Winners in Museum Photo Fair

Congratulations to League members who received a ribbon:
Dee Steen for her "Mom In Saguaro", First Place in PEOPLE category;

Norma Hinton, Third Place for "Birthday Party" in EVENTS category and Third Place for "Noftsger Hill Soccer Team" in LIFESTYLES category.

Zona Lorig took First Place for "Picnic on the San Pedro River" in LIFESTYLES category as well as Second Place for "Family and Friends at the Montezoma Hotel" in LIFESTYLES category and one more, First Place for "Fairbank Train Depot" in TRANSPORTATION category.


posted by Jeannine Moyle

White Chocolate Mousse

Celebrating a 22nd birthday should be special. Nothing like San Francisco, lunch at McCormick & Kuletos and White Chocolate Mousse for my niece, Jamie. (She had help eating it).





My sister, Judy, and Jamie came for a non-stop 3 day visit. Our tour guide, my daughter Candice, arranged a bicycle ride, Bogle Vineyard picnic, visits to the Cable Car Museum, an Irish Pub, Chinatown, Little Italy, Alcatraz at night, Haight Ashbury and lots of shopping.

The Historical League served Historymaker Polly Rosenbaum chocolate cake for her 100th birthday. Recipe on page 136 of Tastes & Treasures. I think she would have approved of White Chocolate Mousse for another birthday.

White Chocolate Mousse
It's such a simple dish to make, and it's melt-in-your-mouth light. You could use regular chocolate if you prefer.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup water
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preparation:

Heat water in saucepan, with sugar, until sugar is dissolved. Add chocolate chips and melt until smooth. Set saucepan in cold water to cool mixture. Place in the fridge until thoroughly chilled. Whisk smooth. Beat cream and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Fold into cold chocolate mixture. Pour into pre-made dark chocolate serving cups or individual serving dishes and enjoy.
Note: Add fresh fruit and a drizzle of juice for added presentation.

Cable Car Museum, San Francisco

No trip is complete for me without a museum visit and this one is great. Free admission, full of information and it is a working facility. These cables and sheaves still power the cable cars that run in the city and you can hop on, ride to Fisherman's Wharf and enjoy fabulous views. Lombard street was busy. Love the Bay Bridge scene. A great way to celebrate Jamie's 22nd birthday.

Limoncello

Friends in Sacramento are serious about their cooking. Rae made the best chocolates I have ever tastes but I think he is guarding his recipes.

He also gave us this bottle of Limoncello. It is beautifully packaged and made a lovely hostess gift. The recipe can be found in Tastes & Treasures.

Lemoncello (Liquore al Limone) page 178.

15 thick-skin lemons
2 (750 milliliter) bottles 100 proof vodka
4 cups sugar
5 cups water

Scrub the lemons with a vegetable brush and hot water to remove any wax or pesticides. Pat dry with paper towels. Remove the zest in strips with a vegetable peeler, removing any white pith. Combine the lemon zest and 1 bottle off the vodka in a large jar with a tight fitting lid. Let stand at room temperature in a cool dark environment for 40 days.
After 40 days, mix the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes and remove from the heat. Let stand until cool. Add the syrup and remaining bottle of vodka to the jar containing the vodka and lemon zest.
Let stand, covered, at roo temperature in a cool dark environment for 40 more days. Strain the vodka mixture into bottles, discarding the solids. Store in the freezer. Serve ice cold from the freezer in small glasses.
Makes about 2 (750 milliliter) bottles

Photo Fair at AHS Museum

Over 200 historical photographs of Arizona were submitted to the Annual Photo Fair. Historical League member Jeannine Moyle did a fantastic job of organizing and promoting this event. It is wonderful to watch the fair grow from historic photographs to include book signings, science experiments and more. Carolyn Mendoza set up a table with sales of Tastes & Treasures and Historical League aprons. George Hartz autographed his book for the Images of America series. Museum Director Dr. Peter Welsh participated in research being conducted on a weather station.

Tour of Bead Museum

The March Historical League tour was at the “Bead Museum” at 5754 W. Glenn Drive in Glendale. We had a docent-led tour of the museum to see their “From Caves to Castles: If Beads Could Talk” exhibit. This collection of ancient beads from the private collection of museum founder Gabrielle Liese has never been on display before. After the tour, we had the opportunity to make our own “bling”. $15.00 included the tour and a bracelet.




