FRP Cookbook University

Recently two League members, Ruth McLeod and Kay Holcombe, attended FRP Cookbook University. They met the president of FRP and what follows is from an email he sent to Ruth, complimenting Tastes & Treasures:

Ruth and Kay,

It was certainly a pleasure to meet both of you. When I originally reviewed a copy of Tastes & Treasures as it came off press I said, "These ladies understand the meaning of a community cookbook." Most people we deal with misunderstand the relevance of associating historical information through the subject of food. Tastes & Treasures is the best example of a true "community" cookbook that I have been associated with since the inception of the current Favorite Recipes Press model.

Your book is truly wonderful and it is THE sample reference I use 100% of the time to illustrate what the content of a "community" cookbook should be.

Thank you again for sharing in our Cookbook University experience; I hope you found the investment of your time worthwhile. Please say hello to my friends Gaye and Donna and keep me posted on your numerous success stories if marketing and selling Tastes & Treasures.
Dave Kempf
President
FRP Books, Inc.

Local Cookbooks Reveal Lots of Information

I saw a 'Tribune' newspaper article about the cookbook. I moved to AZ 8 years ago and am always looking for info about the state. The website www.HistoricalLeague.org is very informative & user friendly. I find 'local' cookbooks reveal lots of interesting facts & folklore about a region/state. I'm sure it will make a great gift for one of my friends. by Vicki H

Our Fancy Place Cards

When a recipe from Tastes & Treasures is featured at a League function, we now have place cards decorated with tatted ring medallions.

Tatting is a hobby of HL member, Mary Pearce. The skill has been handed down through four generations.

Recipe Feature for September 2008: Special Chocolate Chip Cookies

From Tastes & Treasures, page 191

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups old-fashioned oats
2 cups (12 ounces) cholcolate chips
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Combine the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a bowl of a stand mixer and beat until creamy, scraping the bowl occasionally. Add the eggs once at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and beat until smooth. Mix in the oats and fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a nonstick cookie sheet or a cookie sheet lined with baking parchment paper. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on the cookie sheet for 1 minute and remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Makes 3 to 4 dozen.

Cookbook Recipes Served at League Meeting

We had our monthly meeting today, which always includes a salad/bread/dessert luncheon provided by the members. I'd volunteered to bring a salad. Being one who wants simplicity in my kitchen efforts, I looked in Tastes and Treasures and decided on what looked like an easy one to make: Romaine Salad with Two Cheeses (page 169). Plus it could be assembled up to 24 hours before serving. I could whip this together at midnight, if I wanted to. The recipe calls for romaine, Parmesan, Romano, avocado and green onions in an olive oil, lemon juice and Beau Monde seasoning blend. Beau Monde seasoning ... mmm.

Checking the spice aisles at 2 grocery stores revealed nothing so I got on the Internet to find out exactly what Beau Monde had in it. cdkitchen.com featured a recipe. Easy enough to mix, Beau Monde is a blend of cloves, cinnamon, salt, bay leaf, allspice, black pepper, nutmeg, mace, celery seed, and white pepper. But my spice rack only contains the basics like garlic powder. Back to the store.

I'd say it was worth the effort. It tasted great to me and the big bowl of a doubled recipe was empty so members must have found it to be pretty good, too. And I have a jar full of Beau Monde when I want to make the salad again.

April Riggins brought the Special Chocolate Chip Cookies (page 191.) She substituted the walnuts for pecans, but wow. Either way, they would have been delicious. The plate of 24 cookies disappeared fast. April said that she should have brought more because she had members saying that they were disappointed not to have had a chance to try them.

Couldn't put it down

The book was given to me by an Arizonian friend who purchased it on a tour of historic homes. This copy is for my Michigan daughter-in-law who couldn't put it down when she came to visit recently. Jane V. Phoenix, AZ

Two years in the making

In a nutshell:
The Historical League, Inc. worked for over 2 years to put together a unique cookbook that blends our passion for Arizona history with our love of cooking. We contacted historic places throughout the state- 50 years or older, that serve food, and asked their chefs to submit menus & recipes. After thorough testing to be sure the recipes could be made by cooks at home, we wrote the history of each location. We feature places like El Tovar, La Posada, Garland's in Oak Creek, Lon's, El Chorro, The Arizona Inn, and Rancho de La Osa. That's chapter one.

Chapter two focuses on people we have honored as Historymakers- like Polly Rosembaum, Rose Mofford, Erma Bombeck, the Goldwater brothers, Eddie Basha, and Bil Keane, to name a few. They, or their family members, sent in a recipe with a story about its significance.

Chapter 3 is dedicated to our League members. Like I said, we love to cook, so a chapter for us was a given. We didn't need to test these recipes...

We hired the food stylist and photographer from Phoenix Home & Garden Magazine, so "Tastes and Treasures" is beautiful. The recipes are delicious.

The response from the public has been phenomenal. We were recently featured in Arizona Highways, Phoenix Home & Garden, and Suzanne Bissette from Channel 3 filmed a TV segment for "Good Evening Arizona".

In the first 3 months that we had the cookbook, we sold 5,000 books- half of our first printing. Leslie C. Historical League cookbook committee