be cute, he could have titled his book, "Everything you wanted to know..." and not have been far off the mark. Miller's book includes over one hundred pages of salsa recipes: Tomato and Tomatillo salsas; Chile salsas; Topical salsas (Tropical mango salsa and Mango mash); Fruit salsas (Apple Pasado Salsa, Moroccan Date Salsa; Corn and Bean salsas; Nut, seed and herb salsas; and plenty of other exotic salsas. So you see, salsa isn't just that stuff you get at the Taco bar.

As I am trying to eat more vegetables, I find the 'Grilled Vegetable Salsa' with chiles, eggplants, shiake mushrooms, zucchini squash, and asparagus, most appealing. Or, if you want something sweet as well as colorful, try is the sweet potato and pecan salsa with maple syrup and cranberries. Miller includes color photos of all his prepared dishes. This is truly a great salsa book.

Rating:
Summary: Essential kitchen equipment
Review: The definitive guide to identifying chile peppers, this book is conveniently divided into sections on dried and fresh peppers. Beware - this is NOT a recipe book (although a few more recipes would be nice), nor does it contain more than brief instructions on preparing and using chile peppers. However, with bright colour photographs, taste descriptions, and a clear and accurate guide to hotness from bell pepper (0) to habanero (10), this book is essential kitchen equipment for those who like their cooking fiery.

Rating:
Summary: Plenty of recipes.....
Review: The GREAT CHILE BOOK by Mark Miller is not nearly as great as his SALSA BOOK. Miller includes many colorful photos of chiles, but this book is no encyclopedia. Furthermore, although I found the book interesting, I also found it difficult to use. He divides the text into `fresh chiles' and `dried chiles' followed by a few pages of recipes, but rather than see the same chile shown over and over on several different pages in it's green, red, fresh and dried stages, I would have preferred to have seen various peppers in the same family clustered together so that I could learn to distinguish among them. In his brief overview he explains the origins of the chile pepper -- that it is not in the family that produces the black peppercorn (piper nigrum) but rather all chiles are descended from a South American plant that was dispersed by birds and then cultivated and spread further by humans.

Miller's recipe section, which he describes as a good cross-section of various chile dishes, includes one for Jalepeno ketchup. Now that should wake up any hot dog!! Most interesting, however, is the recipe for Mole Roja, from the Oaxaca and Puebla area of Mexico known as the `Land of the Seven Moles.' Miller explains that some moles contain no chocolate (this one does, however, as well as dried plums or cherries to enhance the flavor of the ancho and mulatto chile peppers). Mole Roja is best served with fowl such as turkey. So, try this instead of cranberry sauce next Thanksgiving!

Rating:
Summary: Plenty of recipes.....
Review: The GREAT CHILE BOOK by Mark Miller is not nearly as great as his SALSA BOOK. Miller includes many colorful photos of chiles, but this book is no encyclopedia. Furthermore, although I found the book interesting, I also found it difficult to use. He divides the text into 'fresh chiles' and 'dried chiles' followed by a few pages of recipes, but rather than see the same chile shown over and over on several different pages in it's green, red, fresh and dried stages, I would have preferred to have seen various peppers in the same family clustered together so that I could learn to distinguish among them. In his brief overview he explains the origins of the chile pepper -- that it is not in the family that produces the black peppercorn (piper nigrum) but rather all chiles are descended from a South American plant that was dispersed by birds and then cultivated and spread further by humans.

Miller's recipe section, which he describes as a good cross-section of various chile dishes, includes one for Jalepeno ketchup. Now that should wake up any hot dog!! Most interesting, however, is the recipe for Mole Roja, from the Oaxaca and Puebla area of Mexico known as the 'Land of the Seven Moles.' Miller explains that some moles contain no chocolate (this one does, however, as well as dried plums or cherries to enhance the flavor of the ancho and mulatto chile peppers). Mole Roja is best served with fowl such as turkey. So, try this instead of cranberry sauce next Thanksgiving!