Funding for ¡COLORES!

was provided in part by: New Mexico PBS Great Southwestern Arts & Education Endowment Fund, and the Nellita E. Walker Fund for KNME-TV at the Albuquerque Community Foundation New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts and Viewers Like You BELIEVED TO BE DESCENDANTS OF CORONADO'S 1540 EXPEDITION THE FEW REMAINING DAHL HERITAGE SHEEP ARE A LIVING LINK TO NEW MEXICO'S EARLY SPANISH SETTLEMENT 16TH GENERATION RANCHER, DONALD CHAVEZ HAS MADE IT HIS LIFE'S MISSION TO SAVE THEM FROM EXTINCTION TURNING A CENTURIES-OLD FOLK ART INTO PERSONAL EXPRESSIONS OF HERITAGE AND CONNECTION ART TEACHER, SARAH PLATT INTRODUCES STUDENTS TO THE TRADITION OF BARN QUILTING INSPIRED BY FAMILY AND TRADITION, CHEF TONY COOKS A SIGNATURE ITALIAN DISH WHILE REFLECTING ON THE JOURNEY THAT SHAPED HIM AS A CHEF IT'S ALL AHEAD ON ¡COLORES!

NEW MEXICO'S LIVING LEGACY >> Donald: They're not artifacts They're not fossils.

They're actual living history.

And they've been here since 1540.

[Wind chime] [Western guitar strumming] [Door closes] >> Donald: I'm a long time student of history, particularly ranching, cowboy, vaquero history.

I've read a lot of books, done a little writing myself and reading John Baxter's book about the lost sheep of Coronado.

I realized, there may be some out there, and that they were basically at the end of their first 500 year existence in the wilds of New Mexico.

When I found these sheep, up in San Lorenzo Canyon, I couldn't believe my eyes.

I thought -- could this be it?

I mean, they had the look -- they were white, like -- like domestic sheep, but they had the shape and size of bighorn sheep.

[Western guitar strumming] When I was able to catch a few light, I realized that they needed to be saved.

And so, it fell to me to use this farm to rescue these sheep [and] to care for them, [Western guitar strumming] >> Donald: It was difficult in the beginning because I didn't get a lot of people believing me, but I was able to convince the New Mexico Livestock Board, Field Veterinarian Dr.

Eckhoff to come and take blood samples.

And after about a year of anticipatory waiting, he sent me an email confirming that he had traced these sheep back through Coronado to two, ancient Spanish sheep, one named, “Xisqueta” and the other, “Ripollesa.” [Upbeat country western music] >> Donald: The mission now is to disseminate as many -- of these sheep out into the public and educate people so that people will be able to take over and take care of these sheep for generations to come, for another 500 years.

[Western guitar continues] I've been taking care of these sheep for about the last 45 years, my wife and I.

[Donald herding sheep] Ha ha ha ha ha ha [Western guitar continues] we don't have a lot of rocks here, so some of them, their hooves grow too long.

They need their nails cut.

[Donald offscreen] Don't let her kick you.

[Western guitar continues] [Hoof clipped] [Donald offscreen] Okay.

[metal clanking] >> Donald: I started with about a half dozen of them.

[metal clanking] This farm, we have anywhere between 80 and 100.

[Western guitar strumming] The hardest part of caring for these sheep is roundup time, rodeo time, when it's time to separate lambs from their mothers and wean them, then you need help because -- they're very active animals and they run faster than people.

[Western guitar continues] [lamb's ear tagged] [Sheep bleating] >> Donald: Good, we're done.

[Sheep bleating] >> Donald: They need more protection.

There's no place for them to be safe from -- for example, the [Department of] Game and Fish [Sheep bleating] They don't want these sheep in the wild to be mixing with the Rocky Mountain Bighorn.

They want to keep the Bighorn native species pure.

So, if they see one of our sheep they shoot them on sight.

They're endangered -- in danger of going extinct.

