2019 Historymaker Gala with Alfredo Gutierrez, Merrill Mahaffey and Vern Swaback

Alfredo Gutierrez

Alfredo Gutierrez

Merrill Mahaffey

Merrill Mahaffey

Marshall Trimble making presentation

Young Vern Swaback with Frank Lloyd Wright

Vernon D. Swaback

Vern Swaback's "Skyfire" home to host Membership Open House Feb 23

At Home with Vernon D. Swaback: "A guiding principle in the design of my family's residence is that I wanted to feel somewhat exposed and vulnerable to the elements.
We named it "Skyfire' to be a celebration of the atmospheric effects of the desert."

Rancho Joaquina featured in National Trust for Historic Homes

Restoring historic Rancho Joaquina in Phoenix has been a labor or love for Marc and Karen Goldblatt, who purchased the National Register-listed home in "horrible condition."

We are grateful to Margaret Baker for arranging to have the Historical League Fall Open House at this beautifully restored historic home.

It's interesting to note that this amazing home and photos of our event were featured at
http://blog.preservationnation.org/2015/04/07/meet-the-owners-of-rancho-joaquina-a-spanish-colonial-revival-in-phoenix/#.VScARJP08dv

Historical League Open House in spacious back patio

Sold Out Event: Open House at Historic Home

SOLD OUT - This annual event will be held at the home of one of our members and is located in the Arcadia neighborhood.  It is on the National Historic Register and the historic register for the City of Phoenix.  Named Rancho Joaquina House, it is a Mission Revival/Spanish Colonial Revival mansion, built in 1924/25 by Col. J. E. Thompson, younger brother of William Boyce Thompson. The mansion anchored J. E. Thompson's 80-acre ranch.  Only two acres remain.  It is believed to be the first adobe revival property in the Phoenix area.
Our guest speaker will be James Garrison, Director Arizona State Historic Preservation Office.
Aperitivos and bebidas will be served.

Open House to feature historic Arcadia home

If you love historic homes, this one is a real pleasure. Tickets available at www.historicalleague.org/event-inside.aspx?productid=25

SW Three Layer Dip served at Membership Open House

Chef Leslie Christiansen prepared a fabulous table for the Membership Open House on October 22. The historic and authentically restored home of Mary and Scott Crozier on North Central Ave was the perfect venue for these mouth-watering, very appealing appetizers. We are so thankful to Leslie for all she does for the Historical League PLUS she shared this delicious recipe.

As a thank you to the home owners, President-Elect Linda Cathey presented the Crozier's with Tastes & Treasures A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona.

SOUTHWEST THREE LAYERED DIP

Ingredients:
¼ cup cold water
1 package unflavored gelatin (1T loose powder)
Avocado Layer:
2 large avocados, cut into small cubes
¼ cup green onion, sliced about 1-inch pieces
2 T fresh lime or lemon juice
2 T mayonnaise or sour cream
1 t salt, or more to taste
1/8 t chipotle powder, or to taste

Sour Cream Layer:
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature (low fat is OK, but not non-fat)
¼ cup sweet or yellow onion, finely chopped
Red Pepper Layer:
3 red peppers, (you can use one red, yellow & orange pepper)Roasted in a 375 F oven for 30 minutes; peeled and seeded and rough chopped
¼ cup onion, chopped
¼ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
2 T mayonnaise or sour cream
1-2 T fresh lime or lemon juice
2  t ground coriander
2 t ground cumin
1/8 t chipotle powder, or to taste
1 t salt, more to taste

Directions:
Lightly oil an 8-inch spring-form pan or spray with non-stick spray.
Put the cold water and gelatin in a heat-proof bowl, stir with a fork to dissolve.
After about 5 minutes, place the bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water; (not boiling) after a few minutes the gelatin will melt.  Keep the bowl on the stove; over the lowest heat.  The gelatin will be divided between the 3 layers.
AVOCADO layer: Put 1 of the cubed avocados, green onion, lime/lemon juice, mayonnaise, salt and chipotle powder in the bowl of a food processor; pulse to almost a puree.  Season to taste with salt; add more salt & hot pepper sauce, if desired.
Stir in the 2nd cubed avocado, along with 1 T of the melted gelatin.  Use an off- set spatula if you have one to spread over the bottom of the prepared pan, refrigerate while you make the next layer.
SOUR CREAM layer: Stir together the sour cream, onion & 2 T of the melted gelatin. Season to taste with salt.  Carefully spread over the avocado layer and chill.
RED PEPPER layer: Put the roasted red peppers, onion, cilantro, mayonnaise, lime juice, coriander, cumin, chipotle powder and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the red peppers look like confetti.  Taste and adjust the seasonings, add more salt if necessary.  Stir in the remaining 1 T gelatin.  Spread on top of the sour cream layer.
Cover and chill until firm, at least 6 hours; overnight is best.
To serve, run a thin knife around the inside of the pan.  Open the spring-form pan and remove the outside ring.  Place the mold- still on the base of the pan, on a decorative platter. 

