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The Fred Harvey Company took over management of the Furnace Creek Inn (now The Oasis at Death Valley) and Furnace Creek Ranch (now The Ranch at Death Valley) in 1956. They had taken over Painted Desert Inn in 1947 (it’s now run by the National Park Service). This was part of a post-WWII movement from track side hotels and restaurants to hotels and restaurants in the National Parks, due in large part to the drop in passenger rail travel. The Company had, of course, run El Tovar in the Grand Canyon from its building in 1905.
Mike and I spent the fouth night of our honeymoon at the Furnace Creek Ranch (even before it was called “The Oasis,” the Inn was too rich for our blood) and felt transported into a 1950s Disney movie set in a summer camp. We kept expecting a young Hayley Mills to race by. So I’m particularly attracted to this and the other Death Valley recipes. Look for recipes for Grenadines of Beef, Barbecued Beef Brisket, Sherried Shrimp with Capers, New England Clam Chowder, Vegetable Soup, Robin Salad, and Raw Spinach Salad, in the coming months. Three entrees, two soups, and two salads, that’s enough for a dozen different menus, with Death Valley Date Nut Bread for dessert.
The original recipe makes 4 8x4” loaves. I cut it down to one-quarter of the original and after a test batch, tweaked a couple of ingredients — increased the butter a smidgen, and decreased the white sugar a tad. As bakers know, recipes can seldom be just cut down without losing some of the quality. Four teaspoons of butter wasn’t enough to incorporate all of the sugar. Also, we found it a bit sweet. Dates don’t really need quite that much sugar. The second loaf was perfection.
By the way, when a recipe calls for “chopped dates” (etc.) it means to measure after chopping. When it calls for “dates, chopped” it means to measure, then chop. Or it should.
