Shinin’ Times at the Fort: Stories, Recipes, and Celebrations at the Landmark Colorado Restaurant

Shinin' Times at the Fort: Stories, Recipes, and Celebrations at the Landmark Colorado Restaurant

by Holly Arnold Kinney

Publisher: Fur Trade Press

Publication Date: November 2010

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Featured Recipe: Buffalo Blue Corn Tamale Pie

Shinin’ Times at the Fort, by Holly Arnold Kinney, celebrates the legacy and cuisine of the historic Fort restaurant just outside of Denver, Colorado. Since the doors opened in 1963, The Fort restaurant has been serving new foods of the Old West in an extraordinary setting with four-star service. More than just an exemplary restaurant, The Fort is a cultural institution and living museum. Built by the author’s father, Sam Arnold, as the family home, The Fort is a replica of Bent’s Fort, built in 1833. When the costs of construction and maintenance exceeded all estimates, Arnold, decided to convert the first floor into a restaurant and reserved the upper floor for the family home. Since 1963, The Fort has been a destination restaurant for food and history lovers around the world.

In more than 160 recipes, many of them gloriously photographed by award-winning Southwest photographer Lois Ellen Frank, Shinin’ Times at the Fort immortalizes the legacy and cuisine of this American treasure. From rattlesnake to buffalo and from masa to chiles, Shinin’ Times at the Fort presents popular ingredients from the 19th century in updated dishes designed to appeal to 21st-century palates. And because Kinney feels so passionately about sharing this magnificent food, the recipes have all been tested for the home kitchen and are easy to re-create.

Cooks&Books&Recipes Featured Cook
Katie, Cook It Fresh:

Having grown up in Colorado, I have heard about The Fort restaurant and their wonderful food for years, but I was surprised, upon opening Shinin’ Times at The Fort, to find that this restaurant has been around since the early 60’s! Holly Arnold Kinney, the current owner of The Fort, uses the recipes and text in this book to tell the story of a well-loved restaurant and her fascinating parents who opened The Fort almost 50 years ago. Not only did this family build and live in an authentic replica of a 19th-century adobe trading post, but they even kept a pet bear in their courtyard! The recipes in this cookbook are equally fascinating, and since they are pulled from several eras of The Fort’s menus, they tell a story of their own. Most of these recipes fit into the category of Southwestern cuisine, but there are influences from many different cultures and time periods–making for a rich, varied collection of dishes. In addition to the Southwestern staples of chile sauces, posole, and guacamole, there is also a recipe for Cuban-inspired black beans and some retro selections such as Green Goddess dressing and Cherry Cobbler.

I am already planning a trip to The Fort restaurant so I can taste these delicious dishes in the unique atmosphere captured so well by this book.

Ready to dig in to the recipes from this book?  Start things off with Buffalo Blue Corn Tamale Pie