Chef Leslie Christiansen

To keep the base from sliding place some folded wet paper towels under the dip. 
Serve with tortilla chips or pita crackers.

President-Elect Linda Cathey presents Commemorative book and cookbook to Scott and Mary Crozier.

Open House a Huge Success

President Pam Ryan and guest Pam Fischer

Sam Cathy, Jim Moyle, Hosts Scott and Mary Crozier

The home was historic, the 2 1/2 acre grounds were amazing, the food was delicious and the attendees were thrilled with the event. What a wonderful evening at the North Central home of Mary and Scott Crozier. Thanks to the hard work of many Historical League members for a superb presentation. As Nancy Evans remarked, "The whole event screamed Martha Stewart."

Chef Leslie Christiansen, Jan Hoescher, Judy Blackwell, Sharron McKinney

Bartenders Janie Burke and Mary Garbaciak in front of well tower.

Mary Pat Honey, Margaret Baker check in guests Pam Fisher and Anna Leonard at the entrance.

President elect Linda Cathey presents Tastes  & Treasures cookbook and Arizona Recollections and Reflections to Scott and Mary Crozier.

Delicious Menu created by Leslie Christiansen

Pam Fischer and Mariamne Moore

Tables are filled waiting for guest speaker Mary and Scott Crozier to talk about the history of the home.

Salty Sweet Chocolate Bars

These were served at the Historical League Open House but I did not get a taste. A few days later we had a meeting for Children's Holiday Party to be held Dec 17 at Arizona Biltmore and they were served again. YUMMMM. Tastes better a few days later.

Also love the Chocolate Peanut Treats on page 162 in Tastes & Treasures. Try them both.

FLEUR DE SEL CHOCOLATE CHIP BLONDIES

Ingredients:

8 oz unsalted butter, (2 sticks) soft

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup sugar

2 1/3 cups flour

1¼ t baking soda

Pinch fine sea salt, optional

2 eggs, at room temperature

2 t vanilla

3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1-1½ T coarse salt; like Fleur de Sel or Kosher salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 9x13 jelly roll pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter on medium speed with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the sugars, stopping to scrape the bowl as necessary.
4. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until the butter and sugar are fully incorporated, about 5 more minutes.
5. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda and sea salt, if using. Use a whisk to combine and break up any clumps. Set aside.
6. To the butter & sugar mixture add the eggs, one at a time. Allow the egg to fully incorporate into the batter before adding the second egg. Add the vanilla.
7. Turn the mixer down to the lowest speed. Slowly add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients are incorporated into the wet. Scrape the bowl.
8. With the mixer on the lowest speed add the 3 cups of chocolate chips and mix just until combined. Alternately, remove the mixing bowl from the stand and use a wooden spoon to gently fold in the chocolate chips.
9. Spread the batter onto the prepared jelly roll pan.
10. Sprinkle the coarse salt on top, gently pressing to help the salt adhere.
11. Bake for about 25 minutes, until light golden brown; crunchy on top, not wobbly in the center; similar to a brownie… do not over bake.
12. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a rack.
13. Gently flip Blondies onto a cutting board to cut into cute little bars.

Makes about 24-48 bars

Pate a Chou Cream Puffs

League member Leslie Christiansen created the wonderful appetizer menu for the Historical League Open House. When I asked her about the "mini buns" that were served she responded, "Mini buns!! I cracked up over this one. These are little cream puffs- not buns, which can be used for savory or sweet foods.

Pate a Chou are what our good friends, the French call them. Pate is pronounced like Pat, and chou is like the word "shoe". The direct translation for chou is cabbage, and when you think about it, the cream puff looks like a little cabbage.

One very popular dessert we often see the pat a chou used for is the Profiterole, which is filled with a scoop of ice cream and then covered with some sort of yummy sauce.

I've taught this recipe many times, as it's tricky to make without demonstration, but easy once you've seen someone show you how to do it. And we usually have the ingredients in our kitchen- just flour, butter, water, eggs and a inch of salt."

Now you know why Leslie designed the menu (and not me). These Pate a Chou were filled with Curried Chicken/ Mango Chutney and were so-o-o tasty.

CREAM PUFF

PATE A CHOU

Ingredients:

1 cup water

4 oz unsalted butter (1 stick)

½ t kosher salt

1 cup flour (4 oz)

4 eggs

Method:

1. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper and preheat a convection oven to 375 F, a regular oven to 400 F.
2. Place water, butter and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
3. Turn off the heat, leaving the pot on the stove. Add the flour- all at once and stir, using a wooden spoon.
4. Smash the dough against the sides of the pot to break up any lumps of flour. The dough will be like a thick ball. Stir over the residual heat of the stove for about 2 minutes to dry out the dough.
5. Place dough in bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each additional egg, until the dough has completely come back together. Do not rush this step or the dough will not work.
6. Transfer dough into a pastry bag (or a zip-top bag with a corner end cut off) with a large round tip. Pipe uniform sized balls onto the parchment paper about the size of a large walnut.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes, until light-golden brown. Decrease oven temp to 300-325 F and bake for 10-15 minutes longer, until the inside has dried-out. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Cut in half and fill with ice cream, whipped cream or a variety of salads. The puffs freeze very well in zip-top bags.