[Western guitar strumming] [tracker engine whirling] [Western guitar strumming] >> Donald: One of the ways to try and protect the sheep is to get legislation, number one, to recognize them, hopefully at some point to establish a sanctuary, a preserve of some sort for future generations.

[Western guitar continued] >> Donald: This farm has been in the family all these hundreds of years, and we'd like to put it into a permanent trust -- so that it'll be here forever for these sheep -- at least here.

And, it'll never, ever be for anything else but to take care of these sheep.

[Western guitar strumming] >> Donald: So, this is the school superintendent that came out to visit, and they did an article on -- the sheep, and that the farm would be a permanent fixture for educational purposes.

So, that provided us with some hope that future New Mexicans and children can learn about their history, and this particular living history that is here in Belen, right in their backyard.

[Western guitar strumming] >> Donald: This has been a -- very long and consistent effort for over the last four decades.

[Western guitar strumming] When I'm not caring for the sheep or -- [When] I have time, I write letters to legislators.

Rarely, do I ever get a response.

It's mostly crickets.

[Western guitar strumming] [Mechanical gate closing] [Dog barking] [Lamb bleating] >> Donald: Late last night we got a call from a customer who's deployed overseas, and he said that they had a mama ewe that was having twins, but was having trouble, and that she looked like she was sick.

And so, we drove to Los Lunas, the ewe, the mama ewe, died.

And so we picked up the the two twin ewes and brought them back to the farm to give them colostrum.

It's important to give them the colostrum in those first few hours.

So we rescued them and brought them here.

And they're part of the bigger family now.

>> Annelise: You did it, good job.

Good job.

[lamb snorts] Good job.

[Western guitar] [lamb bleating] >> Donald: If these sheep are not protected and I die before any one comes to the rescue they will disappear forever like so many other extinct -- animals that can never be brought back again.

That'll be a sad, sad day.

[Western guitar strumming] It's a very fulfilling feeling to be here, part of nature, part of the history of this farm.

[Running water] As a child helping my grandfather on the farm made me feel like I belong to something big and -- Now that I'm an adult, I feel it's even more powerful.

That feeling -- being something -- being part of something that's bigger than myself.

And it's just a wonderful place to -- a privileged place for me to find myself.

And I thank God that -- He chose me.

[Western guitar strumming] Every day when I come out here and I'm alone with the sheep, it fills me with a sense of pride and continues to fill me with hope and motivation to keep on keeping on, on behalf of these unique New Mexico sheep.

[Western guitar strumming] These sheep.

They're not my sheep.

This sheep are New Mexico's sheep.

Their your sheep.

Especially you younger folks.

So I'm passionate about saving these sheep and getting young people to realize how important it is to preserve their heritage, particularly living history.

[Western guitar strumming] [Herd running] PATTERN OF PLACE AS AN ARTIST, SARAH PLATT MAKES LOTS OF CHOICES, FROM PAINT COLORS AND DESIGNS TO THE MEANING OF EACH PIECE.

THESE CHOICES ARE ALL PART OF THE ARTISTIC PROCESS WHEN IT COMES TO A CRAFT THAT ORIGINATED OUTSIDE OF THE U.S.

<< Platt: Barn quilting actually is an art form that's probably about 300 years old.

It came from immigrants from Europe.

They brought the idea over here, but it didn't gain popularity until 2001, when a woman was inspired by her own mother to make her barn look more beautiful.

Her mother was a quilter, and she took that concept and used it to paint a design, a quilt design, on her barn.

I didn't know anything about it until my principal came to me and said, "hey, do you know what barn quilts are?"

And I had no idea.

So, she started telling me about some in the area that she had seen, and I looked it up and I painted my first barn quilt.

IT IGNITED A FRESH KIND OF ART CLASS AT HERMON-DEKALB CENTRAL SCHOOL, WHERE SENIORS COME TO THE TABLE WITH BARN QUILT DESIGN IDEAS, WITH GREAT PATIENCE, THEY TAKE TO THE BOARDS, CREATING PIECES WITH MEANING AND GIFTING THEIR FINAL PRODUCTS TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY.

