At one point, I looked out on to the crowd, smiling, thinking, "Beans. Beans did this." How did I go from being the loneliest fellow at the farmer's markets to calling for a party and having it be packed with a steady stream of Rancho Gordo enthusiasts for two hours? How did we pull off making our own dried nixtamal? How did we pull off publishing our own books when we were feeling burned by the traditional publishing houses? How did this happen?

The Rancho Gordo Pozole Book by Steve Sando was officially released on November 8, 2019

I'm also lucky in that the staff at Rancho Gordo is better at all this than I am. In the old days, I felt as if I had to do everything, and I did. Now, we come up with an idea, work it out and I get to breeze in like a celebrity and sign books and schmooze. The party was arranged by the retail staff, the pozole for sampling was made by my pals at The Fatted Calf, and we even had wine. This time an excellent pinot noir and a rosé from Honrama Cellars.

I was also tickled that there were so many people already invested in pozole. Most of the guests were well aware of the dish and everyone was happy with The Fatted Calf's version.

The book is shipping as I write this and I know it will offend a few Mexican grandmothers, but I am prepared for wrath. I can't tell you how many people told me that their grandmother (or mother, or uncle, etc.) made the best pozole. I'm sure they did.

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