This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It's been more than 12 years since the Junior League of Salt Lake City produced a new cookbook. And that publication, Always in Season, along with its two predecessors, Heritage and Pinch of Salt Lake, have been out of print for many years.
So cooks are more than ready for the upcoming launch of Salt to Honey: Recipes for Great Gatherings. The Junior League's fourth cookbook, a collection of 250 recipes and 27 photographs, paints a new picture of how Utah cooks and eats.
The Salt to Honey's release coincides with the nonprofit organization's 80th anniversary, marking its 1932 founding. The cover features two of the Beehive State's most beloved ingredients: honey and salt, images that represent the locally inspired recipes inside, said Heidi Makowski, the committee director for Salt to Honey.
The first opportunity to purchase the new cookbook, which costs $27.95 plus tax, will be Thursday, Feb. 9, during a special launch party and fundraiser at the Natural History Museum of Utah. After that date, the book will be sold at various stores throughout the state and online.
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Cookbook tradition • Salt to Honey continues a cookbook tradition that dates back to 1975.
Since then, more than 145,000 copies of Junior League of Salt Lake City's cookbooks have been sold, with 100 percent of the profits helping to improve the lives of women and children. If you've purchased a cookbook in the last 37 years, your money helped pay for childhood immunizations, health screenings for expectant mothers, infant car seats, and work clothes for women re-entering the workforce.
But the supply of Junior League cookbooks has dwindled to nearly nothing in recent years. "We are sold out of all our other cookbooks," Makowski said. "And people have been wanting a new one."
A call for recipes went out early last year. More than 1,000 were submitted and volunteers collectively donated 3,326 hours to review, test and compile the best ones into the book. The recipes are divided into six categories: beginnings, sips and snacks, small plates, large plates, on the side, and endings.
Besides home cooks, the league asked some three dozen of Utah's best chefs, farmers, restaurant owners and food producers to contribute recipes. Recipes such as Pago's cinnamon beets, Naked Fish's Kudamono salad, and Meditrina's curry lime prawns are included in the book. There's also recipes for lamb burgers, using Beehive Cheese, RealSalt chips, and oat bars using espresso caramels from Avenue Sweets.
RJ Peterson, a chef at The Lodge Bistro at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort — and the brother of a Junior League member — created the book's signature recipe: an herb salt-rubbed rack of lamb with a honey-vinegar reduction.
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Culinary snapshot • The Junior League cookbooks represent how Utah cooks at a particular moment in time. In Salt to Honey, there are recipes that call for ingredients such as couscous, quinoa and kale, readily available today, but obscure just a few years ago.
Peterson, who previously worked at Fresco Italian Café, helped test recipes for Always in Season in 1999. He said the 2012 publication offers recipes that are "lighter and a little bit healthier." "A lot of the sauces don't contain butter any more," he said.
Indeed. We took a look back at the pages of The Salt Lake Tribune when the Heritage Cookbook was released in 1975. One of the featured recipes was Green Tomato Mincemeat, a pie filling that called for 3/4 cup ground beef suet.
While not every recipe stands the test of time, some endure no matter the generation.
That's why Salt to Honey contains a few vintage recipes — noted with a wooden honey server — from past publications, Makowski said. Hot cranberry punch, black bean and goat cheese enchiladas and fresh apricot turnovers are just a few of the classics.
"It's nice to pay homage to those that have come before," she said.
Twitter: @kathystephenson
Facebook: facebook.com/saltlakefood —
'Salt to Honey' launch party
The Junior League of Salt Lake City will launch its newest cookbook, Salt to Honey: Recipes for Great Gatherings, with a party and fundraiser.
When • Thursday, Feb. 9, 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Where • Natural History Museum of Utah, 301 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City
Tickets • $25 at http://www.salttohoney.org. Includes a sampling of foods from the cookbook and museum admission.
Info • Cookbooks will be available for $27.95 plus tax. —
Cookbooks over time
The Junior League of Salt Lake City has sold more than 145,000 cookbooks and raised $832,666 over the past 37 years. Here's a look at the books and sales over time.
1932 • Junior League of Salt Lake City is founded.
1975 • Heritage Cookbook, the league's first cookbook, is easy to identify by the patchwork quilt on the cover — a nod to the different cultures that make up the state. Six printings, 35,717 copies sold. No longer in print.
1986 • The league's second — and most popular cookbook — A Pinch of Salt Lake featured more contemporary recipes, including quick and easy fare. Four printings, 75,953 copies sold. No longer in print.
1999 • Always in Season categorized recipes into spring, summer, autumn and winter foods. One printing, 33,948 copies sold. No longer in print.
2012 • For its 80th anniversary, the league launches Salt to Honey: Recipes for Great Gatherings, which promotes local food. Initial printing, 15,000 books. Available Feb. 9.
Source • The Junior League of Salt Lake City —
Herb salt-rubbed rack of lamb with honey-vinegar reduction
Honey-vinegar reduction
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup honey
Lamb
2 tablespoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup packed fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 tablespoons fresh thyme
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
11/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 Frenched racks of lamb (11/2 pounds or 8 ribs each) trimmed of all but a thick layer of fat
For the reduction, mix vinegar and honey in a small heavy saucepan.
Bring to a simmer.
Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until the mixture is reduced to 1/4 cup and is the consistency of syrup.
For lamb, pulse salt, pepper, parsley, thyme and rosemary eight to 10 times in a food processor or blender until it resembles green salt.
Add garlic and olive oil and pulse one or two times. Rub the lamb racks liberally with the herb mixture. Cover with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours.
Preheat the grill. Remove the plastic wrap. Place racks in the middle of a grill, cook 10 to 12 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer registers 120 degrees for medium rare.
Remove to a platter and tent with foil. Rest 5 minutes. Cut each rack into individual chops and drizzle with reduction.
Note • To roast lamb, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the lamb on a rack in the middle of a roasting pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until desired doneness.
Servings • 6
Source • Salt to Honey, by the Junior League of Salt Lake City —
Couscous salad
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced and divided
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
11⁄3 cups Israeli pearl couscous
Salt to taste
13/4 cups (or more) vegetable broth
8 ounces slender asparagus spears, cut diagonally into 3/4-inch pieces
8 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8 ounces frozen green peas, thawed
8 ounces broccolini, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Pepper to taste
1 pound shrimp, cooked, peeled and deveined
1⁄3 cup chopped chives
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmesan cheese
Whisk 2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice, half of the garlic, and the lemon zest in a small bowl.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the remaining oil in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add couscous and salt. Sauté for 5 minutes or until most of the couscous is golden brown. Add broth.
Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and couscous is tender.
Add more broth if couscous is too dry.
Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a heavy large nonstick frying pan over high heat.
Add asparagus, sugar snap peas, green peas, broccolini and remaining garlic.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Sauté for 3 minutes or until vegetables are tender-crisp.
In a large bowl, toss shrimp, sautéed vegetables and couscous together.
Drizzle with dressing. Add chives and cheese and toss to coat.
Taste and add more salt an pepper as needed.
Servings • 6 to 8
Source • Salt to Honey: Recipes for Great Gatherings