La Posada chef readies cookbook

John Sharpe, chef/owner of the acclaimed Turquoise Room restaurant attached to the historic La Posada hotel in Winslow, Ariz., recently announced that the cookbook he’s been working on will be hitting bookstores next month.

The book launching will be at the historic La Posada at 3 p.m. Nov. 16. Please RSVP your intention to attend by e-mailing dine@theturquoiseroom.net by Friday; the event will be limited to the first 200 people. Those lucky few will receive free tastes of some of Sharpe’s dishes.

You can also place your order for the $40 book here. The first 1,000 orders will be signed, and Sharpe says customers should receive the book before Thanksgiving.

More about the book from Sharpe’s announcement:

It is a hardcover with a dust jacket, 9” x 12”, with full color photographs of the restaurant’s signature dishes and of the hotel. Recipes for more than 70 of your favorite dishes grace the book’s pages: the Signature Soup; the Corn Maiden; the Arizona Eggs; my Holiday Scotch Eggs; the Stuffed Squash Blossoms; Beef Machaca; Churro Lamb Posole; Green Chile Lamb; the Chocolate Soufflé; the Bread Pudding. They are all in there.

Included in the book is a history of the hotel, its restoration, the local food history, and information about the ingredients I use in my daily cooking. I have also included the stories of the Fred Harvey Company, the Santa Fe Railway, and how Patricia and I came to Winslow to build this restaurant where we could settle down and serve our guests a meal to remember.

The book shines with fabulous photos taken by Christopher Marchetti, whose keen eye through the lens can only be topped by his inimitable personality, his humor, and most of all his friendship. The book’s design, by David Jenney, is amazing. His care and attention to the details made us all try harder to create a better book for all to enjoy. Editor Claudine Randazzo’s patience with my words commends her to sainthood. Lulu Santamaria, who brought us all together in the first place, made this truly a locally produced book, as we all live within 100 miles of one another.

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