Hassayampa Hotel serves Gail and Charles

Come with an appetite for this good breakfast. Gail and Charles Lucky enjoyed the delightful meal as well as the history at the Hassayampa Hotel in Prescott. Looks like Lemon Souffle pancakes from page 52 of Tastes & Treasures cookbook and crispy bacon.

Lemon Souffle Pancakes pg 52

10 egg whites
10 egg yolks
¾ cup all purpose flour
3 cups ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 ½ lemons
1 teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil
Beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form. Combine the egg yolks with the flour, ricotta cheese, butter, sugar, lemon zest and salt in a bowl and mix well. Fold in the egg whites gently, leaving small portions of egg white intact.
Preheat a griddle or skillet to medium-hot and brush with a small amount of vegetable oil. Spoon 3 tablespoons of the batter at a time onto the heated griddle and cook until bubbles appear. Turn the pancakes and cook until brown. Remove the pancakes to serving plates as they brown, allowing three pancakes for each serving. Serve with fresh raspberries and raspberry syrup.
Serves 6 (makes 18 pancakes)

Roasted Teriyaki Beef Tenderloin

I received this comment from Peggy Murphy and thought it would be a great dinner for the holidays or company-

"Just a note to tell you that one of the sales people, Shelly, at Schmitt Jewelers, told me today that she cooked the Roasted Teriyaki Beef Tenderloin and not only she, but her whole family loved it, loved it, loved it!"

Roasted Teriyaki Beef Tenderloin pg 157

2 pounds beef tenderloin
1 cup sherry
1 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons dry onion soup mix
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons water

Place the tenderloins in a large sealable plastic bag. Mix the sherry, soy sauce, soup mix and brown sugar in a bowl. Reserve 1/2 cup of the sherry mixture. Pour the remaining sherry mixture over the tenderloin and seal tightly. Turn to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 8 to 10 hours, turning occasionally.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Remove the tenderloin from the plastic bag and arrange in a roasting pan. Roast for 40 to 50 minutes or to the desired degree of doneness. Let rest for 15 minutes and thinly slice. Heat the reserved sherry mixture and water in a small saucepan and drizzle over the tenderloin on a platter.
Serves 8

Sights at Barrett Jackson car show

Delicious food was to be found at the collector car show with Pei Wei, La Hacienda from Fairmont Princess, Cold Stone Creamery, Macaroni Grill and more. However, I doubt if they made their burritos with as much preparation as Arizona Inn gives to its Tomatillo Sauce on page 104 of the cookbook.

But food was not a priority with all the memorabilia for sale and vintage cars on the auction block. The wind and rain gave everyone some excitement, especially when the vendor tent was evacuated Thursday night. But the roof held, unlike the Russo Steele auction tent which ended up on the freeway and damaged over $1 million worth of collectable cars. Tastes & Treasures was on display at one of the booths. Out of towners love the book and take it home as a great souvenir and memory of their trip.

AZ Biltmore hosts Mixer

Nothing like Happy Hour at the Arizona Biltmore's new Frankie and Albert's outdoor patio. The setting sun, the large roaring fireplace and wonderful samplings of food. The Phoenix Chamber of Commerce hosts several events throughout the year to it's members. Kay Holcombe and I attended to network with other members and spread the word about the cookbook. It was well received and we made many contacts while we enjoyed the evening. We both thought the Smoked Tomato Bisque made a great presentation looking like a soup shooter topped with sour cream but the taste was too smokey for us. The Caesar Salad made while we watched (including anchovies) was wonderful but the Flatbread appetizers won the prize for best presentation. Topped with a thick red onion, cherry sauce then goat cheese, chicken, watercress and mandarin orange and parsley it was a mouthful. It is a regular entre on the menu but we liked it as an appetizer.

USS Midway Museum Worth a Visit

Can you imagine cooking in this kitchen aboard the USS Midway? This was the captain's galley. The admiral has his own galley and we also visited several other kitchens for the entire crew. It is an amazing ship and well worth the visit if you are in San Diego. I especially appreciated so many volunteers who conducted tours. Most of them are retired navy pilots or had worked on the ship. Our guide, Dave, had 4,000 volunteer hours. They are so informative and really love to share stories about their days at sea.

This plane was the type flown by John McCain.

Historical League Program February 1, 2010

The Streets of Forest Highlands: Stories behind the Names, is a brief history of Flagstaff Pioneers. It is told through the biographies of Forest Highlands Golf community namesakes. Come meet some of Arizona 's most famous and infamous characters.

Author, Cobe Frobes, tips her hat to these by-gone figures and introduces us to the stories behind the street names.Cobe will sign her book. It can be purchased from her for $20.

Dining on San Diego's waterfront

It couldn't get any better than this . . . eating fish on the waterfront. The Fish Market in San Diego had a great Happy Hour with delicious foods. My Shrimp Tower was surprisingly like Tastes & Treasures Seafood Tower, page 18 from The Cottage Place Restaurant in Flagstaff but without the scallops. Either dish is full of flavor.
Our friend, Todd, savoured the oysters while the rest of us declined. Todd did comment that the best oysters he has ever had were in Alaska. Sounds very fresh to me.

