Rick Bayless - Fiesta at Ricks: Fabulous Food for Great Times with Friends

Mexican Everyday (with Deann Groen Bayless)

Rick and Lanies Excellent Kitchen Adventures

(with Lanie Bayless and Deann Groen Bayless)

MexicoOne Plate at a Time

(with JeanMarie Brownson and Deann Groen Bayless)

Salsas That Cook

(with JeanMarie Brownson and Deann Groen Bayless)

Rick Baylesss Mexican Kitchen

(with Deann Groen Bayless and JeanMarie Brownson)

Authentic Mexican (with Deann Groen Bayless)

Copyright 2010 by Rick Bayless and Deann Groen Bayless

Photographs copyright 2010 by Paul Elledge

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

First Edition

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write to Permissions, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.,

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Manufacturing by Courier Kendallville

Book design by Barbara deWilde

Production manager: Anna Oler

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bayless, Rick.

Fiesta at Rick's : fabulous food for great times with friends / Rick Bayless with Deann Groen Bayless ; photographs by Paul Elledge.1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-393-05899-4 (hardcover)

1. Cookery, Mexican. 2. Entertaining. 3. Menus. I. Bayless, Deann Groen.

II. Title.

T X716.M4B292 2010

641.5972dc22

2010013128

W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10110

www.wwnorton.com

W. W. Norton & Company Ltd.

Castle House, 75/76 Wells Street, London W1T 3QT

To DB and LB for giving me so many reasons to celebrate

Contents

Acknowledgments

This book has had a long gestation, from its inception over 30 years ago when Deann and I got married. Deann searched the farmers market across from her apartment for flowers to grace the church, our mothers, the dining tables, the three-tier wedding cake I made. I cooked for days: mole poblano , a tortilla casserole called budn azteca , cactus and jcama salads. It was a day of love and celebration, of food like our Ann Arbor friends and far-flung families had never tasted, of sparkling cremant de bourgonne , red wine and good beer.

Without Deann, I doubt Id ever have been open to learning the art of honest-to-goodness fiesta. I owe her a great debt of gratitude for this books inspiration, plus a lot of thoughtful council, unwavering support, patience and great editing during its creation.

When Lanie came into our family 19 years ago, all I wanted to do was celebrate: from the picnic of vending machine chili and corned beef hash Deann and I shared, snuggled with her in a bed moments after her birth at Illinois Masonic birthing center, to baptism, birthdays, holidays, grammar school graduation, quinceaera, high-school graduation. Shes inspired me to throw every ounce of my being into creating special, delicious moments when time expands to embrace all of creation.

Maria Guarnaschelli has been my editor for nearly a quarter of a century. Who knows what spark she saw in the clumsy manuscript for Authentic Mexican that I submitted to her. But she figured out how to fan it into a full fire, and for that Ill be ever grateful. The way she weighs every word and thought has sharpened my communication skills more than shell ever know. And she is supported by the staff at W. W. Nortonthe designers, copy editors, proofreaders, support staff, promoters, visionariesespecially Melanie Tortoroli, Anna Oler, Barbara deWilde, Nancy Palmquist, Susan Sanfrey, Ingsu Liu, Sue Carlson, Louise Brockett, and Rebecca Carlisle. They are just what every author wants: an incredibly professional group, always at the ready to make the manuscript better and better.

Doe Coover, literary agent and dear friend, is a trusted shepherd without whom you wouldnt be holding this volume in your hands.

I count my blessings that every day in my Frontera world I have the opportunity to work with amazingly smart, dedicated and talented people. Jen Fite has grown with us for many years, from her original position as restaurant host all the way to handling all our public relations, negotiating and producing appearances, juggling schedulesin truth, doing that magical anything and everything necessary to keep my life from flying into a thousand pieces. Andrew McCaughan, my assistant for several years, always brings fresh energy to our team, along with the sensibilities of a natural artist and photographer, enthusiasm for great food and hard work, and the ability to laugh under pressure. Fabi James, whos like Lanies older sister, offers such love and care that without her the Frontera world would not be the same. And Deb Silberstein tested and tested and retested all the recipes in this book, working out my vagaries and hair-brain ideas for translating restaurant techniques for home cooks, putting up with my single-mindedness and wild-eyed enthusiasm for cooking enough to feed a whole houseful. Deb and I did all the preparations for the individual food photos in the book; Kirsten West and I did all the styling for them. Brian Enyart (chef de cuisine at Topolobampo) and Richard James (chef de cuisine at Frontera) never failed with well-seasoned culinary advice; and together with Carlos Alferez (partner-general manager), they buoy me with steady support, allowing me the freedom to pursue many satisfying endeavors.

Paul Elledge, supported by James Exley and Brian Schilling, really brings this book to life with his photoshonest and brilliant, just like a great fiesta. His individual food shots exude the same heart and soul hes become so famous for when he shoots people. Bravo!

Paul took the party shots while we were filming the sixth and seventh seasons of my Public Television series MexicoOne Plate at a Time . I would like to express my sincere appreciation to our television crew for creating such beauty: Chris Gyoury, our longtime director (we miss you!); Scott Dummler and George Elder from Luminair; partners with me and Deann in Frontera Media Productions (Manny Valdes, JeanMarie Brownson, Greg Keller); our indefatigable kitchen staff (Shannon Kinsella, Floria Hernandez, Jaime Sotelo, Lorena Martinez); imaginative stylists (Holly Todd, Cate Sullivan, Roxann Ault); supertalented garden manager (Bill Shores) and guest wranglers (Stacy Dixon, Conchita Valdes). And, as always, I am grateful to our television shows long-term principle sponsors (Bohemia Mexican beer, FiveStar ranges); we are honored to be associated with such incredibly high-quality products.

Introduction

I grew up in a party family. Big family parties presided over by my red-headed, gown-wearing, pie-baking southern grandmother, who understood that great food on the table was a beacon that drew our family closer. And I grew up with big parties thrown by other folks, tooOklahoma barbeques mostly, for which my familys catering business made the ribs, baked beans, deviled eggs and slaw. Though they were joyous events, at least for the most part, I didnt understand the full potential of party until I moved to Mexico and discovered fiesta.