Although this review of Tastes & Treasures was written in 2009, I just found it on Pinterest. Elise Feiner Foodfantaholics - Thanks for the lovely comments.
Tastes and Treasures by Historical League, Inc.
Arizona,
the 48th state, admitted to the Union on Valentine’s Day, 1912. It is quickly surpassing Nevada, as the
number one state in growth, and why not??
The weather is
wonderful, hot summers, mild winters, forests, mountain ranges, home to
the Grand Canyon, Indian Reservations, and The Phoenix Zoo, and the
beautiful Sedona, with it’s art colonies, Arizona has much to offer.
Arizona now has one more thing to add to her crowning achievements…"Tastes and Treasures.”
I
happened to be wandering around the internet and came across the site
for the Historical League of Arizona where they were featuring their new
cookbook, “Tastes and Treasures.” I was very interested in the
cookbook because it was the 2007 regional winner of the Tabasco Awards
given by the McIlhenny Co. for the most outstanding Community Cookbook.
That automatically piqued by interested because I love to collect
Community Cookbooks. Usually, the books that win these awards are the
best of the best, and this book proved to be no exception. I
immediately looked at the book and knew that FRP (Favorite Recipes
Press) had to have a hand in this book. The book just had “the look.”
FRP produces most of the Junior League Cookbooks in the United States. I
was fortunate enough to have taken their Cookbook University Course, in
Nashville (unfortunately, I found out about them after I published my
cookbook.) The do a wonderful job with the organizations that they work
with, and every cookbook is a work of art.
Tastes and Treasures
was designed to be a “storytelling cookbook of the Arizona Historical
Society.” As with most community cookbooks, the recipes reflect a
particular group of people or segment of the population. In this
cookbook, divided into four main sections, “Northern Arizona Treasures”,
“Central Arizona Treasures”, “Southern Arizona Treasures”, and Lunch at
the Museum.” Within those sections are recipes from Inns, Hotels,
Restaurants,
Arizona Companies and the museum itself. While there is
a very heavy Hispanic and Indian Population in Arizona, I thought that
the book maintained an excellent balance of recipes, not favoring one
type of cuisine over another, and giving the purchaser a wonderful array
of recipes to choose from, to say I was more than pleasantly surprised
would be an understatement.
Contents:
Acknowledgment
Early Arizona Hospitality
Let’s Make History
Welcome to Arizona Historical Society Museum at Papago Park
Meet the Historical League
About the Book
Table of Contents:
Northern Arizona Treasures:
Cameron Trading Post – Cameron
The Cottage Place Restaurant – Flagstaff
El Tovar – Grand Canyon
Garland’s Oak Creek Lodge – Oak Creek
Hassayampa Inn – Prescott
La Posada Hotel – Winslow
Central Arizona Treasures:
Camelback Inn, a JW Marriott Resort & Spa – Paradise Valley
El Chorro Lodge – Paradise Valley
Four Peaks Brewing Company – Tempe
Hermosa Inn – Paradise Valley
Southern Arizona Treasures:
Arizona Inn – Tucson
The Copper Queen Hotel – Bisbee
Rancho de La Osa – Sasabe
What is a Historymaker?
Lunch at the Museum
Cookbook Development Committee
Historic Property Contributors
Recipe Contributors and Testers
Index
Order Information
The
beautiful photographs of the recipes in the book, balanced by the
incredible history lessons, for me make it exactly what I look for in a
cookbook. I want to be able to read it like a novel, yet be intrigued
enough to try the recipes. I think my favorite part of the book was the
chapter entitled The Historymakers. The Historymakers Gala and
Recognition Program is a program that honors men and women who have
succeeded in many different fields, such as arts, athletics, education,
and still maintain their ties to Arizona. Some very recognizable names
appear here; Erma Bombeck, Bil Keane, Barry Goldwater, just to name a
few. They (or their families) have also contributed recipes to the
book…what a treasure chest of recipes are included.
Some of the
recipes included in the book are Mesquite Grilled Filet Mignon with
Garlic Butter, Lemon Soufflé Pancakes, El Chorro Lodge Famous Sticky
Buns, Pork Chop with Chorizo Black Bean Stuffing, Chruscikis, just to
name a few.
If you are a cookbook collector, or a history buff, make sure you purchase this book, you won't be disappointed.
Recipe from the Book: I always choose one recipe from each book I review.
The
recipe I chose from Taste and Treasures was the Southwestern Breakfast
from the Arizona Inn Breakfast Menu. I selected it because the picture
of the recipe intrigued me, it was so colorful, it almost look like all
the colors of the Southwest, bright with yellows, reds, and greens…it
literally look good enough to eat!
Southwestern Breakfast
4 blue corn tortilla, heated
4 (6-inch) flour tortillas, heated
1 ½ cups refried beans, heated
Tomatillo Sauce (see below)
8 eggs
1-½ cups (6 ounces) shredded Cheddar Cheese
4 scallions, chopped
1 cup chopped tomatoes
4 chorizo links
4 lime slices
4 Serrano chiles
Place
one blue corn tortilla, one flour tortilla, and one-fourth of the
refried beans next to each other on one of four serving plates. Ladle
the tomatillo sauce over the tortillas. Fry the eggs in the skillet to
the desired degree of doneness and place one fried egg on top of each
tortilla. Sprinkle with the cheese, scallions and tomatoes. Cook the
sausage inks in a skillet until cooked through. Place a sausage link,
lime slice and Serrano chile on each plate.
Serves 4
Tomatillo Sauce
12 small tomatillos
1 white onion, chopped
1-tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons water
Salt and pepper to taste
Remove
the husks from the tomatillos and chop coarsely. Sauté the onion in the
olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until soft but not
brown. Add the tomatillos, cilantro, coriander, cumin, garlic and
water. Cook for 7 to 10 minutes or until tender. Process in a blender
until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
http://foodfanataholics.blogspot.com/2009/01/tastes-and-treasures-by-historical.html
Book Title: Tastes and Treasures
Author: Historical League, Inc.
Category: Community Cookbooks
ISBN: 0-9768363-0-0
Publisher: Favorite Recipes Press (FRP)
Publishers Address: P.O. Box 305142
Nashville, Tennessee 37230
Website: http://www.frpbooks.com/
Published: 2007
Edition: 1st
Description: Hard Cover
Illustrations: No
Photographs: Black and White Historical Photo, Color Photos of Recipes
Price $24.95
Reviewed by: Elise Feiner
Date of Review: January 11, 2009
