Americaunas or the Crazy Eyed Girl!

When Are Eggs a Work of Art?

Or Just Food, or Just Work? Jake Molina starting young...

When is food less about what we put in our mouths and more about a work of art?  In a third world country there is no doubt about the answer, but here in the States, for some people, the answer is harder to discern.  It’s not only how we present our food, but increasingly, where we buy it and where they bought it!  (Think egg recall…) My mom, one of the world’s best cooks, can take a pot off the stove and plunk it on the table.  God bless her, she did it for three meals a day for 25 years, and I am proof that we never went hungry.  I, on the other hand, think first about what flowers I can pick from the garden, what china they go with, then what food would look good on that china!  I’m glad I have the luxury of being able to think that way.

As the world becomes more and more aware of the origins of our food, I’m happy to say at age 11, Jake Molina, the nephew of my friend and Gracehill Wizard Extraordinaire, Julie, has started raising chickens.  We are the grateful recipients of the product thereof!  Jake’s mom Dawn says, “I don’t know if ours could be called free range chickens because they are not always free to range. We have lots of coyotes and neighborhood dogs that want to eat them. They have their big  yard to roam and scratch in, but we only let them range when we are outside. They definitely could be called cage free though!”  Beside the Americaunas, Jake also has Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Reds, Silver Laced Wyandottes and Golden Comets.  They hope to get some Black Copper Marans that are prized by French chefs. Ooh la la!  (Americanized version.  My sister the French major says they would say, Oh la la la!)

In little ways, with our herb garden, veggies, and fruit we pick locally, we are trying to bring fresher food to the table.  You all know my love affair with blueberries. I’m lucky the three couples who checked in a few days ago for four nights liked them also. I made a new recipe, Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast in a 9X13 pan which I posted on my recipe page with a photo.  This year we’ve put about a 100# in the freezer, but will continue using fresh for another couple of weeks. In the past two weeks, my five attempts to make a decent blueberry cobbler have been dismal.  It’s nice that I have wonderful friends, who tell me otherwise, but alas, they are lying through their teeth, and I am moving on to try other things…  blessings, mizkathleen@ Gracehill Bed and Breakfast

Rear Patio Gracehill Bed and Breakfast

It’s been a heck of a year; the worst winter we have experienced since building Gracehill and the hottest, driest summer on record since… who knows, it keeps going further back with each week that passes.  Our elevation gives us a little relief with temps 5 to 10 degrees cooler than what is happening in Townsend, Gatlinburg, or Knoxville plus the usual breezes.  The dry weather has also made the zinnias look especially beautiful because we aren’t fighting powdery mildew this year, but the Peegee hydrangea bushes are not as lush as in years past, and we lost the marigolds.  It’s a trade off.  I’d rather fight the mildew than haul buckets of water.  We should have hauled more often for the marigolds…

I bought a Flip Video Camera, and it took three months to get it out of the box.  You know me with anything electronic.   Click on the link for a video taken in the backyard of the dozens of butterflies that are hanging around.  Don’t be concerned that I have developed palsy; I just need to get the hang of this moving camera business!

Since the main topic here is the weather, I’ve come up with a lovely excuse for not blogging more frequently this year.  We were struck by lightning on Friday of Memorial Day weekend.  It was a direct hit, and as bad as it was with all our electronic low voltage systems, we are extremely grateful the house didn’t catch on fire.  Guests were coming up the hill 20 minutes after the fire trucks rolled down.  Our guests were amazing, and I couldn’t have asked for a nicer bunch of people.  That weekend TV’s were out and they had to use my laptop with the Verizon air card to check emails, but other than that, guest services were not really affected.  It has taken me three months to get everything else replaced like the intercom, doorbells, phones, TV’s, alarm system, satellites, my computer, electronics for our water system, motors on a couple of the whirlpool tubs, etc…

