Hi, my name is Marianne!
Ten years ago I left the bustle of restaurant kitchens to have my first child, River. It didn’t take long before a deep admiration and desire to help home cooks feel more confident in the kitchen began to take hold. The recipes here are all about my love of home in the southwest high desert and the incredible flavors all around me. Some recipes are New Mexican while others are not at all. They encompass everything I cook for my family.
After graduating from The International Culinary Center (ICC), formerly The French Culinary Institute, in NYC in 2003, I worked in restaurants in Minneapolis and Chicago, finding a love for recipe development along the way. In 2009, Time Out Chicago named me one of the 12 most important Chefs Right Now. I live in Santa Fe, New Mexico with my husband, two boys, and our adopted dog Saturn. I work on a number of food-related projects including co-founding Stokli in 2020, an online shop that sells nourishing goods from the Southwest. I also write a regular food column for the Santa Fe New Mexican and New Mexico Magazine.
With every recipe, my goal is the same—to make you feel like we’re just friends hanging out in your kitchen, and I’m giving you all my best tips and tricks of the trade while we’re sipping on wine or tea. So, welcome! I’m so glad you’re here and I hope you find many recipes you love.
What makes Southwest cuisine so special?
It’s a humbling and majestic thing to live in New Mexico as an Italian chef from the Midwest. It’s like landing on a different culinary planet. A planet where flavors transcend, reach deeply into the land and sky, and then reappear in a simmering pot of green chile sauce.
Southwest cuisine celebrates bold flavors, hearty ingredients, and a touch of that indescribable southwestern magic. Whether it’s the sizzling fajitas, the mouthwatering enchiladas, or the irresistible green chile stew, there’s something truly enchanting about the way these dishes bring people together.
Because of this interconnected Southwest ecosystem where history, ingredients, landscape, and people meet, learning about New Mexican food feels like an extraordinary gift. My goal is to share that magic with you. My hope for you is that you’ll improve your kitchen skills, have fun, and eat some amazing food along the way.
My shop
I opened Stokli with my husband in 2020 as a family project to share our love of Santa Fe and deep appreciation for the makers and growers in our community. Stokli’s heartbeat is a celebration of the high desert, where the scent of lavender, chile, piñón, and sage floats through sunny mountain air, creating a sensory experience like no other. Our products are handmade in small batches, either by us or artisans we admire for their thoughtful approach and expert craftsmanship.