Family Meals

As you are cooking your way through this cookbook, you’ll find that a lot of our recipes make enough food to feed a big family and guests and still have leftovers. In Oaxaca, family-style dining is oftentimes the only way people know how to eat. This is because, yes, we have very large families, but also because Oaxaca has a culture of friends and family just stopping by your house unannounced, and the worst thing that can ever happen is to be caught without any food to offer. When it’s time to eat, my parents bring out a large stack of tlayudas (our version of tortillas), a bowlful of salsa, and beans, and put the main course right in the middle of the table. Everyone is free to eat as much as they want.