I have been a little more regular with my posts on Twitter (theinnkeeper) or Facebook (Gracehill Bed and Breakfast) and our bi-monthly newsletter.  You can sign up for any of these on the home page of our website.  Blessings, mizkathleen@ Gracehill Bed and Breakfast

Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast

1 8oz package of cream cheese, room temp
1 loaf of dense bread
1 c fresh or frozen blueberries
12 eggs
½ c maple syrup
2 cups half and half or whole milk

Blueberry Sauce: (or just use syrup)
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 c sugar
1 c water
1-cup blueberries
1 tbsp butter

A 1/6th Slice of Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast

Trim crusts from bread slices.  Spread soft cream cheese over each slice and then cube bread into 1” pieces.  Grease a 9X13 pan.  Place half of the bread pieces into the pan.  Sprinkle blueberries over the bread.  Top with remaining bread cubes.  In a mixing bowl beat the eggs, milk and syrup.  Pour mixture over the bread.  Cover with foil and refrigerate over night.  Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Bake covered for 35 minutes.  Uncover and bake for another 25 minutes or more until golden brown.  Cut into squares and top with blueberry sauce.  Serves 6 or 8 people.  I don’t mind skipping the blueberry sauce below and just pouring syrup over the top.  Up to you, but if you skip the sauce, I would double the amount of blueberries in the casserole.

For the blueberry sauce, stir together cornstarch, sugar and water and boil in a medium saucepan for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Stir in blueberries and reduce heat to a simmer for about 10 minutes or until berries bursts.  Stir in butter until it melts and serve over the French toast.

www.GracehillBandB.com   info@GracehillBandB.com   865-448-3070

Blueberry French Toast and Carmelized Pineapple

Pear Tart

Crust:
1 1/3 c all-purpose flour
3 tbsp sugar
¼ tsp salt
7 tbsp cold butter cubed
2 to 3 tbsp cold water

Filling:
¾ c sugar
¼ c all-purpose flour
grated lemon peel from one lemon
½ to ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
4 medium ripe pears, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp butter
½ c silvered almonds

Glaze:
¼ c powdered sugar
1 ½ tsp milk
¼ tsp vanilla extract

In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, salt and butter till crumbly.  Put in a bowl and add just enough cold water to form a ball.  Roll out and place in a tart pan.  If you don’t have a tart pan, you can place it on a pizza stone and when finished fold the edges up to form a two-inch lip around the outside.

In a bowl combine the sugar, flour, lemon peel and cinnamon and mix.  Add the sliced pears to toss to coat.  Arrange pinwheel style around the tart pan.  Sprinkle almonds on top and dot with butter.  Bake at 375 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes until bubbly or golden brown.  Mix the glaze and pour over the warm tart.  Yield 8 to 10 servings.

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Spinach Mushroom Quiche

1 bottom piecrust
1 quart of fresh spinach, rinsed well
8 medium mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
4 eggs
1 1/3 C half and half
3 slices of pasteurized swiss cheese
3 slices of regular hard swiss cheese
1 tsp butter
salt and pepper to taste

Mix and roll out a piecrust and form on the bottom of a pie shell (my favorite, or use a preformed store bought one.  If you want my pie crust recipe look at the apple pork pie recipe.)  Prick bottom with a fork then bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a frying pan saute the 1 tbsp of butter and sliced mushrooms.  Put in spinach at the end  just long enough for it to wilt.  Layer the slices of soft swiss cheese with the hard swiss cheese, and then grate together. (This works so much better that having a pile of soft cheese and a pile of hard cheese. The quiche sets up more uniformly this way.) On the bottom of the piecrust sprinkle 3/5ths of the cheese.  Layer the spinach and mushrooms and the rest of the swiss cheese on top. Mix your eggs, salt and pepper, and half and half well and pour on top. If your pie plate is fairly large, you might want to mix up another egg and 1/3 cup of half and half to top it off.  Bake an additional 30-45 minutes until done. Let set for 5 minutes before serving.

