Our shared food traditions are part of what make us all New Mexicans. Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison trace this rich heritage.
Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison
When New Mexico attained statehoodin 1912, artists, writers, and scholars were just discovering its wonders.
This band of enthusiasts may never have constituted a majority among the newcomers, but they spoke in much louder and more passionate voices than anyone else. Devoted to historic and cultural preservation, they helped to establish the dominance of the Spanish Pueblo architectural style in Santa Fe; molded the state museum system in its early years; fought actively alongside Pueblo residents against the infamous Bursum Bill, which would have undercut Pueblo property rights; and promoted a revival of Spanish colonial folk crafts.
In a lesser-known effort, two leaders of this group even took a strong stand on behalf of traditional Hispano and Pueblo cooking. Alice Stevens Tipton, inThe Original New Mexico Cookery(1916), and Erna Fergusson, in herMexican Cookbook(1934), demonstrated bold initiative in favor of time-honored local foods at a point when every national culinary trend pointed in different directions. Tipton, in particular, insisting on the need to use New Mexico ingredients, was about a century ahead of her time.
Neither book sounds anything at all like the work of Fannie Farmer, the most famous American cook of the
day, who probably would have bolted from a dining table at the mere mention of chile.
The Tipton and Fergusson cookbooks were the first published in New Mexico after statehood, and they gave the earliest detailed descriptions of how to craft beloved historic dishes, including red- and green-chile sauces made from scratch, corn and flour tortillas, red-chile cheese enchiladas with an optional fried egg, chilesrellenos, tamales,albóndigas(meatballs), flan,capirotada(Spanish bread pudding), and many other authentic preparations.
Shortly after the publication of these pioneering works, four influential Hispano ladies recorded their own recipes and recollections in important cookbooks. They knew that descendants of the colonial Spanish would soon no longer be a majority in the state, and they sought to encourage New Mexicans to protect their heritage and resist the temptations of American convenience foods. Together, these six ladies played a vital role in preserving and passing on the culinary traditions they loved. They inspired both restaurateurs and home cooks, creating momentum behind the food and providing continuity into the future. Whether or not you’ve read any of their books or other writings, if you cook New Mexican fare in your own kitchen or enjoy eating it out, you have been enriched by their efforts.
As food goes, so goes culture. In the 100 years since statehood, New Mexico has certainly felt the major impact of American values and practices. In business, education, war, and almost all other pursuits, New Mexico steps in concert with the other 49 states. At the same time, culturally it remains a land apart. The vast majority of Pueblo, Diné, and Hispano residents yield no ground on their most treasured traditions, and most of their Anglo neighbors today appreciate that dedication to heritage and look for chances to partake of its blessings. In the end, it’s what makes us all New Mexicans.
Tastemakers:
Fabiola Cabeza de Baca Gilbert 1894–1991
The Cabeza de Baca family traces its lineage in New Mexico back to the 16th century. Born in Las Vegas, New Mexico, Fabiola moved to her family’s large ranch nearby after her mother’s untimely death. She loved life on the range, but her grandmother insisted that she go to school in her hometown, at the Catholic academy run by the Sisters of Loretto.
Eventually Fabiola became one of the most educated people in the state. At two different times she studied in Spain for a year, and she also earned degrees at the universities now called New Mexico Highlands and New Mexico State. At the latter, Fabiola majored in home economics, which launched her 30-year career as a traveling extension agent teaching farm women traditional and modern gardening and cooking skills.
As part of her job, in 1939 she published an extension circular titledHistoric Cookery. Ten years later this became the core of the recipe section of a full book,The Good Life, a tribute to rural Hispano traditions in New Mexico. She is remembered as a trailblazing educator and a grande dame of New Mexico cooking.
Katy Griggs Camuñez Meek 1920–1993
La Posta de Mesilla is memorable in almost all ways, from the excellent New Mexican food to the storied restaurant premises. The building goes back to the earliest days of Mesilla, when settlers began moving there after the conclusion of the war with Mexico, in 1848. The structure served as a major stop on the Butterfield Stage Line, and later as the prestigious Corn Exchange Hotel.
Katy Griggs was even more remarkable than the historic edifice. In 1939, at the age of 19, she opened La Posta as a tiny “chile joint,” in a corner of the building that her uncle sold her for “one dollar, love, and affection.” With her mother cooking at the back and just four tables on the dirt floor, Katy presided as an ebullient hostess, greeting guests, taking orders, making tongue-in-cheek risqué remarks, and charming everyone.
La Posta has grown enormously over time in space and fame, but the menu has stayed basically the same. Katy gave out most of the recipes in herLa Posta Cook Book(1971), which remains the guiding beacon for the current owners-managers: Katy’s grandniece, Jerean Camuñez Hutchinson, and her husband, Tom.
Edith Warner
Raised in Pennsylvania, Edith Warner moved to New Mexico in 1922 and settled in a small adobe cottage overlooking the Río Grande at a spot known as Otowi Crossing. Her house stood next to the single-lane suspension bridge over the river on N.M. 502 that led to San Ildefonso Pueblo, a short drive away, and up the foothills of the Jémez Mountains to Los Alamos, which at the time was nothing more than the site of a boy’s ranch school.
To support herself, Edith opened a teahouse in her parlor, serving the few travelers who happened by. The clientele changed dramatically after 1943, when the U.S. government purchased Los Alamos for the Manhattan Project. Edith’s place, already famous for its chocolate cake, became the off-duty hangout for the scientists and military officers. As Ellen Bradbury Reid remembers it from her childhood,
Edith—wearing the white leggings of the nearby Pueblo women—quietly served everyone without asking pesky questions. Project director Robert Oppenheimer wanted his research team kept happy, so he allowed the demure Edith access to the commissary’s chocolate and butter, otherwise highly rationed at the time.
Cheryl Alters Jamison is New Mexico Magazine’s contributing culinary editor. Read her blog atwww.nmmagazine.com/tastingnm. Tasting New Mexico is her 14th book with husband and co-author Bill Jamison. See more of Douglas Merriam’s work atwww.douglasmerriam.com.
Adapted fromTasting New Mexico: Recipes Celebrating 100 Years of Distinctive Home Cooking,by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison. Reprinted by arrangement with Museum of New Mexico Press (www.mnmpress.org). The book launch will be held Sunday, May 20, 2012, at 2 p.m. at the New Mexico History Museum. 113 Lincoln Ave., Santa Fe; (505) 476-5100. Autographed copies of the book ($29.95) are available in theNew Mexico Magazine gift shop.
CRISPY BEEF AND POTATO TACOS WITH NORTEÑO SALSA
Crispy Beef and Potato Tacos with Norteño Salsa
Yield
SERVES 6 TO 8