>> Appel: This is my first year taking barn quilting, and I like this class because it's really satisfying to see the finished product.

I created a barn quilt that was for my grandma and it was a Bluebird.

I picked a Bluebird because -- that's just what my family thinks about whenever we see one, we think, “oh, that's our grandma coming to visit us.” << Platt: Barn quilts have, somewhat of a geometrical pattern because they are images that -- quilters would make.

Anything that you can make out of fabric, they take into the idea you can make them into barn quilts.

So there's very traditional barn quilt patterns made after sewing patterns like a pinwheel or a mariner's compass, but -- it's really up to the designer.

So, as barn quilts have become more popular, people have taken them different directions.

The main purpose for a barn quilt, not only for decorative reasons, because paint was very expensive when they first were coming to the area, was to show people where a family was located or a crossroads between, a certain road so people traveling could find your home.

But now they've just grown into a popular design to tell with somebody about who you are.

So the animals have come into play like horses and cows.

>> A QUIET DRIVE DOWN A LONG BACK ROAD CAN REVEAL THE LIKES OF DOZENS OF DIFFERENT BARN QUILTS.

>> Platt: there are barn quilt trails over multiple states, and at one point there were over 7,000 barn quilts being displayed that were on an active barn quilt map.

>> Saphire: We've been getting a lot of tourists into Hammond.

A lot of people come.

They drive the Barn Quilt Trail, then they look for a place for lunch -- and they look for a place for dinner.

Then they visit the gift shops and the farmers market.

We're a magnet for people driving the Barn Quilt Trail.

People who love quilting and people who love celebrations of rural beauty.

>> PEOPLE LIKE SARAH PLATT, WHILE THOSE TAKING IN VARIOUS PIECES ON BACK ROADS MAY NOT REALIZE WHAT GOES INTO MAKING A PIECE, SARAH CERTAINLY DOES.

>>Platt: Traditional barn quilts are eight foot by eight foot.

They are done on two pieces of plywood that are put side by side.

However, with popularity, people have wanted them smaller.

Not everybody can host a humongous barn quilt on the side of their house, so sizes range from two by two to four by four, almost anything down to a foot by a foot.

Anything that's perfectly square.

And, you don't really need much today they are painted on something called MDO board, which is easily available at like your hardware store and some people prefer to just do it by hand or use tape to make nice crisp lines.

I use acrylic paint, but a lot of people will use house paint.

It just depends on the durability that you want.

When I get ready to do a barn quilt, I sit down and look through images online and then pick out ones that my eyes drawn to.

It can be just for color.

It could be for pattern.

One of my barn quilts, was inspired by my grandmother.

When I was a child, my grandmother made me a Sunbonnet Sue quilt, and I just loved it, I've always kept it.

I have it as an adult, so this winter for her Christmas present, I painted her a Sunbonnet Sue barn quilt that she can hang in her home.

For aspiring barn quilters.

I would tell them to pick out designs of images or patterns that they love, that inspire them, and to not worry about it being perfect.

Just make something that they enjoy and that's the only person that they need to please.

As for my students and my work, I hope it inspires somebody else to try something new.

When I started this project with my students, they had never done a barn quilt before, but now they are pleased with what they have.

They have given them to their parents, their family members, or reminds their family members of something that was important to them.

So as long as it's made a connection with somebody, that's my goal.

COOKING WITH SOUL [Upbeat music] >> Heather: Tony tell us what you're making today?

>> Caruana: Okay, today I'm gonna to make Malfalda or Mafaldine de Guanciale, which is a pasta dish.

Mafalda is a type of pasta.

It's a little bit of a rigid pasta.

Guanciale is a is an Italian term for a hog jowl.

So it's a real nice, nutty flavor.

And it's just an absolute delicacy.