January 2010 Old Ned's News

This morning, Mary Parker, editor, dropped off the file copy of the latest Old Ned's News. The newsletter will be in the mail shortly, but meantime check out our online version. Old Ned's News

Breakfast at Torrey Pines

With this kind of view, any breakfast would be great. Our son ordered a Breakfast Burrito to fortify him for 18 holes of golf at the South Course, Torrey Pines. The burrito is very similar to Arizona Inn's Southwestern Breakfast, page 104, in Tastes & Treasures before it is rolled up in the familiar style of a burrito.

Centennial Legacy Project Official

Celebrations are in order as the Historical League now has two officially sanctioned Centennial Projects. The Historymakers Gala will be the official kick off of the Centennial on February 11, 2011. Plans are underway for a truly wonderful event you won't want to miss.

The second project is my favorite - The Legacy Project. Oral histories from all 56 Historymakers will soon be available at www.HistoricalLeague.org containing many wonderful stories and memories from some amazing Arizonans. Thanks to so many volunteers from the Historical League for working so hard on this project.

Zona Lorig and myself continue to work on transferring these stories from paper to digital format. We also share a laugh over "dueling laptops" as we chat about the progress. Joan Robinson-Blumit is the key to this fabulous project with her knowledge of computers and the internet.

Calling for all historic photographs

Dig through those shoe boxes of old photos and I'll bet you have a classic one for the Photo Fair. The third annual Arizona Historical Photographs Fair will be on Saturday, March 20, 2010 between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. at the Arizona Historical Society Museum at Papago Park, 1300 N. College Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281.

Categories are People, Business and Commerce, Lifestyle, AZ Cities and Towns, and Events. All photos from any time period of AZ are welcome. The Museum is especially looking for images that remain vivid because of the story that can be told about them. The Fair will feature camera displays, historic photos, book sales, children's activities, speakers and refreshments.

For more information contact Jeannine Moyle 480-585-4872 junkmoyle@aol.com or the Museum
historicphotofair@gmail.com

Luscious Lemon Loaf pg198

Barbara Cardinal brought this yummy loaf to January's Historical League meeting. The plate was passed around and not much was left over. This is a wonderful time to use citrus in cooking and baking in Phoenix with the trees loaded with fruit. We also juice them and freeze them into ice cubes for later use. If you can't use what is on your tree, you can call the gleaners at the food banks and they will pick them and donate them. It's a great system for sharing the fruit with food bank networks throughout the country.

Luscious Lemon Loaf pg 198
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup grated lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 tsp lemon extract
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a 5 X 8 " loaf pan with baking parchment paper. Sift the flour (who does this anymore??), baking powder, and salt together. Combine the sugar, butter and eggs in a mixing bowl. Beat using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl occasionally. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, walnuts and flavoring.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55-60 minutes or until the loaf tests done. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Note: you may drizzle with a mixture of 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, 1 tsp half and half and 1 tsp lemon juice. Makes 1 loaf.

27th Annual Children's Holiday Party

Bit late on Children’ Holiday Party reporting, but thanks to Betsy Davis, here are some great photos from the event.


My 3 year old granddaughter loved the crafts - she had Santa painted on her face and made a necklace. She also decorated (and sampled) a sugar cookie with frosting and a large assortment of candies.

My daughter, Beth, managed to get both girls, the baby was 3 ½ months old, on to Santa and Mrs. Claus’s laps, but it was a challenge to keep them from moving. I think this picture attests to the photographer’s skills!

"The Arizona Story"

Monday’s League meeting featured speaker Kyle McKoy, who with AHS staff, wrote the state’s new 4th grade Arizona history textbook, “The Arizona Story.” She was required to follow the state’s new social studies technical standard as well create a text that would appeal to children.

Kyle succeeded. The textbook received the 2009 Award of Merit for Educational Programming Excellence from The American Association for State and Local History. School districts across Arizona have enthusiastically adopted the text.

Kyle’s inspiration were the stories she collected, and her goal was to collect as many stories from as many points of view as possible. She determined to go to the source for stories and didn’t want a Euro-centered view. One of her favorites? “Edith, My Baby Doll.” During World War II, rubber was in great demand for the war effort and citizens were asked to turn in rubber in their possession. The author’s beloved doll was made of rubber. To comply, her mother took off the doll’s legs and arms to turn in, then sewed socks on the doll to replace them.

“The Arizona Story” isn’t just for 4th graders. It’s filled with real stories and anecdotes and has an eye-catching design. The book can be purchased in the museum’s gift shop. For museum information: Arizona Historical Society

Cardinals "Wild Win"

Quite a thrill they gave us with the final score 51-45 over Green Bay. Even a non football fan such as me got caught up in the game and overtime.
We worked up an appetite so our neighbors prepared a wonderful feast. Kathy baked the King Crab, Pat grilled vegies and steak and I made Camelback Inn's Spinach Salad page 70.
Let's hope they get in the playoffs so we can do this again.

