Herbed Chicken Tortellini Salad

This is the recipe for the tortellini salad that I brought on Monday. Pretty easy! I doubled it, bought the tortellini at Safeway, it came in a 20 oz package, but they have it in the smaller size as well. The only changes that I made were I made it the night before and didn’t want the spinach to get soggy so I poured half of the dressing over the tortellini, veggies and diced cheese and let them marinate overnight and tossed the spinach and parmesan in just before serving with some of the remaining dressing. One cup seems like a lot of dressing for the regular size salad. I don’t think I used that much for the doubled recipe. Whatever I’m sure you can tell. The dressing I used was a Caesar from AJ’s, Silver Palate “Julees”, and another Caesar from Trader Joe’s in the refrigerated section mixed together. Either would be OK but the one from Trader Joe’s has a little more body and I liked them together. Also because I was already at AJ’s I bought the good grated parmesan reggiano instead of the cheaper one I use from Safeway. It is really good and I think it affects the flavor.

Bon Appetit!
Bonnie

Fresh spinach and tortellini combine for a salad to remember. Serve with breadsticks and glasses of ice cold tea with a splash of lemonade

Herb Chicken Tortellini Salad
1 (9-ounce) package BUITONI® Herb Chicken Tortellini, prepared according to pkg. directions, chilled
1 (10-ounce) package ready-to-use spinach, torn into bite-size pieces
1 cup diced mozzarella cheese, (4 ounces)
1 (6-ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and sliced
1 cup sliced ripe olives, drained
1/3 cup roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
1 cup Caesar salad dressing
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Combine pasta, spinach, mozzarella cheese, artichokes, olives and roasted peppers in medium bowl. Add dressing; toss to coat. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Makes 6 servings.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Can't get enough of these delightful hors d'oeuvres with their unique flavor. The new "mini" crockpot came in handy to keep them warm during the White Elephant gift exchange. Lots of laughs and good food to munch on. Austin models the most popular White Elephant gift. It was traded many times. 

  

Meatballs with Sweet and Sour Sauce page 165 

Ingredients:

2 cups undrained sauerkraut 1 (16 ounce) can whole cranberry sauce (2 cups) 1 1/4 cups chili sauce 1 1/4 cups water 1 cup packed brown sugar 3 pounds frozen cooked meatballs (do not thaw) 

Method:

Combine the sauerkraut, cranberry sauce, chili sauce, water and brown sugar in a slow cooker and mix well. Add the frozen meatballs and cook on Low for 2 to 3 hours or longer. 

You may bake in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, 350 degrees for 40 minutes. 

Serves 8

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.