OP: The Feast of Santa Fe

Simon and Schuster, 1985. Hardcover. Very Good Plus in Very Good jacket. First printing.

When speaking of the Southwest, tacos, guacamole, and burritos readily come to mind as emblems of the entire region. Huntley Dent in his 1985 book, The Feast of Sante Fe, however, singles out the cuisine of northern New Mexico as a category of its own. 

Remote, lightly populated, and—for many years of its history—accessible only via the north-south running Camino Real, northern New Mexico, thus isolated from other influences for centuries, managed to develop and evolve a distinct culinary tradition rooted in a Mexican, Spanish, and Native intersection. 

Mississippi-born Dent is exhaustive in his research, offering historical context, personal observations, and thorough technical advice for over 150 recipes found in the book. Among the breads, you will find Hopi piki—a thin corn batter cooked, layered, and rolled for a crispy, phyllo-like result—fry bread, sopaipillas, tortillas, and cornbread. Tamales, tacos, and enchilada recipes are present and plentiful. And, of course, there’s chile con carne, posole several ways, barbecue lamb, and arroz con pollo, among many others.