Contemporary Southwest: The Cafe Terra Cotta Cookbook

Rating:
Summary: Recipes worth the effort
Review: Cafe Terra Cotta is one of Tucson's local treasures. This book provides surprisingly easy directions for a selection of their classic wonderful dishes. The majority of the recipes call for ingredients that are relatively easily available, and the directions are easy to follow. I have had some comments by friends who glanced through the pages and decided that the recipes must be too complicated because of the numbers of different ingredients, but the two factors do not necessarily correlate. Yes, some recipes do call for a fairly lengthy list, but the actual procedures are quite simple, so there's no need to be intimidated. This is a really good little cookbook. I especially like the salsas, sauces, the garlic custard, and relishes. The tortilla soup is a favorite at pot-lucks. Try it!

Rating:
Summary: Southwestern Cuisine With Style
Review: This is an excellent collection of Southwestern recipes with stylistic touches. Especially appealing to me are those with fruit or dried fruit, such as Lamb Chops with Dried Cherry-Chipotle Sauce or Spinach Salad with Figs and Jicama or Tangy Cheese-Stuffed Quail with Mango-Chile Salsa. New discoveries of combo flavors are Muchroom, Jarlsberg and Parsley Salad and Corn Risitto. Also tantalizing is Dessert, Taquito or the Arizona Princess Cake, rich with apples, tequila, chocolate and pecans. Another well done TenSpeed Press output, with sources and nice, large format with super color photos and clear instructions and ingredients. Certainly, those who love Southwestern food will add this to their collection.