Chicano Eats: Recipes from My Mexican-American Kitchen (Esteban Castillo)

Esteban Castillo grew up in Santa Ana, California, where more than three-quarters of the population is Latino. Because Mexican food was the foundation of his childhood, he was surprised to see recipes for dishes on popular food blogs that were anything but the traditional meals he grew up eating. He was inspired to create the blog, Chicano Eats, to showcase his love for design, cooking, and culture and provide a space for authentic Latino voices, recipes, and stories to be heard.

Building on his blog, Chicano Eats is a bicultural and bilingual cookbook that includes 85 traditional and fusion Mexican recipes as gorgeous to look at as they are sublime to eat. Chicano cuisine is Mexican food made by Chicanos (Mexican Americans) that has been shaped by the communities in the U.S. where they grew up. It is Mexican food that bisects borders and uses a group of traditional ingredients—chiles, beans, tortillas, corn, and tomatillos—and techniques while boldly incorporating many exciting new twists, local ingredients, and influences from other cultures and regions in the United States.