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
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• 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.

Basil Onion Tomato Salad

4 medium tomatoes
¼ medium onion
fresh basil leaves
¼ C. olive oil
¼ C. rice vinegar
¼ tsp garlic salt
1 tsp. Sugar

Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, garlic salt and sugar. Chunk tomatoes, and slice onions very thin.  Snip with scissors the basil into 1/2 inch pieces.  Layer the tomatoes, onions, and basil.  Pour mixture on top. Garnish with a few big basil leaves.  Serves four.

Apple Pork Brunch Pie- Best Pie in the Cove, Professional Division

• 1 pound lard
• cold milk
• 6 cups flour
• 1 beaten egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons of salt

Cut lard, flour and salt into each other using a pastry blender. Then divide up in 2 or 3 containers and place in the refrigerator. This will keep for months and will make 2 to 3 pies. When ready to make one take out one container and pour into a cold bowl and stir in with a fork enough cold milk to form a ball and leave the sides of the bowl. Divide into 2 pieces, roll out on a floured surface and place in the bottom of the pastry dish. Fill with filling below, then roll out rest of pie dough and top. Brush the top with beaten egg yolk. Cut a few slits. I take the left over rolled out dough and cut hearts out of it for “romance package guests” or cookie cutters of leaves for others. Place cut outs on top of the top crust. The crust with the egg yolk brushed on becomes a deep golden brown while the cut outs will remain lighter letting them stand out better.

Filling:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 granny smith apples sliced thin
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 or 2 16oz packages of bulk pork sausage for an 8″ pie or 4 ramekins
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Mix dry ingredients above well. This is plenty for a 9 to 10″ pie. I usually double this and store in a plastic bag. When I make an 8 ” pie or individual little ramekins I use just what I need to heavily coat the apples. Use 2 1/2 to 3 apples for a 9 to 10 ” pie, 2 for an 8″ pie and half an apple for each individual pie. Brown sausage and onion together. Drain well placing the browned sausage in a sieve and pressing on it with a spoon. Put a layer of the sausage mixture on the bottom of the pie dough. Place a layer of coated apples on top of it, then more sausage and finish with another layer of apples before placing the top pie crust on. Fold and roll the top edge under the lower edge, pressing on the rim to seal. Flute edges. Bake for 30 minutes at 425 then reduce temperature to 350 and bake another 30 minutes.

This is a "fall" Apple Pork Pie. If folks are celebrating an anniversary I put hearts on it!

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Apricot Almond Tart

½ of 8 oz can of almond paste
3T and 1½ t sugar, divided
3 oz cream cheese, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 large egg yolk
1 t vanilla extract
1- 15 oz can of lite apricot halves (or those in heavy syrup)
¼ cup apricot jam, heated in microwave
Pie crust dough, see below
3 crushed amaretti cookies (Italian macaroons) or if you can’t find these use a little flake coconut.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Blend almond paste and 3 T sugar in a food processor until finely chopped.  Add cream cheese, egg yolk, and vanilla and blend until filling is smooth.

This original recipe calls for 1 refrigerated pie crust (half of a 15 oz package) room temperature.  Says to unroll crust on heavy rimmed backing sheet, spread filling over crust leaving a 1 ½ inch plain border which you then fold back up and over the filling.  Instead I make my own pie crust dough and use a large tart pan.  The edges look a lot crisper and it bakes more evenly.

The crust I use has a ratio of 6 cups of flour, 1 pound of lard, and 2 t of salt.  About two cups of this mixture will make a large tart bottom. Use very cold water to form ball and roll out. The rest of the dry ingredients can be refrigerated for future use.

Spread your filling on the rolled out piecrust dough.  Drain the apricots and cut into strips.  Arrange apricot slices pinwheel fashion on the filling in a spoke pattern in 2 concentric circles.  Dribble apricot jam on top and sprinkle with remaining sugar.  Bake until crust is golden about 43 minutes.  A few minutes before taking out of the oven sprinkle the crushed cookies or flake coconut on top.  Cool and serve warm or at room temp.

A Pancake Contest Winner with BedandBreakfast.com

• 2 cups of flour (sift before measuring)
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  
• 3 teaspoons of baking powder
• ¼ cup butter very soft
• 3 eggs
• 1 ¾ cup half and half (goat milk may be substituted for lactose intolerant guests)
• 8oz of goat cheese
• 1 tsp lemon extract
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (read second tip below before using frozen)
  

Mix with an electric mixer softened butter, half and half, and eggs. Crumble goat cheese into mix and blend together, some lumps are okay. Add lemon extract and all dry ingredients except flour and beat. Briefly beat in flour just until mixed, again some lumps are okay. At this point the batter maybe refrigerated for several hours.

