Christmas dinner from Cathy Shumard

Cathy keeps giving away Tastes & Treasures cookbooks to friends and family. So she needed two more books.

Posing outside the AHS Museum at Papago Park, she told me about her special Christmas dinner.  "Using recipes from Garland's Oak Creek in Tastes & Treasures cookbook, I prepared the Roast Pork Tenderloin from page 44. It was a hit even though I had never made Pinot Demi-Glace before." Served with Rhubarb Pear chutney, page 46, the entire dinner got excellent raves from her guests!

Big Thank You to Arizona author Cobe Frobes

An Arizona history supporter, we are so glad to have Cobe Frobes sharing the history and stories in Tastes & Treasures cookbook. As the author of Streets of Forest Highlands, she appreciates a good read. She has sold over 70 cookbooks since March 15.

When asked how she does it, "It is a beautiful book and it sells itself. 
         I do explain that it is helping the Arizona Historical Society. People like that. Then I explain how you divided the state into three sections and selected historic restaurants from each section. I mention El Tovar at the Grand Canyon, Garlands in Sedona, The Camelback Inn, El Chorro's sticky buns, The Arizona Inn and the Copper Queen because I think those might be familiar to them. I tell them the history of the restaurants is included so it's a great book just to read and look at.
          Sometimes I mention that I am friends on facebook with Marshall Trimble and lately he has mentioned the cuts the government has made to the budget.
          (Many of these folks just winter down here from other places.) I like to show a couple [any] of the beautiful pictures because they are all wonderful. Sometimes I mention that a friend of mine once served a dinner party for the family of just salads with recipes that came out of this book. Then I tell them they make wonderful gifts. One friend has 3 daughters-in-law so she bought 4.
           Most of our parties are pot lucks + BYOB. They are at an age where they are not acquiring 'stuff '.  In fact they are trying to get rid of stuff...but they know a value when they see it."

Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin

We love easy-to-fix dinners. This one is delicious and so simple. Another recipe is found on page 44 of Tastes & Treasures cookbook for Roast Pork Tenderloin with Rhubarb Pear Chutney and Pinot Demi-Glace. The cookbook recipe is more detailed- it's from the chefs at historic Garlands Oak Creek Lodge in Sedona but well worth it.

Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin

2 pound Pork Tenderloin
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 TBS Yellow Mustard
2-3 TBS maple syrup
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS Diced dried onions
1 1/2 TSP Garlic Salt or Powder
Mix ingredients above. Pour over Tenderloin in the crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours.

Fourth of July Tart

 Celebrate the holiday with a fabulous Fourth of July tart. The pastry is filled with vanilla custard then topped with fresh strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream. Decorate to your heart's content!

Thanks to historic Garland's Oak Creek Lodge for this delicious pastry crust. The recipe is also found on page 49 in Tastes & Treasures cookbook along with a history of Garland's Lodge. Great reading and great recipe.

Tart Pastry
Ingredients:
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

Directions:
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.

Grilled Pork Loin with Fresh Peaches

The peaches are ripe for picking and abundant in Arizona. Searching for recipes using peaches, I found this one from Williams-Sonoma.

Also tried the Roast Pork Tenderloin on page 44 of Tastes & Treasures cookbook. I substituted peaches for the pears in the chutney from Garlands Oak Creek Lodge in Sedona. Hope they don't mind!

Pork and fruit is a classic combination. This recipe takes that pairing to a delicious new level by grill-roasting a pork loin roast with fresh summer peaches. If you can’t find small peaches, use larger ones and cut each into 6 to 8 wedges.


Ingredients:1 boneless pork loin roast, about 3 1/2 lb.

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 Tbs. firmly packed light brown sugar
1 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs. olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 1/2 lb. small peaches, pitted and halved
3 or 4 fresh oregano sprigs
Directions:
Using kitchen twine, tie the pork roast at 2-inch intervals and place in a large sealable plastic bag. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, brown sugar, thyme and the 1/4 cup olive oil. Pour the marinade into the bag, seal the bag, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours, turning the bag over once or twice.

 Remove the pork from the marinade and place on a rack-lined baking sheet. Generously season the pork on all sides with salt and pepper.

 Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.



Prepare a grill for indirect grilling over medium-high heat.

In a large bowl, toss the peaches with the 1 Tbs. olive oil. Set aside. Place the pork, fat side up, in the center of a steel grill roaster.

