In her first cookbook, chef and restaurateur Donna Nordin brings together 85 recipes for the food that has earned her national acclaim and repeatedly landed Café Terra Cotta on lists of America's best restaurants. Donna's passion for spice has long been the guiding principle of her restaurant, and her flavorful, innovative CONTEMPORARY SOUTHWESTERN cooking has kept diners coming back again and again. While all her dishes dazzle the palate, a subtle Garlic Custard and smooth Avocado Vichyssoise are as much a part of her repertoire as the fiery punch of Fried Jalapeño Ravioli. Donna's signature style carries over into the dessert course with a tequila-laced chocolate Arizona Princess Cake, just one of many sophisticated studies in flavor.

• Mimi Sheraton of the New York Times and Condé Nast Traveler magazine named Café Terra Cotta "one of America's 50 best restaurants." • Donna Nordin was selected as one of 50 chefs featured on the fall 1999 PBS series Great Chefs of the West.