GILGAL GARDENS - MIA MAIDS

 

 Last week a group of young women in our church (The Mia Maids) visited Gilgal Gardens in Salt Lake City.  It's a very interesting collection of stone sculptures centered around the Mormon faith, located at about 750 East, 500 South.  It was created by Thomas Battersby Child, an LDS bishop and stone mason, in the 1950s. He had some pretty unusual ways to depicting certain scriptures, such as Daniel's vision of the stone without hands rolling down the mountain, and the Priesthood. There's a sphinx with Joseph Smith's face to represent how his restoring the gospel gives us answers to age-old questions of who we are, why are we here and where are we going. At least, that's what I got out of it. It seems that the sculptures can be interpreted differently depending on who's looking at them. 

The surrounding flowers and landscaping are beautiful, thanks to the USU Master Gardeners.  designed and created by Thomas Batt

YOUNG WOMEN/YOUNG MEN WATER SLIDE EVENT

On Aug. 16, the Young Men & Young Women of the LDS Haight Bench Ward met in our backyard for a water party.  We set up the water slide sloping into the park, and also a water balloon volleyball game.  Here are some photos from the party:

 

CHEF TODD LEONARD COOKS FOR BOTH TREK AND NATIONAL TITLE

Chef Todd Leonard at ACF's National Chef of the Year competition.

 When I called chef Todd Leonard about his upcoming National Chef of the Year competition, he was somewhere in the mountains around Heber and Jordanelle Dam, cooking food for an LDS stake pioneer trek.  The Utah Valley University culinary instructor spent two days preparing food for about 250 hungry "pioneers."

Then he  hopped on a plane for Dallas, arriving in time for the “Iron Chef” type showdown among four of the country’s top chefs during the American Culinary Federation’s annual conference July 22-26.  

Leonard won the ACF’s Western Region Chef of the Year title in May for a spot in the competition, but he realized the timing was bad, with both the trek and the competition in the same week.

“I had already committed to do the trek before I won the regional title,” he said.  “So I went back and told them I couldn’t do the trek, because I wouldn’t have time to prepare for nationals.  But I felt terrible about it.  So I called them back and said I’d do it. I had to get all my gear for the competition packed before I went to trek, so the night before, I was up until 2:30 in the morning.”

He spent two days on the trek, then left the last day in the hands of a capable committee to go on to Dallas where his competition team was awaiting him.   

“It’s been hectic, but I am so glad I made the right decision,” he said in a phone interview while on the trek, somewhere in the mountains around Heber and Jordanelle Dam. “I would have regretted it forever not doing trek.  If I win or not, I know the Lord will bless me.”   

 Although he didn’t end up winning the national title (which went to Todd Kelly, of the Cincinnati Hilton Plaza) he has no regrets. 

“We got edged out, but we feel great about what we did,” he told me after the winners were announced. “Just to be able to compete as one of the top four chefs in the country was an awesome experience.” 

The chefs had just one hour to cook four different dishes using a “mystery” ingredient that turned out to be red snapper. He did a  pan-seared red snapper with stewed leeks and saffron broth; a poached snapper summer salad with snapper ceviche; an “snapper three ways” entree that included a tempura, lobster-snapper roulade, and snapper sous vide with blood orange.  Sous vide is a technique of encasing the food in a plastic pouch, and cooking it at a low temperature while submerged in water. 

Leonard is equally at home with fancy high-end cooking and campsite cuisine.  A direct descendant of Brigham Young, his culinary interest was first kindled with Boy Scout campouts, and he has won the International Dutch Oven Society’s annual chefs cook-off several times. He also loves to plan and cook for big events. 

In addition to teaching at UVU, Leonard was executive chef for The Blue Lemon restaurants in Provo and downtown Salt Lake City.  Leonard said that as of Aug. 1, he will not be involved as much in the restaurants’ kitchens, but will continue teaching cooking classes and helping with menu development.  

Leonard grew up in Cottonwood Heights, and had worked at Royce’s Restaurant, Carl’s Cafe and the Provo Park Marriott before serving an LDS mission in Columbus, Ohio. he completed an associate degree in culinary arts from Salt Lake Community College, and worked at Oakridge Country Club in Farmington and was executive chef of the Garden Restaurant and Nauvoo Cafe on Temple Square. 

