The host of a highly popular PBS series, "Pati's Mexican Table," and a self-described "overloaded soccer mom with three kids and a powerful blender," Pati Jinich has a mission. She's out to prove that Mexican home cooking is quicker and far easier than most Americans think.
Her dishes are not blanketed with cheese, or heavy and fried, or based on complex sauces. Nor are they necessarily highly spicy. Surprising in their simplicity and freshness, they incorporate produce and grains. Most important, they fit perfectly into an everyday family cooking schedule and use just a handful of ingredients, most of which are already in your pantry. Many are homey specialties that Pati learned from her mother and grandmother, some are creative spins on classics, while others are not well known outside of Mexico.
Dishes like Chicken a la Trash (it's delicious ), a one-pot meal that Pati gleaned from a Mexican restaurant cook; Mexican Meatballs with Mint and Chipotle; Sweet and Salty Salmon; and Mexican-Style Pasta can revitalize your daily repertoire. You'll find plenty of vegetarian fare, from Classic Avocado Soup, to Divorced Eggs (with red and green salsa), to Oaxaca-Style Mushroom and Cheese Quesadillas.
Your friends and family will enjoy Tomato and Mozzarella Salad with Pickled Ancho Chile Vinaigrette; Crab Cakes with Jalapeno Aioli; and Chicken Tinga -- (you can use rotisserie chicken), which makes a tasty filling for tortas and tostadas. Pati also shares exciting dishes for the holidays and other special occasions, including Mexican Thanksgiving Turkey with Chorizo, Pecan, Apple, and Corn Bread Stuffing; Spiral-Cut Beef Tenderloin; and Red Pozole ("a Mexican party in a bowl"), which she served on her wedding day.Desserts like Triple Orange Mexican Wedding Cookies, Scribble Cookies
(sandwich cookies filled with chocolate), and little Apricot-Lime Glazed Mini Pound Cakes are sophisticated yet simple to make.

On her PBS TV series, now in its fifth season, as well as in frequent appearances on shows like The Chew, Pati Jinich, a busy mother of three, has shown a flair for making Mexican cooking irresistibly accessible. In Mexican Today, she shares easy, generous dishes, both traditional ones and her own new spins. Some are regional recipes she has recovered from the past and updated, like Miners' Enchiladas with fresh vegetables and cheese or Drunken Rice with Chicken and Chorizo, a specialty of the Yucatan. "Sweaty" Tacos with ripe tomatoes and cheese are so convenient they're sold on Mexican streets by bicyclists. Her grandmother's Cornflake Cookies feel just as contemporary now as they did then. Pati has "Mexed up" other recipes in such family favourites as Tijuana Caesar Salad and Mexican Pizza with Grilled Skirt Steak and Onions. Still other dishes show the evolution of Mexican food north and south of the border, including Mexican Dreamboat Hotdogs and Cal-Mex Fish Tacos with Creamy Slaw. This food will draw everyone together - a family at the end of a working day, a book club, or a neighbourhood potluck. Throughout, Pati is an infectious cheerleader, sharing stores of the food, people, and places behind the recipes.