What makes for a great meal? What makes a particular dish distinctive, delicious, and impossible to forget?
In part, it surely depends on the cuisine. We all have our favorites: American, French, Italian, Mexican, Thai, …
In many of those foreign cuisines, there is a vibrant heritage of recipes that reflect not just decades but centuries of development. Italian food, in contrast to Italian-American, demonstrates the heritage of countless generations plus the impact of terroir. The reason food in Italy is so much better is Italian wheat, Italian water, and even Italian sun. Oh, and those tomatoes.
So it is with Mexican and Southwestern cuisine as well. With almost a dozen cookbooks and multiple restaurants, Mark Miller has set impeccable standards for taste, aroma, look and even feel.
A Mark Miller meal is one you will always fondly recall. And a major part of that memory comes from the “little things” that are on the side or incorporated in the final composition of the dish. This book has “final” products like salsas but it really is more of an honest to god pantry book. You’ll find ideas here to use over and over in your own private exploration of Southwestern cuisine.
The chapters are devoted to:
- Salsas and Chips
- Chutneys, Relishes, and Pickles
- Flavored Oils and Salad Dressings
- Sauces and Pasta Toppings
- Grilling Rubs, Marinades and Glazes
- Ketchups, Mustards, and Tasty Trail Fixins
- Bountiful Beans and Rainbow Rices
Yes, pasta sauce. Mark includes his Abiquiu Tomato Basil Sauce, something for Italian food in the Far West. Other recipe gems here include:
New Mexico Green Chile Chutney
Gazpacho Salsa
Ripe Peach Conserve
Creamy Avocado Rancho Dressing
Cascabel Coffee Barbeque Glaze
Tangy Tangerine and Tequila Marinade
As a chef and author, Mark has developed, tuned and perfected his cornucopia of delights. These are modestly complex recipes, often with a dozen or so ingredients. Some time is in order to chop, mix and allow the components to happily mingle. Page after page, though, you are going to read a recipe title, pause, and ponder. I’m looking now at the Hotter-Than-Hell Red and Green Habanero Salsa. How can I resist? How could you?