When he first got started, his profession wasn’t considered glamorous.  It just meant a lot of long hours in hot kitchens.  

 “The kitchen is still hot,” Leonard acknowledged. “But food has becoming exciting for people. The science and art of it has become more of a hobby, and the Food Network has shaped our industry into a prestigious job.” 

He pointed out that it takes a lot of work and experience to become a competent chef.  “You can’t just come up with a pasta dish and say, ‘I’m Bobby Flay.’ Until you have done a party for 500 successfully, how can you call yourself a chef?  It is a great honor to be part of this profession.”

MORMON YOUTH CONFERENCE: A CULINARY FEAST

Most of the time you wouldn't think that an LDS Youth Conference would be a hotbed of culinary influence. Since it's an event for teen-agers in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) you are bound to have some hearty, kid-friendly chow.  That's what I expected when we took off for Camp Williams Friday morning.  But our ward has access to some exceptional cooks that made the meals a lot more memorable.

  The kids (who were brave enough) rappelled down a wall. In small groups, they tested their leadership, innovation and strength in a series of challenges, such as getting an "ammo box" across a "river" by making a bridge out of planks and rope, or tying barrels together.

 At first our group had a hard time figuring out what to do. But the kids got better at improvising, and everyone pitched in and helped carry out the "missions." People really stretched their limits on bravery!

These activities worked up a pretty good appetite by lunch time, as Londa Davis of Bite-Size Catering showed up with box lunches of wonderful sandwiches, fruit salad, and moist, brownies studded with chocolate chips.Les and Kathryn Sparks made their signature Kung Pao Spaghetti for dinner — little chunks of chicken, ginger and red chiles for heat, and peanuts for a nice crunch.  For breakfast, we had Kathryn's fabulous cinnamon rolls.

For lunch on Saturday, we enjoyed pizzas baked in a backyard brick oven, just a few miles up the road at Todd Caldwell home in the Daybreak community.  Diane and Craig Caldwell were our ward's Youth Conference chairs, and Todd is Craig's brother.  He built the wood-burning oven himself, because he loves making artisan breads.  Good thing he's a firefighter so he knows all about fire safety.

 My favorite pizza was the Buffalo Chicken Pizza, flavored with blue cheese and Frank's Hot Sauce.  I've seen wood-fired ovens in restaurants, but never in anyone's backyard. Some of us thought it would be a great addition to our neighborhood park, if one of the Boy Scouts decided to do it for an Eagle project.


But, when I started looking at the dimensions, I could imagine all the little kids in the neighborhood climbing in and getting stuck in it!

Youth Conference wasn't all about food, of course.  There were fun games, inspiring speakers and good friendships. The great food was a bonus.

On Saturday afternoon on the way home, I stopped at The Gateway where my daughter, Amy Phillips, was involved in the Chalk Art Festival.  Wow! There were tons of people and lots of great art to see.  Since the theme was foster parents,  Amy's artwork showed all folks who had served in a parental role to Harry Potter. One woman who hadn't heard of Harry Potter saw the picture of Dumbledore (top, middle) and thought it was Osama bin Laden.  An LOL moment.

HOTEL UTAH 100TH ANNIVERSARY GALA

I was one of the lucky people to be invited to the Hotel Utah/Joseph Smith Memorial Building's 100th Anniversary Gala last night.  It was a modern-day party with the elegance and charm of a bygone era. Many people came in "period" costumes — top hats and jackets, and enough frilly bonnets to rival British royalty.  


And some of Utah's own "royalty" were there — LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson, Governor Gary Herbert, Mayor Ralph Becker, Deseret Book president Sheri Dew, and Gail Miller of the Larry H. Miller Group, to name a few.

Deseret Book President Sheri Dew chats with former Deseret News publisher Jim Wall and his wife,  Connie Wall.

President Monson at dinner, with Gov. Herbert to his left.

"Even the chairs are wearing dresses!" my husband, Kim, commented as we made our way to our table.

You could stroll through the anniversary memorabilia on display, which will be there until Oct. 1. There's a shiny 1912 Cadillac, and a bright red Model T. 

One of the hostesses poses with the Model T Ford. 

The chef display with old menus reminded us of an era when the Hotel Utah offered the finest dining in Salt Lake City.