Very nice simmer dish all in one pan.

You can do this quite quickly, but when it's done right, it's absolutely just amazing.

So that's what I'm gonna do for you today.

>> Heather: Fantastic.

>> Caruana: So I'm gonna start a of extra virgin olive oil, and then we're gonna go right ahead and render down our meat with that.

We want to do it at the same type of temperature, so we don't fry it too fast.

We want to bring it up to temperature with the oil.

So the beauty of this dish is not specifically eating the meat.

It's eating the residuals or the renderings of the meat cast through the pasta.

The pasta is the showstopper.

So now that that's going, I'm gonna add my onions.

So this will be a little bit of white onion or shallot.

We're gonna let that cook off.

Stir my pasta here a little bit.

I'm want to make sure this pasta stays and remains al dente >> Heather: Hmm, gotcha.

>> Heather: So now that the onions are starting to sweat they're going to get a little translucent.

It's working in time with temperature with the whole dish here.

As you can see everything's coming together real nice.

You can start to smell it now as well.

>> Heather: Smells great.

>> Caruana: It's almost has a bacony smell, but you can tell that it has a lot more earthiness.

White wine.

I like something crisp with Pinot Grigio, a Vermentino, a Grillo, something like that.

It's going to give it a nice acidic flavor.

Let that cook.

Turn that on nice.

>> Heather: You can really smell that, smells nice.

>> Caruana: Now I'm gonna add a little bit of about natural acidity here.

So I want to have some real tomato in here.

>> Heather: You make your own fresh pasta here?

>> Caruana: Yes, ma'am, everything is made here in-house.

We have six different cuts of pasta, and they're made fresh daily.

We make everything in-house.

There's nothing really here that's not made here.

The only thing not made here are the ingredients.

[Both laugh] We take my tomatoes now, with this here, that's going to be the base of the sauce.

Let me add a little calibrates a couple here.

We'll give it a nice natural detail.

As you can see all the ingredients are natural.

There's nothing in here that's that's not good for you.

In a sense.

>> Heather: Right >>Caruana: Of course, guanciale might not be the best for your arteries, but this is the best for your tongue and your mouth and your taste buds and your life and your soul.

So now what I'm going to do is get a little bit of water in here from this pasta.

We want that starchy nice water.

And I'm going to put a little bit here.

And we're going to put this pasta right in here.

Now this is how we're going to cook the rest as possible the rest of the way.

Now what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna add a little bit of butter, because I'm going to add that some of that fat we lost, if any did not want Charlie, this is going to give it a real nice mouthfeel and a little bit of Pecorino Romano cheese.

This is sheet cheese.

A nice high end sheet cheese out of Rome as well.

Just gorgeous.

Yeah.

That's coming together beautifully.

>> Heather: Beautiful >> Caruana: And there we have it Now we're going to plate this and we're going to eat as if we just conquered a village.

Pasta first.

Always a pasta in the sauce.

Toss your pasta with your sauce.

And the other trick is never over sauce your pasta.

And to finish this off, we'll Grana Padano from Italy.

A little bit of micro basil on top just to keep the eyes right.

We eat with our eyes first, as most every chef and tell you.

There you have it.

(Upbeat Music) >> Caruana: All right.

>> Heather: Thank you.

>> Caruana: You're welcome.

I'm glad you're here.

>> Heather: This is beautiful.

Amazing.

>> Caruana: I congratulate you.

Well, cheers.

This is a nice Barbera de Alba.

One complements the other for sure.

>> Heather: Oh.

That's nice.

>> Carcuana: Perfect.

>> Heather: So not only are these dishes beautiful, but they're just incredibly delicious.

And you put your own spin.

These are.

These are your recipes.

What's your source of inspiration?

>> Caruana: That guy.

That's my father.

Picture my dad.

All my family is all into cooking.

I grew up eating, Italian food, of course.

Italy.

Italian food.

For regional, mostly Roma area, some Sicilian stuff.