 Place the roaster in the center of the grill over indirect heat, cover the grill and cook for 30 minutes. Arrange the peaches along the sides of the roaster, top with the oregano sprigs and cover the grill. Cook until the pork is well browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meat registers 145°F, 20 to 30 minutes more; adjust the burners as needed to maintain the internal grill temperature at 375° to 400°F. 



Transfer the pork to a cutting board, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes before carving. Cut the pork into slices and serve immediately with the peaches.

Serves 6 to 8.

Cranberry Delicious Muffins

Cranberry Delicious Muffins

Nothing like warm muffins right out of the oven.

We also like Cranberry Sour Cream Muffins, page 41 Tastes & Treasures cookbook. It is from historic Garlands Oak Creek Lodge.

Ingredients:
2 large oranges
2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups (foil ones work best) and spray baking cups with nonstick spray.

Using a fine grater, zest oranges into a bowl (you'll need 1 tbsp.); set bowl aside.

Cut oranges in half. Over a mesh strainer, juice orange halves into a measuring cup until you have 3/4 cup juice. Discard oranges and set juice aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ginger. Mix in 1 tbsp. orange zest.

In another bowl, combine yogurt, egg substitute, and sugar. Add the 3/4 cup of juice from oranges and 1/2 cup water. Whisk to combine. Add wet mixture to flour mixture. Stir until just mixed and smooth. (Do not over-stir.) Sprinkle in dried cranberries and gently stir.

Evenly spoon batter into the lined cups of the muffin pan. Bake in the oven until tops are light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 - 25 minutes. Enjoy!

MAKES 12 SERVINGS

Strawberry Shortcake Muffins

Recipe exchanges bring new ideas. This muffin recipe (page 41 in Tastes & Treasures) takes the one from Garland's Oak Creek Lodge to a different level with the addition of heavy whipping cream instead of sour cream. Great to make with either Strawberries, Cranberries or Blueberries .
Tobe Daum made the Blueberry Muffins for a League meeting. Yummm.
Strawberry Shortcake Muffins from recipe exchange

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 cup heavy whipping cream or 1/2 cup whipping cream and 1/2 cup orange juice (I prefer the cream and juice)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup fresh strawberries diced

Directions:
Mix flour, baking powder, and sugar in medium bowl. Cut in butter.
In another bowl, mix egg, vanilla, whipping cream, and orange juice.
Add egg mixture to flour mixture and mix with a spoon. Gently fold in strawberries.

Spoon batter into greased muffin tin or use paper liners. Bake at 350 for 20 t0 25 minutes. Check at 18 to 20 minutes. Tops of muffins remain light. Cool before removing from pan.
Makes 12 muffins.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink in this Salad. . .

Garland's Oak Creek Lodge has a refreshing Mixed Salad with Celery Seed Vinaigrette on page 43 of Tastes & Treasures cookbook.

We like salads that are creative so we often add additional ingredients. Perfect for summer meals.
Try grilled chicken breast, roasted asparagus, candied pecans sprinkled with cinnamon, blueberries, yellow baby pear tomatoes, sliced apples. What is your favorite combination for a summer salad?

Mixed Greens with Pears, Roquefort and Pecans with Celery Seed Vinaigrette from Garland’s Oak Creek Lodge page 43

Celery Seed Vinaigrette

1/3 cup raspberry white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon chopped yellow onion
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup walnut oil
1/3 cup canola oil
½ teaspoon celery seeds

Salad

1 cup pecans, chopped
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
4 large red Bartlett pears or Anjou pears
4 quarts mixed salad greens, rinsed and spun dry
1 cup crumbled Roquefort cheese

For the Vinaigrette, combine the vinegar, sugar, dry mustard, onion, salt, walnut oil, canola oil and celery seeds in a 2-cup glass measure and blend until smooth. Use a hand-held blender, if desired.

For the salad, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Toss the pecans with the olive oil and salt in a bowl and spread on baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted. Pour 1/3 cup of the vinaigrette into a 1-quart bowl. Quarter and core one pear at a time and slice each quarter lengthwise into ¼-inch wedges into the vinaigrette. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Place the mixed salad greens in a large bowl and toss with the remaining vinaigrette. Divide among eight salad plates. Sprinkle the cheese around the salad greens. Arrange five pear wedges on each salad and sprinkle with the toasted pecans.