The culinary staff pulled out all the stops with a meal that looked back on some of the hotel's past signature dishes. The crusty "Hotel Utah roll" was served, and is going back on the menu in the building's current restaurants. 

I'm new to the idea of taking photos of menu items when I'm eating out — a lot of the time they don't end up looking very appetizing, and it seems a little pretentious. But I thought this was a special occasion, and maybe readers might be interested. So here goes:

When I was food editor at the Deseret News, several readers mentioned fond memories of legendary Chef Girard's chilled borscht. So I guess I wasn't surprised that this was a starter course.  

It was followed by smoked duck salad, with fresh white asparagus and creamy raspberry vinaigrette.

Here's the lime sorbet "palate cleanser." (and FYI,  that the drink you see in the background was Martinelli's sparkling cider. Honest!) 

The entree was a juicy beef tenderloin with a lobster tail perched on basil mashed potatoes.  

Dessert was strawberry shortcake with a curvy white chocolate garnish.

At each place setting was a commemorative coin. Mark Willes, president of Deseret Management Corporation, said the coin reflects back on the days when the Hotel Utah "laundered money." The coins were washed before going into the cash registers, so that they would be bright and shiny (and not soil the white gloves of the ladies) when given out to their guests. Willes said the Hotel Utah was the only hotel that did this. But actually, the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco has been washing coins for its guests since 1938. (How do I know this bit of trivia? Years ago, a guy I dated stayed at the St. Francis, and brought me back some shiny coins as a souvenir, along with the Village People's album with the song, "San Francisco" on it. But, I digress.) 

Gov. Herbert reminded us that every president from William "Big Bill" Howard Taft to Ronald Reagan had stayed at the Hotel Utah, and that the National Governors Convention had taken place there in 1947.  Mayor Becker said his parents stayed there when they visited his family in Salt Lake City, and they all noticed that Becker's young son liked jumping and flipping on the Hotel Utah bed a lot. This was his start to becoming a gymnast. Becker offered a non-alcoholic toast to the city's past and future.

President Monson recalled two fond memories of the Hotel Utah: first, taking his then-girlfriend, Frances, out to dinner after he enlisted with the U.S. Navy. (She eventually became his wife.)  And, as a bishop, he took an elderly couple in his ward out to dinner there. They had been to a restaurant so rarely that they didn't know how to order their meal. 

The building's grand history as a hotel came to an end in the late 1980s. By that time, said Monson, the hotel was having a difficult time competing with some of the first-rate chains that had moved in. Also, the hotel needed renovation work. 

He added that when the hotel closed, the silverware, dishes , tables and chairs were donated to the Salvation Army "to help serve the homeless and hungry in the community."

The renovated building reopened as the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in 1993. Some of the floors are offices for staff with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but people still enjoy the restaurants, the parties, receptions, business luncheons, and so on that take place there.  "This glittering white palace is as vibrant and essential as it ever was," President Monson said.

The menu/program included a few stories that people had written in about their memories of Hotel Utah.  So here's mine: As a teen-ager, I had the privilege of staying at the Hotel Utah during the annual Future Homemakers of America convention. I remember feeling very cosmopolitan the first time I walked into the lobby and saw the gigantic crystal chandelier. We felt so grown-up!  
Some of us went to an afternoon matinee of "Love Story," the blockbuster movie of the day, and tried to see who could out-do each other with sobbing and sniffles. "Love means you never have to say your sorry," sounded so profound at the time, now I think it's one of the dumbest pieces of advice I've ever heard! 

    

MORMON CONFERENCE ON HOLISTIC LIVING JUNE 25

The Holistic LDS Living Conference takes place Saturday, June 25, 8:30 a.m.—6 p.m. at Paradigm High School, 11577 S. 3600 West in South Jordan, Utah. 


Founded by Amy Jones and Becca Price, the mission of the conference is, "To help all people draw closer to Christ by discovering His hidden treasures of knowledge for the health and healing of the mind, body and spirit." 

There are classes on whole foods, grains, herbs, essential oils,  nutrition, acupuncture, and other holistic topics. A vendor area is open to the public. Starting at 8:30 am, there will be five, 90-minute breakaway sessions throughout the of the day, with multiple classes running concurrently, and a 30-minute break between each session.  Vendor space for registered attendees opens at 8 am and is open to the public at 9:30 am until 7 pm.