www.GracehillBandB.com   info@GracehillBandB.com   865-448-3070

Blueberry White Chocolate Streusel Coffee Cake

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
¼ cup butter, softened
½ cup half and half (may sub milk)
1 egg
2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries (a little tarter) or blueberries
½ cup white chocolate baking chips

Streusel:
½ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
¼ cup butter

Glaze:
Powder Sugar with enough milk to liquefy.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour an 8 ½ inch spring form pan.  Make streusel by combining three ingredients in a food processor until crumbly.  Set aside.  Beat flour, sugar, baking powder, butter, half and half, and egg until moistened, then one minute on medium speed.  Spread half of batter in the bottom of the spring form pan.  Then sprinkle on half of streusel and ¼ cup of white chocolate baking chips and raspberry or blueberries.  Then layer on rest of batter and on top rest of streusel and white chocolate.  Bake 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes and remove from pan.  Drizzle on some powder sugar glaze.

www.GracehillBandB.com   info@GracehillBandB.com   865-448-3070

A guest of mine, Brian Kerestes, took one of our recipes, the Blueberry Almond Pound Cake, and adapted it for the holidays.  He eliminated a few things and added a few.  After trying it, I came up with three suggestions of my own which I have shown in parenthesis.  One comment, don’t wait till the holidays to make it; he came up with a winner!

Cranberry Orange Pecan Coffee Cake

Cake:
¾ cup butter softened
1 ½ t cinnamon  (1 t of cinnamon)
½ t nutmeg
1 t vanilla
½ t orange zest – he used the dried, Valencia Orange zest, which I found at Wal-Mart… (but I didn’t think it was quite strong enough.  I would suggest using however much fresh orange zest you can get off of one orange.)
2 C sugar
4 eggs
1 ½ C all-purpose flour
1 ½ t baking powder
1 1/4 t salt
10 oz fresh cranberries or frozen whole cranberries (not thawed) (I used 6-8 oz of dried cranberries.  Soaked them in hot water for a few minutes then patted them dry.  I made this in April and couldn’t find fresh or frozen cranberries anywhere.)

(The only area of real departure– I missed not having nuts.  I’d take 1T of Butter and melt in on the stove, add 1T of brown sugar and stir till bubbly, then add a ¾ C of chopped pecans stirring to coat.  Dump out on a piece of waxed paper and let cool for a few minutes.  Then, after spraying the bundt pan, spread the pecans on the bottom before pouring the batter on top as directed below.  When I made this with fresh or frozen blueberry’s I had to bake it for 75 minutes and my guess would be the same if you were using fresh or frozen cranberries.  Using dried cranberries it was ready to come out of the oven at 60 minutes.)

Heat oven to 350 degree.  Mix orange zest with enough vanilla to moisten and let stand.  If you are using fresh orange zest, there is no need to do this.  Combine butter, cream cheese, sugar and cream until fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time and beat.  Add baking powder and salt; beat briefly.  Add orange zest to mix.  Mix cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour.  Add flour mixture and mix on low speed.   Grease a 12-cup bundt cake pan and pour ½ the batter into it. Flour the cranberries and fold into remaining batter.  Add remaining batter to bundt pan.  The cranberries have a tendency to sink and most will end up on the bottom, or top of the cake when you flip it. Bake for 60-75 minutes.  Let cool for 10-15 minutes before flipping out of bundt pan.  Drizzle with glaze.

Orange Flavored Glaze:
1-2 C Powder sugar
2 T Orange Juice

Blueberry Almond Coffee Cake

For the Filling:
8 oz can of almond paste, chilled
1 ½ C of blueberries
2 T flour
2 t grated lemon zest

