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5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 Anything but the typical fast food Taco Apr 27, 2011
By Heather Pearson
"Heather"
After more than forty years of eating the same old sandwiches, I was ready for a change. When I saw that Kelley Cleary Coffeen had out a new cookbook, 300 Best Taco Recipes: From tantalizing tacos to authentic tortillas, sauces, cocktails & salsas, I thought that I might have found my solution. It didn't take much to convince my family to join me for a March Break Taco extravaganza in our kitchen. For the next two weeks, we ate a new variety of taco almost every day.
When my daughter had her birthday party, guess what we served? Tacos of course. They were a hit.
This cookbook has a dish for almost every type of eater including vegetarians, gluten and lactose intolerant people. We chose to use flour tortillas for all our dishes, though corn tortillas are suggested many times, as well, recipes are included so that you can make both type of tortillas on your own. If you prefer not to use the wrap, most dishes would work well served on a bed of greens.
The introductory section of the book includes a history of tacos, followed by a details discussion of many of the ingredients and equipment used in making tacos, both authentic Mexican as well as American versions. The list of Ten Tips for Perfect Tacos was very helpful, including tip #6 - Don't Overstuff. I'm still working at properly identifying my chiles. A few times I bought sweet chiles thinking I was getting some heat. I do wish that Ms. Coffeen has included a colour picture to help with identification. Grocery store staff may be helpful, but they don't all know their chiles, as I found out.
The remainder of the book is divided by main ingredient: Chicken and Turkey, Beef, Pork and Lamb, Fish and Seafood, Vegetarian, Salsas, Relishes and Sauces, Dessert Tacos, and Cocktails. Each recipe includes all the information you need to make that dish. Most also include tips regarding the dish such as how to speed up preparation by purchasing a pre-cooked chicken, buying extra meat and after cooking store it in pre-measured amounts in the freezer. I found that these recipes are quite forgiving, in that you can easily substitute ingredients if you are unable to find the one requested. We did use some store bought salsa as it was winter here and fresh tomatoes were quite expensive. The fresh made salsa was much superior in every way; taste, texture, aroma, everything. As I mentioned, we used store bought flour tortillas with each recipe, and they were wonderful. I don't deep fry, so we didn't try any of those recipes, though I will admit, many of them sounded delicious.
If your only exposure to tacos has been those spicy ground beef, topped with shredded lettuce, bland salsa and shredded cheddar cheese that are available at fast food venues and from those boxed kits, then you are in for a tasty adventure. For the most part, these recipes are quick and easy to make and you'll have dinner on the table in no time. Don't be surprised when there are no leftovers.
Following are the recipes that we enjoyed. We also made the Huevos Rancheros soft taco, but the picture was not very good. As a dish, it was heavenly. No more wimpy bacon and eggs for me, I want my egg wrapped in a soft tortillas with mild green salsa and a good handful of shredded cheddar cheese.
Chicken Stir-Fry Taco with Spicy Asian Sauce
This was the first dish we tried. It turned out perfectly. An Asian inspired stir-fry with a tortilla instead of a bed of rice. We used the extra sauce the next day on rice noodles.
Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Crumbled Blue Cheese
Definitely one of the most adventurous dishes. This is the first time I have shredded chicken. Let it cool a bit before you attempt this as it's rather hot on the fingers. It really did taste just like chicken wings. Use your favourite wing sauce. The first taco I made I put chunks of blue cheese on top. This was a bit too concentrated of flavour. The next time I spread the cheese on the side of the tortillas and then 'built' my taco. Much better.
Roasted Turkey, Avocado, Swiss and Sprout Tacos
I didn't happen to have any leftover roast turkey, but a poached breast worked out well. This was heavenly. We added a bit of mild green salsa on top.
Machaca Soft Tacos
This dish would traditionally be made with dried meat that is reconstituted. Kelley has simplified the process by using shredded beef. This was our least favourite dish, though I think that had a lot to do with using the wrong chiles. Should have been spicier.
Grilled Fajita Steak and Shrimp Tacos
This dish wins hands down for being simple to make and extremely tasty. I've not had shrimp and steak together previously and I sure have been missing out of something special. It was worth clearing a foot of snow off the top of the barbecue. A copy of the recipe for this dish will be found further down in this post.
Chorizo and Potato Tacos
I'll admit to being skeptical about this dish. I didn't find chorizo in my store and ended up with spicy Italian sausage. This was so amazingly simple to make. We chose to top ours with Chile Cream Sauce. My daughter had a few teen friends over and they devoured all within minutes.
Catfish Tacos with Chile Cream Sauce
I bought my catfish already seasoned (tequila lime) and was ready to cook within minutes of arriving home from groceries. To speed up preparation, we used a store bought salad mix and chopped it up a bit.
The Chile Cream sauce was simple to make and tasted great. It also worked as a dip for cut vegetable and for potato chips.
