Cooking with Baja Magic , the first of a two-set series, opens on a stunning sea green vista that frames the golden finger of the Baja peninsula and sends you on a culinary journey to paradise. Richly colored folk art, dappled photos, colorful menus and Mexicana logos on slick pages grab your gaze--page by page through the solid lap-sized volumes. Cooking With Baja Magic Dos: More Mouth-Watering Meals from the Kitchens & Campfires of Baja is the second of these culinary memoirs and travelogues that span author Ann Hazard's life as a Baja rat, beginning in the 1950s, while vacationing in a remote tropical peninsula with grandparents, to the hippie sixties as parents with her own children, and now to the present. We learn the origins and simple how-to’s of carne asado, ensalada Caesar, gazpazo blanco, sangrita, salsa and a multitude of Mexican dishes, now mouth-watering staples on American menus.

Her commentary, recipes, background notes and family tales take us from the days before SUV's and jet ski's—when dirt roads and WW II Douglas cargo aircraft, water craft or horseback were the only way into the heart of the peninsula's expansive ranches and remote fishing villages.

The informatively numbered map in Cooking With Baja Magic, Hazard's first cookbook, lists 24 destinations that make this an unconventional and indispensable handheld resource for web-planning travelers. Read carefully to discover beaches off the beaten track, artist colonies, scenic routes that skirt traffic jams, destinations for diving, surfing, fishing, kayaking, tips about marine life, mountain vistas and more. Details on where to find the freshest tortillas, venerated restaurants, hidden dinning gems, and infamous tourista watering holes are woven into the personal tales and recipe notes. Useful tips on auto travel, cultural traditions, and shopping destinations accompany a handy website and restaurant appendix in Baja Magic Dos. For the wine connoisseur, Baja Dos details the wineries of the Guadalupe Valley, an hour south of San Diego; a bonus of information that will guide you on a winery tour out of Tecate, Mexico. Most importantly, in a short time you'll be throwing your flip flops, snorkel and shorts into your adventure duffel while dreaming of steaming hot bolilo's. Sombrero's can be purchased upon arrival.

First glance reveals what seems to be a mere gringo guide to Mexican cooking for Jimmy Buffett Parrott Heads, for whom south of the border is the El Paso shelf, just beyond the mac and cheese aisle at the local supermarket. Readers see that though the recipes are only slightly more upscale than America's favorite Mexican fast food drive-up window, the accessible ingredients and directions makes these cookbooks perfect for family occasions when the menu must serve a range of palates with varying sensitivities to spicy ingredients. Most of the recipes can be prepared using fresh, canned and bottled ingredients routinely available at supermarkets north of the border. The two book set will fit into the entertaining repertoire; Baja Dos for home and the original Baja Magic for the RV, ski chalet, or beach cottage. After a day on the slopes, salsa from the freezer will greet hungry mogul meisters, while Snowbird Chicken in Tomatillo salsa, prepared with ingredients on hand can be ready for a crowd before dark. In the meantime, the kitchen staff can expect to be watered by the mixologist blending from the extensive bartender's guide while munching red hot flaming peanuts and dipping totopos in avocado sauce or salsa crema. Note that setting up the bar does require a somewhat intricate though rewarding, stock plan, with tequila the steadfast backdrop. Additionally, the truth about tequila and history on the origin of the margarita along with the chili guide and Mexican cooking terms adds interest to Baja Dos.

A handy table of contents in each book lists individual recipes and page numbers. Unusual utensils or specialty cookware are not needed to turn out filling Mexican comfort food from the 170 recipes in the first Baja Magic and the 250 recipes in Baja Dos. The simplicity makes these companion books ideal for the young married couples, college grads setting up a first kitchen, the cook seeking to branch out into ethnic dishes and the gregarious party giver. The adventurous cook will be inspired by the Sinful Cinnamon Rice, homemade chorizo and Chorizo Quiche in the unusual cornmeal crust, procedures for fine-tuning salsa or preparing sashimi from fresh catch. Beyond these recipes, the basic Mexican favorites are all here, even unctuous mole. In short, these comprehensively fundamental cook books guarantee their shelf life and best of all when you return from Baja, conjuring the memories in the kitchen will give you license to relive and retell your adventures for all the years thereafter. Buen provecho! Buen viaje!

Roberta Wolman can be reached at: readingtreats@hotmail.com.

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