"It's so beautiful!" "It's so helpful!" You told us that Adela's recipes in Twelve Gifts are clear, simple and easy to follow, and that they bring good results.

But you had additional comments. "Where's the sopa?" [meaning our southwestern bread pudding, not "soup"] "And your recipe for beans?" [meaning frijoles pintos] "And Adela's legendary pies!"

All the recipes in this book, and in Twelve Gifts, have been carefully and rigidly tested, some over a thirty-year period, by the multitudes who have feasted at Adela's table, and by me. I can personally vouch for them all. I regard myself as the luckiest consumer of the best home-made pies in the world. The pie crust recipe given here is the basis for dozens of variations: lemon, pumpkin, cherry, peach. Two of my favorites are here: apple and rhubarb. Here's hoping you get lucky, too! We are proud to present the work of two very fine artists:. Adela Amador and Claiborne O'Connor.