Calabacitas Tacos
This is an adaptation of a traditional corn and squash casserole. Summer squash wasn't available so we doubled the amount of zucchini as suggested. This was topped by Pico De Gallo, a wonderful fresh tomato salsa.
Decadent Chocolate Taco Chips
It was had to decide which dessert to try. They all sounded so good. I decided simple would win out.
Caramel, pecans and chocolate over toasted tortillas. They lasted just long enough to take photos.
I hope that I have tempted you to give 300 Best Taco Recipes a try. As I was writing this review, I had to take a break and make just one more recipe, Mexican Hash Tacos. Another hit.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Great Ideas for Tacos Oct 06, 2011
By Anne
I have a lot of cookbooks on my shelves and often people ask me if I cook from every one of them. I don't. Some I use for just a few recipes that are really yummy. One of my cookbooks has a recipe for chocolate chip cookies just like the ones you buy in Costco. I keep it on my shelf just for that recipe. Last month, I got a new Taco cookbook. My husband's favorite foods are tacos and pasta with red sauce. In our house, Tuesdays are taco night. So, when I saw a cookbook all on tacos--300 best taco Recipes by Kelley Cleary Coffeen, I thought my husband would love it!
What I found with this cookbook is that it made my mouth water and it made me want to cook. It also sparked my imagination. In the beginning is a great description of all the different ways to warm or fry tortillas. Her list of equipment and ingredients was very helpful. As I read through the cookbook, I recognized my mom's beef taquito recipe. She uses variations of this recipe for both chicken and beef taquitos or rolled tacos. These were a family tradition in my house around Christmas time that I miss. I highly recommend making some of these with some guacamole! There are several great sections of appealing pictures--that will of course make you want to have some tacos very soon. There is also a great variety of sauces and salsas in that section of the book. It didn't have everything I've ever wanted to make when it comes to salsa, but it had some fun ideas and we enjoyed the Citrusy Lime Salsa I made.
Now for some specific notes...
1) My family has been frying corn tortillas for years, so I read her description carefully. I do not deep fry mine. I use a nonstick skillet with a little oil. Fry it until it starts to puff up a little and then use a wooden spoon. Place it in the middle and use tongs to fold over the side of the tortilla (to fold it into a moon shape). Fry it until both sides are as crispy as you would like them. Place on a paper towel lined plate when cooked.
2) Last week, I made some great tacos on a non-designated taco night. I think it was a Thursday. I made some chicken tacos. The chicken was seasoned with pepper, sea salt, and rosemary. I served the tacos with chicken, sour cream, and carmelized onions. They were yummy! What I made is not in the taco cookbook, but I took the idea from the book. There is a great recipe for Rosemary Chicken Tacos in the book. I used it as a springboard. The recipe in the cookbook calls for grilling the chicken and a creamy garlic spread (which sounds wonderful).
When I made my version of Rosemary chicken tacos, I realized that this is what made me like this cookbook--it started my brain going. I had put tacos in a box and not thought of them as anything other than meat or refried bean tacos. This cookbook helped me see that there's a lot more to tacos than meets the eye!
Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this cookbook from Robert Rose Publishing for review.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Makes Me Drool just thinking about Tacos! Aug 27, 2011
By Sondra G. Oravetz
Almost a different taco for every day of the year! I probably would be happy to try to eat every one of these too but alas my husband being a HUGE Mexican food fan just might cry "uncle" after about 30 days straight. All kidding aside, wonderful ideas and combinations which are all worth exploring. I've so far fixed about 10 of the recipes and been very happy with the results....now I just have (OMG) 290 to go! Enjoy!
 Fun addition to your cookbook library Jun 21, 2011
By Ann from Yuma
I bought this cookbook after seeing the author at a local event (she grew up in this border town) and wasn't disappointed. The writing is as breezy and fun as Kelley is in person, and there are a bunch of recipes you'll want to add to your favorites. Whip up a batch of margaritas and start exploring - you'll be glad you did.
Awsome book!! Jun 12, 2011
By Evelyn
I have been a fan of Mexican food and especially tacos since leaving Kansas 35 years ago.I would love to prepare my own tacos at home, but have been lacking recipe help. Been getting a little tired of Old El Paso shells, hamburger meat and cheese.
Then, a friend told me about your book, 300 Best Taco Recipes.
I am forever in your debt. It has revelutionized my home meal time. Your taco book is filled with such a variety of tacos, categorized so that I can find just the right flavor for daily cravings. And each recipe is so simple to follow and make.
There is some added bonuses as well... A great section on preparing my own tortillas which I NEVER thought I could. But now I can. Also, I love the recipes for sauces and salsas. Pace picante is good, but variety is the spice of life. And I really like how you have mached the right sause with the taco.
But finally, what I REALLY love is the recipes for cocktails. Again, very easy to follow guidelines. LET THE PARTY BEGIN.
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