Constance Counter

Palette in the Kitchen Constance Counter Celebration edition

Santa Fe, New Mexico--a wonderful art center--was much smaller in 1974 when the original edition of Palette in the Kitchen was published, and most of the artists knew each other. This led to a lot of parties: parties after gallery openings, parties to plan exhibitions, and parties to plan parties. Looking back on all this--and the photographs from that time--conjures up cartoon mental images of cars careening around Santa Fe, and up and down the road to Taos; car-filled artists, a bottle or two of wine, and huge casseroles of main dishes, and plates of desserts. Of course, there were the times when everyone showed up with a pasta dish, or everyone brought a dessert. But most of the time there was a wonderful array of creative cooking from their special recipes. And here they are again, to remind us of that wonderful time.

Now, sadly, too many of the artists who contributed to the original edition are gone; some at young ages and some at the end of long productive lives. The late Constance Counter who, along with Karl Tani, put together the first edition of Palette in the Kitchen, loved a party, loved to cook, loved a good time, and a good story. Constance asked artists for their favorite recipes, and asked others for dishes they had invented. Some artists gave recipes discovered on their travels, and others contributed recipes from their heritage; and all the artist added their own inventiveness. This Celebration Edition is in memory of Constance Counter and the other artists in this book who are no longer with us. And it is in memory of a smaller, more village-like Santa Fe that is no more. Although times have changed, artists are still taking their creative skills to the kitchen--usually with wonderful, if not surprising, results.