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing
4 ounces bacon, chopped and cooked
1/4 cup Warm Bacon Dressing (below)
1 pound baby spinach
4 ounces goat cheese
1 Bartlett pear, sliced
Slightly heat the bacon and dressing in a saute pan. Pour over the spinach in a salad bowl and toss to coat. Crumble the goat cheese over the spinach mixture and top with the pear slices.
Serves 4

Warm Bacon Dressing
1 1/2 pounds peppered bacon, chopped
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
Sugar to taste
salt and pepper to taste
Cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp. Remove the bacon to paper towels to drain and reserve for another purpose. Drain the bacon drippings from the skillet, reserving 3/4 cup. Mix the vinegar, Dijon mustard and whole grain mustard in a bowl. Heat the reserved bacon drippings in a saucepan until slightly warm. Whisk into the mustard mixture. Add the sugar, salt and pepper and mix well. Makes 1 1/4 cup

Note: Keep the goat cheese cool. It doesn't crumble when left at room temperature waiting for the overtime game to finish.
Pears are not ripe at this time of year so I substituted with apples. Apples and goat cheese are a great combination.
I only used a small amount of the dressing. Mixing the dressing in a jar was an easy way to transport it and have it ready to heat and pour.

Red Velvet Cake

We spent the evening in a limo with our son, daughter in law and daughter sipping wine and enjoying the Christmas lights at Phalen Park in St Paul. This was a birthday gift to my husband and it was a lovely idea. Dinner at Salute followed with a Red Velvet birthday cake topped with sparkler. This cake is so moist and rich with cream cheese frosting. Yummm.

But Polly Rosenbaum's 100th Birthday Chocolate Cake is still my favorite on page 136 in Tastes & Treasures Cookbook.

Red Velvet Cake (Interesting history of this cake at the end of the recipe)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 1/2 oz red food coloring
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon soda
1 tablespoons vinegar

Directions:

Cream shortening; beat in sugar gradually. Add eggs, one at a time; beat well after each addition. Make paste of cocoa and food coloring; add to creamed mixture. Add salt, flour and vanilla alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Sprinkle soda over vinegar; pour vinegar over batter. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Bake in 3 8-inch pans or 2 9-inch pans for 30 minutes at 350°.

History
Although the details are sketchy at best, red velvet cake is not as Southern as many like to think. The story, which began circulating some time in the 1940s, claimed that Manhattan's elegant Waldorf-Astoria granted a diner's request for the recipe, then a short time later sent her a bill in the amount of $100. The angry woman, apparently with revenge in mind, then began circulating the recipe along with the story. Another "baked" legend with the same storyline is the $250 Chocolate Chip Cookie, also known as the Neiman-Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe.

Minted Walnuts or Spicey Pecans??

Minted Walnuts, page 186 in Tastes & Treasures cookbook, are a wonderful snack. This is another great recipe using pecans. These fragrant, skillet-roasted pecans get their earthy, spicy bite from rosemary, Spanish smoked paprika, and chili powder.

Photo: Landon Nordeman from Saveur Magazine

Ingredients:

4 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 cups pecan halves
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
2 tbsp. roughly chopped
rosemary leaves
2 tsp. Worcestershire
2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1⁄2 tsp. Tabasco
1⁄4 tsp. freshly ground black
pepper
1⁄4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:

Heat butter in a 12" skillet over medium heat. Add pecans and cook, swirling skillet constantly, until nuts are toasted, about 5 minutes.

Add brown sugar, rosemary, worcestershire, paprika, chili powder, salt, Tabasco, black pepper, and cinnamon and stir until pecans are evenly coated. Continue cooking pecans, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 1–2 minutes.

Transfer pecans to a parchment paper–lined baking sheet, spread into a single layer, and let cool, stirring pecans and breaking up sugar and spices occasionally.

MAKES 2 CUPS

Note: Bump up the sugar or chili powder to sweeten or add more spice.

Cowboy Caviar Variation

Needing a dish to take for a New Years Eve party led me to Tastes & Treasures cookbook. I have made Cowboy Caviar page 180 many times so decided to embellish it this time. We had red and orange sweet peppers in the refrigerator. We had black olives in the cupboard. Chopping them up fine with my new Farberware knife (birthday present - woo hoo), I added them to the basic recipe.

Shopping for a jalapeno pepper was a real job. The grocery store had several signs for Hot Yellow Peppers, Halopeno Pepper (what kind of spelling is that?), Chile Peppers and some others I never heard of before. But the signs were not on the bins of peppers. So which ones where which? I got a small green one but when I tasted it at home (just a teeny taste) my mouth was on fire. Wow. Only a small amount went into the Cowboy Caviar. Help. I need an expert to orient me to the various peppers and their tastes.