Mini Raspberry Black-Bottom Cheesecake

Leslie Christiansen has so many wonderful recipes to share. For the Historical League Open House, she create ones that volunteers could make ahead and bring to the historic home. Her comments, "I wanted appetizers that could be easy to make in advance and then transported to another location.

These were delicious and made a beautiful presentation.

MINI RASPBERRY BLACK-BOTTOM CHEESECAKES

Ingredients:

6 whole chocolate graham crackers

3 T butter, soft

2/3 cup sour cream, at room

temperature

¼ cup sugar

1 eight oz package cream cheese, at room temperature

2 eggs, at room temperature

2 t vanilla

¼ cup raspberry jam or apricot preserves

Vegetable spray

Foil cupcake liners

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Line a standard muffin pan with foil cupcake liners and lightly spray with non-stick spray.
2. Place the metal blade inside a food processor. Break up the chocolate graham crackers as you put them inside, and pulse until crushed. Add the butter and process to form fine crumbs.
3. Spoon the graham cracker crumbs into the prepared cupcake pan. Press with the back of a spoon or a glass to compact the crumbs. Bake for 5 minutes.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the sour cream for about 20 seconds on medium speed.
5. Add the sugar and beat until smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape the bowl.
6. Lower the mixer speed, add cream cheese and beat about 2 minutes.
7. Add the eggs, one at a time; waiting to add the second egg until the first egg is fully incorporated. Scrape the bowl.
8. Add the vanilla and beat until smooth. Scrape the bowl.
9. Pour the batter into the baking cups, filling them about ¾ full. Bake for about 15 minutes, do not overbake. The center will be slightly jiggly.
10. Remove cheesecakes from the oven. Spoon about 1 t jam on top of each cheesecake.
11. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill the cheesecakes until cooled, about 2 hours. Cheesecakes can be refrigerated up to 2 days.
12. Carefully peel off the foil baking cups from the cheesecake before serving.
13. Please bring cheesecakes to the Open House in the paper liners.

Makes 36 mini cheesecakes

Curried Chicken with Mango Chutney

CURRIED CHICKEN WITH MANGO CHUTNEY made a beautiful presentation at the Historical League Open House. A similar recipe making this into a delightful dish called Curried Chicken Green Salad is in Tastes & Treasures cookbook on page 151.

Both Historical League books, Tastes & Treasures cookbook and our new Centennial book, AZ Recollections and Reflections An Arizona Historymakers Centennial Commemoration, were displayed at the Open House at the historic Hearn Home.

Ingredients:

1 rotisserie chicken, skin removed & shredded into bite sized pieces

1 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt

½ cup regular mayonnaise

¼ cup chutney

2-3 Tablespoons mild or medium curry powder

1½ t salt

1 cup celery, diced

¼ cup green onion, chopped

½ cup golden raisins

1 cup cashews (optional)

Method:

1. Make the dressing: Combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, chutney, curry powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl place the chicken, celery, green onion and golden raisins into a large bowl. Stir in enough dressing to moisten well.
3. Cover and refrigerate for several hours to allow the flavors to blend. Season to taste, add more dressing, salt and pepper if necessary.
4. Add the cashews, if using, and serve.

Great inside cream puffs.

Cranberry Lemon Bars for the Holidays

If you are looking for that yummy treat for the Holidays and want to make something ahead of time, this is the answer. Enjoy this delightful bar from League member, Sally Schaefer. We got the recipe after she made it for the Historical League Membership Open House in October. Donna Esposito, Dianne Linthicum and Mariamne Moore help present the bounty for League members and guests.

CRANBERRY LEMON BARS

1st Layer:
1/2 C sugar
3/4 C butter
]1 1/2 C flour
Blend with pastry blender and press into greased & floured 9x13" pan. Bake 12 min. at 325 degrees.
2nd Layer:
2 eggs beaten
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 C packed brown sugar
1 C chopped walnuts or pecans (I used Pecans)
3-4 tablespoons jellied cranberry sauce
Mix and pour over crust. Bake 20 min. at 325 degrees.

3rd Layer:
Juice of 1 Lemon and grating from peel
Mix juice and peel with
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
1 tablespoons butter softened until spreadable
Pour and spread over Hot bars.

Cool and cut into small squares or diamonds.
(Hint: Dip knife into hot water as you cut them to make cutting easier.)

Can be made ahead of time & refrigerate.