Watermelon Salad from Tastes & Treaures II

Watermelon Salad from the Wigwam Resort is a popular recipe in Tastes & Treasures II, page 137. Refreshing and easy for summertime parties and picnics, it bursts with flavor. Now that it is available in the book, we are seeing several versions at other restaurants but they don't compare to the Wigwam's  recipes!

Book available at HistorialLeague.org/SHOP.aspx and Amazon.com

The Wigwam Resort salad, on page 137, is bursting with flavors: roasted corn, cilantro, jalapeños, limes, red onion, and Cotija cheese. It is the perfect blend of ingredients for a SouthWest salad!!

Watermelon Salad from the Cov in Wayzata, MN. topped with pistachios and Mozzarella cheese, it is a pretty salad to serve.

Dining in Historic Firestation Linden Hills, MN

Discovering unique restaurants in new cities is always fun. We visited Mike and Alice Wachter in Minneapolis/St Paul this summer and they took us to historic Fire station #28 in Linden Hills, MN. Complete with historic displays, artifacts, and architecture, it was a mini-museum-restaurant.
The duck confit tacos came with pickled vegetables in a sweet, s-p-i-c-y mole sauce. A little too much spice for my palate but still delicious. We all sampled it and agreed.

Tastes & Treasures has a recipe from historic Four Peaks Brewery for Duck Cakes with Spicy Nopales Salsa on page 90. Great way to sample duck.

Duck Cakes with Spicy Nopales Salsa

Ingredients for Spicy Nopales Salsa:
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh nopales cactus pads
3 serrano chiles, finely chopped, or to taste
3 tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
4 green onions, white part only, chopped
Juice of 2 limes

Ingredients for Duck Cakes:
2 duck breasts, cooked and shredded
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup roasted corn kernels
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup bread crumbs
3 to 4 teaspoons canola oil

For the salsa, combine the cactus, chiles, tomatoes, cilantro, green onions and lime juice in a bowl and mix well.

For the duck cakes, combine the duck , bell pepers, cilantro corn and eggs in a bowl and mix well. Shape into 3 1/2 inch cakes and sprinkle evenly with the bread crumbs. Fry in the canola oil in a skillet over medium-high heat for 1 1/2 minutes per side. Serve over the salsa.

Note: The duck can be purchased at Asian markets.

Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate

Is there anything better? The Truffle Hill Chocolates in Excelsior, MN is a charming cottage with all handmade chocolates and sweet treats. Phoenix visitor Kathy Holcombe was delighted with the choices.

For your own home made delights, try the Chocolate Peanut Treats on page 162 Tastes & Treasures Cookbook. Margaret Baker made them for a Historical League meeting and they are every bit as good as sweets from Truffle Hill.

Chocolate Peanut Treats page 162

Ingredients

2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups (12 ounces) butterscotch chips
1 (18-ounce) jar creamy peanut butter
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 (5-ounce) can evaporated milk
¼ cup vanilla pudding and pie filling mix
2 (1-pound) packages confectioners’ sugar
1 pound salted peanuts

Directions

Combine the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in a double boiler over simmering water. Cook until blended, stirring frequently. Add the peanut butter and stir until smooth. Spread half the chocolate chip mixture in a greased 10X15-inch baking pan. Chill until firm.

Bring the butter, evaporated milk and pudding mix to a boil in a saucepan. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and beat in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Spread over the chilled layer. Stir the peanuts into the remaining chocolate chip mixture and spread over the prepared layers. Chill until firm and cut into 2-inch squares.

Makes 30 (2-inch square) pieces