 Registration is $47 at http://ldsholisticliving.com/

Disclaimer: This is not an official event of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), nor is it sponsored or endorsed by the Church.

Mormon Funeral Potatoes Go National

Cook’s Country magazine features Funeral Potatoes in its May issue and credits Mormon for coming up with the dish’s name, although the dishes goes by other names in other parts of the country.   

“Mormons call it ‘Funeral’ or ‘Ward Party’ potatoes. In the South, it’s ‘hash brown casserole, but I’ve heard it called ‘neighborhood potatoes in Massachusetts and ‘cheesy potatoes’ in Washington,” writes the Cook’s Country author, Sarah Gabriel. 

When I did a story on Funeral Potatoes a few years ago, I asked food editor friends across the country if they were familiar with the recipe, and what they called it.  It seemed that Utah was the only place that called them Funeral Potatoes. In Wisconsin, they're known as Heart-Stopper Hash Browns, for all their artery-clogging sour cream, butter and cheese. In New Jersey, they're Party Potatoes. In Detroit, they're Cheesy Potato Casserole. Folks in Pennsylvania call them Pittsburgh Potatoes. In a Virginia cookbook, they're a Church Social Potato Casserole, and in Florida, they're Churchlady Potatoes.

In fact, most Utahns didn't start calling them Funeral Potatoes until the past 15 years or so. By that time, they were a staple at  dinners given for bereaved friends and family after an LDS funeral. Relief Society presidents heading up the after-funeral dinners say these potatoes go well with ham, and are easy for other ward members to make and bring. The unofficial name stuck.

When they got their own 2002 Winter Olympics pin, they were firmly entrenched , as part of Utah food culture, along with fry sauce and green Jell-O. 

The recipe has appeared by other names in community cookbooks and on packages of frozen hash browns. The hash browns are swimming in sour cream, grated cheese, and cream-of-something soup (mushroom, chicken, celery or potato, depending on your recipe and what's in your pantry). Crushed, buttery cornflakes are the usual topping.

The Cook’s Country article revises the recipe by ditching the “gloppy” cream of chicken soup and making a from-scratch cheese sauce instead. Sour-cream-and-onion potato chips are swapped for the buttered cornflake crumbs. 

The result? Still potatoes “to die for.”  But I wonder if busy cooks would take the time to make the cheese sauce, or whether they are just content to open up a can, gloppy or not. Here's a comparison of the Cook's County version with the recipe from "The Essential Mormon Cookbook." 

Which is best? You decide..

FUNERAL POTATOES

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 onions, chopped fine

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup half-and-half

1 3/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

9 cups (1 30-ounce bag) frozen shredded hash brown potatoes

1/2 cup sour cream

4 cups sour-cream-and-onion potato chips, crushed

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a Dutch oven (or pot) over medium-high heat. Cook onion until softened, about 5 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until golden, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in broth, half-and-half, salt, thyme, and pepper and bring to a boil. 

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 3-5 minutes. Off heat, whisk in cheddar until smooth. 

Stir potatoes into sauce, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, over low heat until thawed, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in sour cream until combined.

Scrape mixture into a 13-by-9-inch baking dish and top with potato chips. Bake until golden brown, 45-50 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes. Serves 8-10.

Make ahead: potato mixture can be refrigerated in baking dish, covered with aluminum foil, for up to 2 days. To finish, bake potatoes 20 minutes, then uncover and top with potato chips. Bake an additional 45-50 minutes.

— Cook’s Country 

FUNERAL POTATOES

1 32-ounce bag frozen shredded hash browns

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 cups sour cream

1 cup grated cheese

 1/2 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup chopped onion

2 cups crushed cornflakes

2 tablespoons butter, melted 

Peel potatoes and boil 30 minutes, until just tender. Cool and grate into a greased 9-by-13-inch baking dish (or put hash browns into the baking dish). Combine soup, sour cream, cheese, the 1/2 cup melted butter, and onions. Gently blend into potatoes. Combine crushed cornflakes and the 2 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Makes 12 servings.

-- “The Essential Mormon Cookbook,” by Julie Badger Jensen

As for my opinion, I never use the butter that the recipe calls for, and I use reduced-fat sour cream and low-fat cream of chicken soup. But, I'm afraid, those calorie-cutting attempts barely mitigate the diet damage.