Albuquerque Official Visitors Guide - Spring 2008 - (Page 40)

palate. The influences reverberate back, and hence there are Pueblo enchiladas, corn tortillas made specifically with cheese and red chile only, or Indian frybread and Mexican sopaipillas; both delicious, deep fried, puffed breads. Interested in tasting this rich history of flavors? Local independent restaurants that promote the use of produce from numerous surrounding farms define good food in Albuquerque. The bounty of New Mexico is manifested on the plate in the form of pecans, goat cheese, dragon’s tongue beans, turban squash, neon eggplant, watermelon, purple potatoes, arugula and heirloom tomatoes. Considered the oldest wine-making region in the country, Spanish missionaries brought the vinter’s art to the Rio Grande Valley in the 1600s. The intense flux of day and night-time temperatures bears quality fruit and the arid climate discourages fungus and bugs, therefore curtailing the use of any pesticides. New Mexican vineyards have produced award-winning Cabernet Franc, Riesling and sparkling wines. Success has been far-reaching, for example, a local vineyard now makes a private label for the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, but maintains its mission to “protect its own backyard” and keep two-thirds of its production for retail in New Mexico. Food and place are inextricably linked. You know you are in New Mexico in early fall when the smell of roasted green chiles from Hatch (the Chile Capital of the World) are being roasted in a hand cranked machine at one of numerous farmer’s markets. You know you are in New Mexico when your server asks you to choose red, green or Christmas (both chiles). You know you are in New Mexico when your host serves posole for Christmas Eve dinner. You know you are in New Mexico when…well, just come here, and create your own enchanted food experience. ©Wes Naman n 1931, a book titled Historic Cookery first appeared in New Mexico. The author, Fabiola Cabeza de Baca Gilbert, was born in 1894 to a prominent Hispanic family and raised near Las Vegas, New Mexico. Many of the recipes in the Cookery were heirlooms from her family and others were collected from Pueblos in Northern New Mexico. The cookbook contributed to the popularization of cooking with chile and includes over 80 traditional recipes for food staples such as frijoles, tamales, chile rellenos, huevos rancheros, empanadas and calabacitas con chile verde. Typically in traditional cooking there were no set rules for the preparation of food. Rather, the cook was expected to learn the I recipes from relatives. One of the great contributions of Historic Cookery is that for the first time the non-native cook was given exact amounts and measurements for the preparation of New Mexican food. Cabeza de Baca Gilbert’s historic cookbook may have been the first written account, but New Mexico’s current mestizo (mixed) food culture has been evolving for thousands of years and is as complex as history itself. Traditional and sacred foods of the 19 Pueblos and Navajo people such as corn, mutton and squash influence Spanish food preparations, which mix with Mexican (after all, New Mexico was Mexico until 1848) and in turn combine with the most recent arrival of the Anglo 40 www.itsatrip.org http://www.itsatrip.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Albuquerque Official Visitors Guide - Spring 2008

Albuquerque Official Visitors Guide - Spring 2008 Contents Welcome to Albuquerque Visitor & Relocation Information Maps Cultural Conversations Pueblo Culture Arts What's New? Family Outings Calendar of Events Ballooning High Desert Golfing Birding in Albuquerque Outdoor Enthusiasm Albuquerque's Original Flavors Shopping Destinations Resource Directory of Marketing Partners Lodging Directory Virtual Ad Index

Albuquerque Official Visitors Guide - Spring 2008

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