American Western Cooking from the Roaring Fork

I bought this book after seeing author McGrath as a guest on Ming Tsai's PBS show the other day. The recipes look delicious and the photography in the book is great. I think that some of the recipes, though, are probably better-suited to restaurant preparation instead of the home kitchen. One sandwich, for instance, requires about thirty ingredients to prepare. Not only are you cooking the chicken for the sandwich, you're also making the bread in which the chicken is served. Some of the ingredients may be difficult to obtain, too. One recipe calls for verbena. Good luck if you don't have that growing in your backyard. Many recipes also call for stock, and there are recipes for several stocks and reductions, but the recipes yield such a large amount and require such extensive preparation time that I'd spend all day cooking the stock before I could even start working on the desired recipe. Definitely not a Rachel Ray 30-minute recipe. It works in the restaurant, but it's not so practical at home. I'm anxious to try some of these recipes, but anticipate modifying them a bit for home cooking and takiing a few shortcuts. If I was in McGrath's restaurant paying $24 for fish tacos on warm tortillas, for example, I'd expect that the tortillas be fresh and made on the premises, but if I'm making dinner for three people, I'd probably settle for tortillas I've purchased at the store. (His tortillas are made with lard, though, and that's a good thing.)

My wife and I ate at the Roaring Fork last year while on vacation. It's a fine resaurant featuring American Southwestern food. I liked it but wasn't bowled over. So I was unprepared for how remarkably good the food in this cookbook is. I own over 100 cookbooks, and this is one of the very best. The food is nuanced, sophisticated, yet very homey and comfortable. Imagine Grilled Shrimp with Chipolte-Creamed Leaks on a Golden Cornmeal Cake or Pan-Fried Trout with a Salad of Spring Melons and Green Onions. The first thing my wife and I tried was Grilled Rib Eye Steak and Blueberry Barbecue Sauce with Roasted-Garlic Mashed Potatoes. The steak sits on a nest of roasted green beans, red onions, and corn. If you are salivating by now, this cookbook isn't for you. If you are a reasonably experienced cook, Robert McGrath has a treat in store for you. It is one of those cookbooks that you will want to cook through from one end to the other.

Robert McGrath first made a name for himself in Scottsdale, Arizona as the Executive Chef at the Princess Resort, followed by working as the chef de cuisine at the Phoenician's Windows and the Green, and then finally as the owner of the Roaring Fork.His recipes are deliciously unparalleled, and he has put his best in this book.

If you're going to cook southwest, this is the one and only way to go about it! Tips from The Master of Southwest Cooking. You can't go wrong with the wide variety of unique and interesting recipes to "wow" your family and guests. EXCELLENT!

This is an excellent compendium of Robert McGrath's favorites. His Roaring Fork in Scottsdale has gained a wonderful reputation and deservedly so. Now this book shows how many of his magic tricks are performed. In addition to the recipes, it is beautifully illustrated with western scenes.