Lunch followed at Kimberly Ann’s Victorian Tearoom at 7153 N. 59th Ave. Opened in 1994, Mae Collins named her tearoom after the granddaughter she raised. She was motivated by the happiness she brought customers in her boutique, which grew into an ice cream parlor and then into the lovely tearoom.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

A tasting menu at Basis Restaurant, 7th Street and Thunderbird, drew us to this neighborhood gathering place. The food was very good and for $5 we couldn't resist this dessert. Carol and I shared this rich chocolate delight. She looks pretty happy, doesn't she? It was so good I wanted to try it at home.

Flourless Chocolate Cake
Ingredients

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 18 (1 ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 6 eggs
  
  
• Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease one 10 inch round cake pan and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the water, salt and sugar. Stir until completely dissolved and set aside.
3. Either in the top half of a double boiler or in a microwave oven melt the bittersweet chocolate. Pour the chocolate into the bowl of an electric mixer.
4. Cut the butter into pieces and beat the butter into the chocolate, 1 piece at a time. Beat in the hot sugar-water. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan (greased and floured). Have a pan larger than the cake pan ready, put the cake pan in the larger pan and fill the pan with boiling water halfway up the sides of the cake pan.
6. Bake cake in the water bath at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 45 minutes. The center will still look wet. Chill cake overnight in the pan. To unmold, dip the bottom of the cake pan in hot water for 10 seconds and invert onto a serving plate.

Note: Use cocoa powder to flour the pan so it doesn't have white powder on it.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 341 | Total Fat: 24g | Cholesterol: 111mg

Embellishing Spinach Mushroom Florentine

Substituting ingredients in recipes is something I enjoy doing. The original Spinach Mushroom Florentine is great, page 190 in Tastes & Treasures, but with added cooked and chopped bacon and low fat mozzarella cheese, it became a meal.

Spinach Mushroom Florentine pg 190 Tastes & Treasures

1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen choppen spinach, thawed and drained
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt
Garlic powder to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Saute the mushrooms in a non stick skillet until tender. Cool slightly. Press the excess moisture from the spinach. Combine the spinach, onion, butter, 1/2 cup of the cheese and the salt in a bowl and mix well. Spoon half the spinach mixture into a buttered 9 X 13 inch baking dish and top with half the mushrooms. Sprinkle with garlic powder. Top with the remaining spinach mixture, remaining mushrooms and garlic powder. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Serves 6 to 8.

Note: We used lots of fresh spinach and it was so-o-o yummy.
Did not need to butter the dish.
Sauteing mushrooms in Monterey Steak Seasoning makes them very tasty.

Celebrate St Patricks Day with Green Shake

Hungry Girl has a website with low calorie, reduced fat recipes and helpful hints for eating healthy. This is a great drink for St Patricks Day. Shamrock 'n' Roll Shake

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. Coffee-mate Sugar Free French Vanilla powdered creamer
3/4 cup light vanilla soymilk
1/2 cup Breyers Smooth & Dreamy Creamy Vanilla fat-free ice cream
1/4 tsp. peppermint extract
2 drops green food coloring
1 no-calorie sweetener packet (like Splenda)
1 1/2 cups crushed ice (8 - 12 ice cubes' worth)

Directions:
Combine Coffee-mate with 1 tbsp. hot water and stir to dissolve. Transfer mixture to a blender and add all other ingredients. Blend at high speed until mixed thoroughly. Pour into a glass and enjoy!

MAKES 1 SERVING

PER SERVING (1 shake, entire recipe): 176 calories, 4g fat, 142mg sodium, 29.5g carbs, 3.5g fiber, 16g sugars, 7.5g protein -- POINTS® value 3*

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Stuffed Mushrooms

Perfect for a party, these can be made a day ahead and refrigerated- ready to pop in the oven and serve warm and tasty.

Not owning a pastry bag, I used a plastic sandwich bag and cut out a corner. It worked well for these clumsy hands. The photos (thanks to my daughters artistic eye) show the mushrooms prior to a dusting of bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and final baking.

How to make really fine breadcrumbs? Use your coffee bean grinder. It worked very well.

STUFFED MUSHROOMS pg 27 Tastes & Treasures cookbook

Ingredients
2 lbs large mushrooms
2 T butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
½ t dried dill weed
3 T grated Parmesan cheese
2 T breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
2 T grated Parmesan cheese
2 T breadcrumbs

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Clean the mushrooms with a damp paper towel.

3. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and dice.

4. In a medium skillet, over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Sauté the chopped mushroom stems and the minced garlic for 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat to cool.

5. Add the cream cheese and mix thoroughly. Add the dill weed, Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

6. Spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe into the mushroom caps.

7. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 T Parmesan cheese and 2 T breadcrumbs.

8. Bake for 10 minutes or until nicely browned.

Cook’s Note: You may prepare the mushrooms a day ahead and store in the refrigerator until ready to bake.

Serves 8-10

Old Ned's News March 2010

Check out our latest newsletter online now.

Frontdoors: AHS Historical Photographic Fair

FEBRUARY 23, 2010 ISSUE

Arizona Historical Society
Historical Photographic Fair

The Arizona Historical Society Museum (AHSM) at Papago Park is set to host its annual Historical Photographic Fair, featuring camera displays, historic photographs, book sales, children’s activities, speakers and refreshments. Arizonans are asked to enter the historical photograph contest, sharing their pictures of Arizona history in the categories of: People, Commercial establishments, Lifestyles, Arizona cities and towns and Events. Notable photograph advisors will judge entries on photographic merit as well as on the information that accompanies them. Reproductions of selected photographs will remain on exhibit at the museum from March 20 through
the summer of 2010.
To enter the photograph contest or inquire for more information, please contact Jeannine Moyle at 480-585-4872. Admission to this event is free and will take place on Saturday, March 20, 2010, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visit www.azhs.gov for more information.

Amish Friendship Bread

Found this package on my doorstep last week and what a treat from my friend, Carol. I am working on my first batch, then will share with friends. Notice the ziploc bag is full of air - Lots of fermentation going on. Wonder how many people have done this?

Important: Do not use any type of metal spoon or bowl for mixing. DO NOT refrigerate and do not bake in a convection oven.
If air gets into the bag, let it out. It is normal for the batter to rise & ferment.

Day 1: Do nothing, this is the day you received the batter.
Day 2: Mush the bag
Day 3: Mush the bag
Day 4: Mush the bag
Day 5: Mush the bag
Day 6: Add to the bag: 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk, Mush the bag.
Day 7: Mush the bag
Day 8: Mush the bag
Day 9: Mush the bag
Day 10: Follow the directions below:
1. Pour the entire contents of the bag into a non-metal bowl.
2. add 1 ½ cup flour, 1 ½ cup sugar, 1 ½ cup milk
3. Measure out separate batter of 1 cup each into 4 Ziploc 1 gallon size bags. Keep a starter bag for yourself and give 3 to friends with a copy of the recipe. Mark all bags with the date you put together in case it is not being passed on the 1st day.
4. Preheat oven 325 degrees.
5. To the remaining batter in the bowl add (mix dry ingredients together first):
3 eggs
1 cup of oil (or ½ cup of oil and ½ cup applesauce)
½ cup milk
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. each of vanilla, baking powder, baking soda and salt
2 cups of flour
1 large box of Vanilla Instant pudding mix
Optional: ½ cup chopped nuts or chocolate chips
6. Grease 2 large loaf pans or 1 Bundt pan and mix additional ½ cup sugar and 1 ½ tsp. cinnamon. Dust the greased pan with the mixture.
7. Pour batter evenly into the pans and sprinkle the remaining sugar/cinnamon mixture over the top.
8. Bake 1 hour. Cool until bread loosens from pan evenly (about 10 minutes). Serve warm or cold.


Note: if you keep a starter for yourself, you will be baking every 10 days. The bread is very good and makes a great gift. If you give all the starters away, you will have to wait until someone gives one back to you.

How to get all that good batter out of a ziploc bag? I rubber banded it to my cupboard knob and let it drip.

Chocolate Variation- omit the cinnamon, replace the vanilla pudding with sugar-free chocolate fudge pudding, add 3 oz. of chopped bittersweet chocolate, and 1/2 cup chopped pecans.
Lemon Variation - omit the cinnamon, use sugar-free lemon pudding, add 1 teaspoon of lemon extract, and 1 cup of frozen wild blueberries, thawed and drained.

Julie Tribbey's dinner party

The Tribbey family enjoyed Garlands Apple Tart at a recent dinner party in Fountain Hills.

