The Southwest Table

Take a good measure of Southwest culinary history, blend it well with insights from area chefs and food experts, and add plenty of mouthwatering recipes with four-color food photography, not to mention fascinating historical images. What do you get? The Southwest Table–a vibrant, must-have volume on America’s spiciest swath of states.

Chile pepper expert and food historian Dave DeWitt focuses on southwestern Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona–those areas most influenced by Native American and northern Mexican cookery, as well as American imports and techniques. These are the traditional locations for a unique cuisine–dating to prehistory–that continues to evolve. We often think of Southwestern cuisine as imported from Mexico, but parts of the Southwest were a part of Mexico for more than 200 years. In addition to nearly 200 recipes, the book includes a “Pepper Primer” and a glossary of Southwestern cooking terms and ingredients. Historic black and white photos illustrate the history and full-color food photography accompanies the recipes.