My influences come from my childhood and how it makes me think about the flavors were everything for me.

Everything I did, even when I was growing up, was that, so Now, as an adult, everything I do is based around food, everything.

I won't go on a week long vacation unless there's some someplace or something based around food there.

That's kind of where I get my inspiration.

>> Heather: I love this because.

So you never stop learning.

It's always a process of learning, seeing what others are doing.

>> Carcuana: If you're cooking from a recipe, that's when you stop learning.

If you're going to continue moving past that recipe and continue moving on your track, you have to continuously learn.

Everything in a cooking game is somewhat of a recipe in that aspect, so you have to learn what it is in your next step, then your next step, then your next step.

Those who learn more steps will exceed further with every trend that comes around, with every new ingredient that comes around with every, fusion of regions that come around, you're going to continuously grow.

>> Heather: I know I'm really excited that you're opening up a second location in Chesapeake.

Can you tell me a little bit about that?

>> Caruana: Yeah, absolutely.

I'm very excited about it.

Same anxiety, excitement, stress everything that makes this place what it is, is great.

Now I have to go do it again in a much bigger venue.

But I'm ready for that.

As a person.

I'm very nervous as a chef.

I'm excited as hell.

>> Heather: I'll bet, I'll bet but I'm definitely looking forward to, to highlighting what we have and what we've always been, and also bringing on new things that I'm able to do over there that a lot of people are just going to be amazed with, too >> Heather: you know, one of the things about Lucha when you come here is the food is just the highest quality.

It's incredible.

Oftentimes with that comes a pretentiousness.

And in your restaurant you walk in the door and you feel like family.

>> Caruana: You should be happy and comfortable and you should come here, eat and know that you're coming here and you're getting something good.

There is no pretentiousness here because I don't want to.

Here, take your tie down, relax and enjoy the best food you can.

That's what I want.

>> Heather: So we're sitting here with your dad.

Your dad?

Tell me about your dad and your family >> Caruana: when it comes to cooking and food.

My family just made good food.

They still do.

My aunt was one of my favorite chefs in the world.

She's one of my inspirations.

My father was a chef worker.

You know, his his love for food is where I got my.

As far as recipes are, people tell me all the time, is this your grandparents recipe?

Is this an old family recipe?

No, I don't have that story.

It's been passed down for generations, well before my family.

What comes on my plate is inspired by my travels, by my palate, by my daughter.

>> Heather: And I love that they laid the foundation definitely inspired by my youth.

So it's a big decision and a big undertaking to open a restaurant.

What in the world made you enter this crazy world?

>> Caruana: So when I opened up this place, it was very easy for me to do.

It was a very easy decision because I had nothing else and the only thing I knew was I wanted to cook.

I want to bring my stuff out.

Also, I really wanted in this little place was a nice wine bar and a martin bar with a nice little menu.

As people started coming in, they, the menu ended up being requested more.

Everything started rising and all of a sudden it became the food.

The food, the food.

So therefore people started coming in.

Want more food.

Now we started Becoming a restaurant.

Now I'm busier than I've ever been.

I don't want to say what the hell I did.

I where it went from, what I wanted it to be to this, to this thing where it is now.

And I'm very proud of it.

>> Heather: Congratulations.

>> Caruana: Thank you.

>> Heather: This is, it's such a wonderful restaurant.

And the fact that you're opening a second location is huge.

But there's a saying that goes, if it doesn't scare you a little bit, it's not worth it.

So there you go.

>> Caruana: Right.

Yeah.

It really needs a petrified me.

>> Heather: Yeah.

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From classic episodes to brand new shows, ¡Colores!

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Watch now on your favorite NBS platforms.

Funding for ¡Colores!

was provided in part by: New Mexico PBS Great Southwestern Arts & Education Endowment Fund, and the Nellita E. Walker Fund for KNME-TV at the Albuquerque Community Foundation New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts and Viewers Like You