Mud Hen Bars from Kay North

Originally found in a 1964 Good Housekeeping magazine article with Lady Bird Johnson, Kay has made these delicious treats many times. Renaming them Roadrunner Bars of Arizona, she brought them to the Children's Holiday Party meeting.

This 30th Annual Event will be held Saturday, Dec. 15 at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel. Tickets and info at www.HistoricalLeague.org

Base layer: Cream ½ cup shortening and 1 cup sugar in large bowl.  Beat in 1 whole egg and 2 egg yolks.
Combine 1½ cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt. Combine with first mixture. Grease or use cooking spray on 9 x 13 inch pan and spread batter. 

Sprinkle over batter: 1 cup chopped nuts, 1 cup mini marshmallows, ½ cup chocolate chips. 

Meringue: In clean mixing bowl, beat 2 egg whites until stiff. Fold  in 1 cup brown sugar. Spread over bars.
Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes. Watch carefully.
Makes 24 bars 

Cilantro Pesto

Served at Membership Open House Oct 23 at the historic home of Scott and Mary Crozier, this flavorful pesto is outstanding. Chef Leslie Christiansen shared her recipe since we all asked for it. Tastes & Treasures Cookbook also has a recipe for Halibut with Penne and Basil Pesto on page 89. The Basil Pesto is from historic Four Peaks Brewing Company in Tempe.

CILANTRO PESTO

Ingredients:
1¾-2¾ cups cilantro
¼ cup parsley
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 Tablespoons pine nuts
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese or Cotija cheese
3 Tablespoons lime juice
1-2 small chipotle chiles in adobo, w/o seeds (optional)
¼ cup canola oil or EVOO
S&P to taste

Directions:
Place all ingredients in the bowl of a Food Processor and process until smooth. 
Season to taste with S&P.

"48 Women: Arizona's Most Intriguing Women" Exhibit extended

“48 Women: Arizona’s Most Intriguing Women” exhibit in Tempe extended until December 31, 2012
AHS Museum at Papago Park, 1300 N. College Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281 Phone: 480-929-9499.
The Museum at Papago Park is hosting a guest-curated exhibit by the 48 Women Group. This centennial legacy project identifies the most intriguing women leaders throughout the state whose leadership, accomplishments, and dedication have positively impacted not only Arizona, but the nation.

Several of these women have also been honored as Arizona Historymakers by the Historical League.

Exhibition included with general museum admission: $5.00; Ages 60+ and Ages 12-18: $4.00; Ages 11 and younger and all AHS members: Free. Museum hours are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Tuesdays – Saturdays; 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sundays. Closed Mondays and state holidays. Free parking at the museum.

Lemon Coconut Squares from Pam Stevenson

Lots of sugar but lots of goodness in these yummy bars. Pam adds 3/4 cup coconut to the filling for an unique flavor.

Lemon Bars

Ingredients for Crust:     

2 cups flour

1 cup butter

½ cup powdered sugar

Combine and press into greased 9” X 13” pan. Bake 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Ingredients for Filling:

4 eggs

4 tablespoons lemon juice

½ cup flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon lemon rind

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder



Directions for Filling:
Mix well and pour over previous layer. Bake again 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Ingredients for Glaze:

4 tablespoon lemon juice

1 ½ cup powdered sugar


Directions for Glaze:
Mix and pour over previous layer soon after removing from oven. Cool and cut into squares.



Pam Stevenson baked these for the Historical League meeting. They were almost gone by the time I took her photo.

Christmas Soup

                                                         
                                                                 
Such a colorful soup, it deserves the name Christmas Soup but it is wonderful all year long. "Witchy" Pam Fischer brought this soup for a neighborhood pot luck on Halloween night. It hit the spot.

Christmas Soup

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil

2 cups onion, chopped

1 tsp dried Italian seasoning

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups spinach, coarsely chopped

2/3 cup water

16 oz can navy beans, drained 

4 cups vegetable broth

14 ½ oz canned diced tomatoes, no salt added

4 oz artichoke hearts, quartered, drained

9 oz fresh tortellini (gorgonzola), uncooked

¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated

Directions:

Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  All chopped onion, bell pepper, seasoning and garlic.  Sauté 5 minutes or until tender.  Add spinach and next 5 ingredients (thru artichokes); bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, simmer 2 minutes.  Add tortellini. Cook until thoroughly heated.
Sprinkle with cheese.  Serve with warm, crusty bread.

Serves 6

Pam commented, "I cannot find gorgonzola tortellini, so I have used a four cheese tortellini from Fry’s. This soup is low salt so you may want to adjust to your tastes." 

Halloween Dip

Get festive with this easy layer dip. Anyone want to recreate it for Thanksgiving or Christmas? Think of the possible images you could design with black olives, green olives, pimento, chopped tomato, corn, red peppers . . .

Ingredients:

Refried beans
Sour cream
Salsa
Shredded Cheddar or Mexican cheese
Sliced black olives for eyes, nose & mouth

Directions: Layer these ingredients on the plate and surround with tortilla chips.

Tastes & Treasures cookbook has a warm Mexican Bean Dip recipe on page 181 that would work very well also. Get creative!

Lunch at Monti's

President Pam Ryan, Margaret Baker and Pam Stevenson are ready to enjoy lunch inside.

Framed oil painting of the original Hayden home.

Charles Turnbull Hayden

Historical League members wander through the many rooms of the restaurant.

Charles Turnbull Hayden had been a merchant in Tucson since 1858. Seeing new opportunities, he moved to the Salt River Valley when the first settlers started coming here to dig canals and clear fields. His store offered good and credit, and his mill and freight wagons provided a market for the wheat local farmers grew.
 Charles Hayden’s 80-acre settlement was called Hayden’s Ferry. It was the business center for the growing town of Tempe. By the 1880’s he had built the mill, store and home, and warehouses and orchards. This home is now Monti’s La Casa Vieja Restaurant.
Former Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman was an interesting guest speaker at the lunch. Mary Garbaciak presented him with a copy of Tastes & Treasures as a thank you gift.