For the Cake Batter:
2 C all-purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
¼ t salt
1 ½ sticks butter (12T) room temperature
1 ¼ cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 t vanilla extract
1 C sour cream
2 T powder sugar for dusting cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 10” bundt pan.  Grate the almond paste into a small bowl and put back in the fridge.  Mix the blueberries with 2 T of flour and lemon zest and put to one side.  Beat together the butter and sugar till smooth.  Add eggs one at a time and while scrapping down the bowl beat till light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and beat.  Sift the 2 C of flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda together, then alternate between adding and mixing in the dry ingredients and the sour cream.  (End with the flour.)  Spoon 1/3 of the batter into to the bundt pan.  Layer ½ of the almond paste, then ½ of the blueberry mix.  Add another 1/3 layer of batter, then the rest of the almond paste and blueberries.  Finish with last 1/3 of batter.  Bake for around an hour, test with a toothpick.  Cool for about 20 minutes, then flip onto a plate and dust with powder sugar.

Blueberries, Granola and Lemon Creme

1 ½ C sugar
¼ C cornstarch
¼ C flour
1 ½ C water
1 C orange juice
½ C lemon juice
4 egg yolks
4 Tbsp butter, softened
2 Tbsp lemon zest
2 C whipping cream

Blueberries
Granola

In a 3 to 4 quart pot mix together sugar, cornstarch and flour. Blend in water, orange juice, and lemon juice until smooth.  Over medium heat, bring mixture to a gentle boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.  Simmer for 1-2 minutes.  It will be thick.  In a small bowl beat with an electric mixer the 4 egg yolks.  Gradually beat in ½ C of the heated mixture into the egg yolks, and then dump the egg mixture into the pot on the stove.  Cook over low heat to a second boil.  Remove from heat and blend in butter and lemon zest.  Transfer mixture to a bowl and cover with a buttered piece of wax paper.  Cool.  It can be put in the fridge overnight at this point.  The next morning, whip the whip cream until firm and blend into cooled lemon mixture.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  This recipe makes a lot.  I layer in a parfait glass, the crème, fresh blueberries, and the granola two layers each, ending with a third dollop of crème on top.  You would have enough crème to do possibly 16 of these.  The crème will hold for several days in a tightly sealed container in the fridge.

Laurel Valley Golf Course & Country Club, Townsend, TN

If you need to feel righteous about golfing while your beloved “makes do” with a massage and a half-day shopping the Pigeon Forge outlets, this is the event for you.  For the eleventh year, Friends of the Mary E. Tippitt Memorial Library are hosting their Golf Tournament Benefit on Friday, April 23^rd, 2010 at the Laurel Valley Golf Course in Townsend, Tennessee. 

Proceeds from the tournament benefit the Library by helping fund the services that the Library provides to the community. (See below for the love story.)  Registration for the golf tournament starts at 11:30 a.m., with lunch provided for the participants.  The tournament starts at 1:00 p.m.  Entry fee for players is $80, with an available $20 mulligan package.  You can pick up forms at the Mary E. Tippitt Memorial Library, 120 Tiger Dr, Townsend, TN, at the Townsend Visitor Center on Highway 321, and the Laurel Valley Country Club.

In the past, a dozen or more teams of four players have enjoyed playing 18 holes at this beautiful mountain course.  Cash prizes are awarded to the best team, closest to the hole, longest drive, and longest putt.  This year a special plaque, which will be on display at the clubhouse, honors the winning team.  Numerous door prizes and a new car, for a hole-in-one add to the day’s excitement.  For more information call Mike Roach at (865) 448-8282.  For hole sponsorship contact Judy Krueger at (865) 448-6501.

Don’t you just hate the e-mails you receive that say “You have to read to the end”? Well, I’m glad you did.  In 1997, Charles Tippitt opened the Townsend library from scratch as a memorial tribute to his first wife Mary.  He rented the space and filled it with 5000 books for adults and children.  Over the years it has more than quadrupled in size and grown to a new location, and for a town our size, it is a marvel of information and activity including public access to computers and various children’s programs.  Later Charles married Ms. Sue Ann Schlosser, a librarian from Sikeston, Missouri.  Sikeston’s loss was our gain when Sue Ann relocated here.  Our community has been doubly blessed.  mizkathleen@ Gracehill Bed and Breakfast

At the Library and open to all, at 10 a.m. the third Thursday of each month is B.E.A.R. (Be Excited About Reading) Facts Book Club!

Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail in early spring

Bush Beans
Cattleman’s BBQ Sauce
Brown Sugar
Molasses
Little Bit of Mustard
Chopped Onion
Slices of Bacon Chopped into ½ or 1 inch pieces

Mix together and pour into a casserole dish.  Place on top raw pieces of onion and sliced pieces of raw bacon.  Bake in low oven 325 degrees till it bubbles, then take the cover off and bake until it thickens.

You will notice no quantities are listed here.  Mom just dumps and she got pretty testy when I tried to make her give me quantities!

Cream butter, sugar, then beat in eggs. Add pineapple, milk and bread cubes and stir until mixed. Pour into a 9X13X2 pan that’s been sprayed with vegetable spray. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour. I usually cut the pineapple into slightly smaller chunks, although crushed pineapple is too fine. Tidbit size is great.

Streusel:

• Use one package of graham crackers, (9 full ones)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 stick and 3 T melted butter
• 1 1/2 cups pecans
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Put your graham crackers in a Ziploc bag, close it and roll with rolling pin until crushed, put in large bowl.  Add other dry ingredients. Melt butter pour over and mix thoroughly. Set aside.

Cake:

• 1 box (18 1/4 oz) white cake or French vanilla cake mix
• 1 box of instants (3.12oz) French vanilla pudding
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 cup water

Beat together until thoroughly mixed.  Pour half into a greased 13X9X2 baking pan.  Sprinkle with half of the streusel mixture. Carefully spread the remaining batter on top of the streusel and then top with remaining streusel. If using an aluminum pan bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.  If using a dark pan bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees. I’ve tried this several different ways and it actually bakes better with less brown edges in the aluminum pan for a longer time.  Insert toothpick for final test. This is the only coffee cake I’ve ever made that tastes as good the second day or freezes well and can be served when thawed. Of course you lose the smell that a hot coffee cake right out of the oven provides.  I usually drizzle icing on top made from powered sugar and milk. Yields 12 to 16 servings.

Gracehill Bed and Breakfast, Townsend, TN
www.GracehillBandB.com
info@GracehillBandB.com
865-448-3070

• Whole fresh pineapple with a good looking top
• Shredded coconut
• Ground cinnamon
• Sliced almonds
• Maraschino Cherry with stem

Cut the green top off of the pineapple. Then slice it in half long ways, then quarters, then into eights. Place green spear at the top of the plate. Cut the pineapple into halves long ways, and then into quarters and eights like you did the tops. Take each piece, lay it on its side and trim off the reedy center piece. Then slice the pineapple away from the rind. Once free put the pineapple back on the rind and set it on the plate. Then cut into chucks. Sprinkle with coconut, almonds, and cinnamon. Garnish with cherry. Serves 8

2 C chopped cooked ham
½ C chopped onion
½C chopped green or red peppers
1 T olive oil

8      flour tortillas
2 C shredded cheddar cheese
4 eggs
2 C half and half
1 T all-purpose flour
¼ t garlic powder
½ t hot sauce

Garnish:
1C shredded cheddar cheese
salsa
sour cream
8 sprigs of rosemary

In a skillet with the olive oil sauté the onion and green pepper for a couple of minutes then add the ham for another minute.  Divide into eighths and place down the center of each tortilla.  Place ¼ cupful of cheese on top and roll up tightly.

Spray a 9X13X2 pan with cooking spray.  Place rolled up tortillas, seam side down.  Mix eggs, cream, flour, garlic powder and hot sauce with an electric beater, and then pour the liquid over the tortillas.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, remove ½ hour before putting in a preheated 375 degree oven, uncovered.  Bake about 45 minutes then sprinkle with 1 cup cheese.  When melted, take out and garnish with salsa, sour cream and a sprig of rosemary!  Yield: four to eight servings.