The Santa Fe Trail

I should be discussing Thanksgiving menus, but I have just had a sensational trip to New Mexico. I had  never been to northern New Mexico, and our friends in Wilmington suggested we meet there for a week and see the sights. The last week of October turned out to be outstandingly beautiful. Yellow was the operative word---the brilliant yellow of the cottonwoods filled the squares and the stream banks. The aspens also have the same yellow color. The landscape was orange and red and purple and brown but the trees were YELLOW!

We flew into Albuquerque and spent the first night in a 1930’s hacienda which is now a nice hotel and restaurant. It is also a working farm and dairy----farm to table with a spotlight on lavender. Then on to Santa Fe, along the old Santa Fe Trail up the Rio Grande. The Santa Fe style of architecture has been preserved and enhanced. No way to mistake where you are. Santa Fe is the capital of New Mexico and has been ever since the Spanish came north in 1610. The modern 20^th century capital building is in the Santa Fe style and is perhaps unique as a public building as all of the walls of the corridors display art—several floors of paintings, sculpture, weaving and some of it is for sale. Santa Fe is the third largest seller of art behind only New York and Paris. Canyon Road is about a half mile long and chock-a-block with galleries. (The guide book says eighty.) We had fine dining at a James Beard award winning restaurant, The Compound, and New Mexican cuisine at the ‘long line to get in’ restaurants, Café Pasqual’s and the Shed. Margaritas come in many versions and my husband found a nice Mexican beer, Negro Modelo. It’s the number one selling dark beer in Mexico and number two in the US.

Another old adobe house for our B&B where we built a fire in our kiva---the ubiquitous corner fireplace found in the Santa Fe style homes. We had hot sunny days and chilly nights.

Besides the art work to be seen in the museums and galleries, the Casas Reales, Palace of the Governors, is a must see. Built in 1610-1612, it’s one of the oldest government buildings in the United States. Governor Lew Wallace penned Ben Hur here in the late 1870’s!

Green chile soup or stew seemed to be on every menu. There are many versions of this pork stew but this one is delicious. We ate it for two days and it was easy to make. It is not too spicy and the pork melts in your mouth.

Taken from the cookbook, New Mexico Cuisine, by Clyde Casey.

Green Chile Pork Stew

Makes 4-6 servings

2 pounds lean pork, cubed

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large white onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 4-ounce cans New Mexico green chiles, drained

1 large potato, peeled and diced

2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

3-4 cups water

½ teaspoon dried-leaf Mexican oregano

In a large skillet, brown the pork in the oil, over medium heat. Remove pork and place in a kettle or stockpot.

Put onions in skillet, adding more oil if necessary, and sauté until they are soft.

Add garlic and cook for a few additional minutes. Remove onions and garlic and add to stockpot. Pour a little of the water into the skillet, bring to a boil and deglaze.

Pour liquid from skillet over the pork. Add all remaining ingredients, cover and simmer for 1-2 hours, or until meat is very tender and starting to fall apart.