Julie Tribbey writes, "Here is the picture the dinner party I went to Saturday night at the Hatch's. Sorry the picture was cut off. In the picture is Jim Hatch (the cook), his wife Peggy and new member Jan Jensen (seated). Jim also made Roast Pork Tenderloin (p 44) and Mixed Greens with Pears (p 43). The meal was topped-off with Garland's Apple Tart (p 48). All guests raved about these delightful choices from Tastes and Treasures."

Garland's Apple Tart

1 Tart Pastry
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into cubes
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg
4 large or 5 medium Rome, MacIntosh, Jonathon or Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Roll the pastry 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Trim the edge into a large circle. Fold the circle in half gently and place over half of a 10 inch shallow fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Unfold the dough and press over the bottom and up the side of the pan. Trim the excess dough around the edge, leaving 1/3 inch of the dough above the rim of the pan. Fold the edge down slightly so that it sits on the edge of the pan. Place the pan in the freezer for 5 minutes. Remove the tart shell from the freezer. Line with baking parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown, removing the baking parchment paper and pie weights a few minutes before the baking time is over.
Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Pulse 3/4 cup flour and the brown sugar in a food processor to blend. Add the butter cubes and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Whisk the sour cream, granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, the salt, vanilla, cinnamon and egg in a bowl until very smooth. Add the apple slices and mix gently to coat. Fill the cooled tart crust with the apple mixture just to the rim, spreading the apples evenly. Bake in the lower third of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or just until the filling begins to set. Remove from the oven and spread the flour mixture evenly and completely over the top. Reduce the oven temperature to 35o degrees. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until the tart is a deep golden brown. Cool on a wirre rack for 30 to 60 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Note: This tart is also good using pears or peaches.

Tart Pastry
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening
1/4 cup cold water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Whisk the flour, salt and sugar lightly in a medium bowl to blend. Add the butter and shortening and toss lightly to coat. Cut with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles a very coarse cornmeal. Mix the water and vinegar together. Sprinkle about 3 tablespoons of the vinegar mixture over the flour mixture and toss to blend. Continue adding the vinegar mixture 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing to form a cohesive ball that will hold together when pressed. Divide the dough into two equal portions and shape each portion into a disk. Wrap and chill for at least 2 hours before using or store in the freezer. Makes 2 pastry disks.

Paul Messinger guest speaker at March meeting

This man has such knowledge of the Phoenix area. He was a walking encyclopedia . . . or should I refer to Google?

One of my favorite stories was about the history of Camelback Cemetery (also referred to as Scottsdale Cemetery) on East McDonald Drive. The soil is caliche and VERY hard so in the early days (late 1800's) they used sticks of dynamite to blow up the ground to make a grave. I wonder what the neighbors thought of that method?

After his talk, Kathleen Fischer presented Paul with a copy of Tastes & Treasures cookbook.

We always have delicious salads at meetings but this was a feast. Lovely Leprechaun decorations graced the table along with a 3 leaf clover centerpiece grown by Judy Lewis.

Margarita Pie at March meeting

Birthdays aren't often celebrated with the Historical League but every once in a while we make it special. Reba and Zona have birthdays very close together so a Margarita Pie seemed in order.

Using fresh ingredients, i.e. limes, would be easy, right? Wrong. It takes a lot of limes juice to make 1/2 cup so I added fresh lemon juice. It poured easily into the pretzel crust.

This is a wonderful dessert for company because you can make it days ahead and freeze it. Decorate with lime slices and it looks very professional.

However, frozen pie does not transport well. I put the finished pie on a bed of ice to keep it cold. The Margarita Pie looked more like Margarita Pudding by the time it was served as dessert but the plate was licked clean.

MARGARITA PIE

Pretzel Crust
1 1/2 cups finely crushed pretzels
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Pie Filling
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1(14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons gold tequila
2 tablespoons Triple Sec
2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped
Green food coloring (optional)

For the crust, pulse the pretzels and sugar in a food processor several times to combine. Add the butter in a steady stream and process until well mixed. Press over the bottom and up the side of a 9 inch pie plate sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

For the pie, combine the lime juice, condensed milk, tequila and Triple Sec in a bowl and mix well. Fold in the whipped cream. Tint with green food coloring, if you desire a deeper color. Spoon into the crust. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 4 hours or up to 1 week. Garnish with additional whipped cream and lime slices. Note: Do not use fat-free or low-fat pretzels
in the crust or the crust will not hold together when cutting. You may substitute graham crackers for the pretzels.

Serves 6 to 8