Santa Fe School of Cooking Cookbook: Spirited Southwestern Recipes

As a New Mexican, it's difficult to not be biased but I will say this, if there is only room for one Southwestern cookbook on your shelf then this one is it! Susan Curtis, the author and owner of the school, does an magnificent job of presenting a variety of delicious recipes which give an excellent overview of the diversity of the cuisine of the region. The recipes range from simple and traditional New Mexican fare such as Green Chile Stew to more contemporary Southwestern cuisine like Lime Marinated Grilled Salmon (a personal favorite that I serve for company regularly.) Susan has produced a book that contains recipes which are clear, concise and very easy to follow. In addition to excellent recipes, she includes descriptions of all of the ingredients and tips on using them. There are also many stories which convey the history and development of the foods of the area. It's truly a cookbook that you can just enjoy reading since there is so much more than just recipes between it's covers. Many of the recipes are from the classes taught at the school. If you're fortunate enough to visit Santa Fe then a class at the school should be on your "must do" list. If you can't, then this book is the next best thing!

This is a wonderful book! I bought a copy when I attended a class at the Santa Fe School of Cooking but someone was "helping" me in the kitchen and spilled something on it. Most of the pages were stuck together before I found out about it. It has some of my very favorite recipes in it so I was glad to finally replace it with a new copy. Try the cookbook and if you are in Santa Fe, be sure to sign up for a great class at the School.

We consider this cookbook as one of the best southwest cookbooks available. Not only that, but we've been to the school in Santa Fe. It was a great experience to just be there. This cookbook is written by those living the culture of the foods. It's real stuff!

This useful book combines contemporary cuisine with its emphasis on color, freshness and health (lime marinated grilled salmon, quesadillas with goat cheese and roasted peppers, jicama salad with watercress, radish and chiles) with hearty traditional foods (enchiladas suizas with tomatillo and cilantro salsa, green chile and cabbage soup with sausage, chiles rellenos, black bean soup).Curtis, owner of the school, scatters cooking tips throughout the book, paired with appropriate recipes - describing the character and history of blue corn with blue corn pancakes, giving the traditional version of carne adovada, a pork stew, along with the school version, using a comal (griddle) for making tortillas. Illustrated with Santa Fe scenes, gardens, ingredients and dishes, this is a festive book chock full of detail.