Contemporary Southwest: The Cafe Terra Cotta Cookbook [Hardcover]

Donna Nordin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 29, 2000

In her first cookbook, chef and restaurateur Donna Nordin brings together 85 recipes for the food that has earned her national acclaim and repeatedly landed Café Terra Cotta on lists of America's best restaurants. Donna's passion for spice has long been the guiding principle of her restaurant, and her flavorful, innovative CONTEMPORARY SOUTHWESTERN cooking has kept diners coming back again and again. While all her dishes dazzle the palate, a subtle Garlic Custard and smooth Avocado Vichyssoise are as much a part of her repertoire as the fiery punch of Fried Jalapeño Ravioli. Donna's signature style carries over into the dessert course with a tequila-laced chocolate Arizona Princess Cake, just one of many sophisticated studies in flavor.

Editorial Reviews

Review

• Mimi Sheraton of the New York Times and Condé Nast Traveler magazine named Café Terra Cotta "one of America's 50 best restaurants." • Donna Nordin was selected as one of 50 chefs featured on the fall 1999 PBS series Great Chefs of the West.

About the Author

DONNA NORDIN studied classic French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu and pastry with Gaston Lenotre, both in Paris. Donna lives in Tucson, Arizona, where she owns and operates the first Caf?© Terra Cotta, considered one of the pioneering restaurants of the new Southwestern cuisine. She also operates the second Caf?© Terra Cotta, in Scottsdale, and two other Tucson restaurants: the Tohono Chul Tea Room and Trio.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press; 1st Ten Speed ed edition (August 29, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580081800
• ISBN-13: 978-1580081801
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 3.3 x 10.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #370,609 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious straightforward southwest cooking, August 13, 2007

By 

Annie (Discovery Bay, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Contemporary Southwest: The Cafe Terra Cotta Cookbook (Hardcover)

I visited Cafe Terra Cotta in Tucson a year ago and was amazed by the most delicious chile rellenos I had ever tasted. On my second visit, I ordered the chile rellenos again, and picked up the cookbook on the way out. Every recipe I have made from this cookbook has been delicious. The book contains a basics/ how-to section that presents helpful hints and explanations of the ingredients. The instructions are clear, the ingredients are not impossible to locate, and the recipes are easily improvised upon. I love this cookbook so much I am buying one for my friend!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Southwestern Cuisine With Style, August 28, 2001

By 

rodboomboom (Dearborn, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Contemporary Southwest: The Cafe Terra Cotta Cookbook (Hardcover)

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.