TIPS:  I use a 1.5oz ladle (filled) for scooping out the batter to stay consistent.  Other than the batter not being too thin or too thick, probably the most important thing is the temperature of your griddle.  Your griddle is hot enough if water will spatter when dropped on it.  If it just boils it’s not hot enough.   I use a scant amount of generic spray pan release on the griddle.  Once the batter is on the griddle, I drop the blueberries onto the 4″ circle of pancake batter.  You can also garnish the plate with blueberries.  Or, don’t put any on top of the batter at all and just put them on top of the finished pancakes.  If you eat the pancakes without blueberries you can taste the lemon a little bit more.  You can make these pancakes without the lemon extract but I think the lemon really accents the blueberries.  This recipe is great for lactose intolerant guests, just substitute goats milks for the half and half.  For syrup you can use regular maple syrup or blueberry syrup.

TIPS FOR FREEZING BLUEBERRIES: I pick blueberries every summer and freeze them for use all year long. The trick to freezing them is to use an orchard where they don’t spray any of their bushes. After picking, DO NOT WASH them, furthermore, spread them out on trays and let them air dry for a day. When they are totally dry, pick out any remaining stems or leaves as you place them into plastic containers. They will last for a year or better in the freezer. You can take these right out of the freezer (they will be loose, not stuck together), measure out what you need and put the rest back in the freezer. The frozen fruit you buy in the store can be wet and mushy because of the preservatives and they are frozen when they are damp.

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

Almond Bundt Cake

A Slice of Almond Bundt Cake

Filling:
8oz package of almond paste, chopped
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 stick of butter
Cook almond paste, powdered sugar and butter over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth, remove from heat. Set aside. Do this first so it can cool down.

Cake:
3 cups flour
1 ½ t baking powder
1 ½ t baking soda
¾ t salt
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 ½ sticks butter, softened not melted
1 ½ t vanilla
3 eggs
1 ½ cups sour cream
1-2 cups sliced almonds

Heat oven to 325 degree. Grease a 12-cup Bundt cake pan. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat granulated sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Beat in flour mixture alternately with sour cream on low speed, beating until smooth after each addition. Layer as shown below in the pan. I used to divide the almonds into 4 parts, but it does not slice well when they are on the top after it is flipped over (the bottom of the Bundt pan after it is greased), so divide them into three parts.

Layer on bottom of greased Bundt:

1/3 layer of batter
½ layer of filling
sprinkle on 1/3 to 2/3 cup of almonds
1/3 layer of batter
½ layer of filling
sprinkle on 1/3 to 2/3 cup of almonds
1/3 layer of batter
remaining 1/3 to 2/3 cup of almonds

Bake about 1 hour until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes and remove from pan. Dust lightly with powder sugar. Leftovers freeze well.

Makes  5 Belgium size waffles

2 eggs
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ¾ cups milk
5 ½ T of butter, melted
2 T packed brown sugar
4 t baking powder
1 t vanilla
¼ t salt
¾ cup cold cooked wild rice
1 cup chopped fine pecans

Beat with electric mixer just until well mixed the first 8 ingredients.  Stir in Rice and Pecans and bake on a waffle iron.  When you take the waffle off your waffle iron let it sit on a wire rack for 10-15 seconds before putting it on a plate.  Helps keep them crisp.   If you make a small box of wild rice you will have some left.  I divide it into baggies and freeze the leftover rice.  It will make several recipes.  Serve the waffles with butter and maple syrup or honey butter.  For honey butter mix equal amounts of slightly softened butter with honey.  Example, ½ cup butter, ½ cup honey.  Refrigerate leftover honey butter.

1 ½#lbs ground beef
can pinto beans-don’t drain
1 can chili beans-don’t drain
2 cans corn-drained
3 cans diced tomato
1 can Rotel tomatoes
3 beef bouillon cubs
2 cups water
1 package dry taco mix
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 T ground cumin

Sour Cream
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Regular Style or Scoop Variety Frito’s

Brown your beef, drain off fat then combine all ingredients in a pot.  Simmer for 30-45 minutes to blend.  Ladle into bowls and garnish top generously with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and Fritos.

12 cups beef bullion
2 cups red wine
4-14 1/2oz cans of tomatoes (salt free)
2-8oz cans tomato sauce (salt free)
2 cups onions chopped
2 cups carrots sliced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 t dried basil
1 t lemon pepper
1 t dried oregano
1 green pepper chopped

Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer ½ hour then add-

3 cups of zucchini quartered and sliced
8 oz sliced fresh mushrooms
½ cup fresh chopped parsley
1 lb cooked hot Italian sausage sliced into bite size pieces

Simmer an additional 45 minutes then add-

2-8oz packages of the larger size cheese tortellini

Simmer additional 45 minutes

Wonderful served with a salad and garlic French bread!

Nutty Orange Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

3/4 C granulated sugar
1 C chopped pecans
Zest a whole orange
2 (12 oz. -10 count) cans refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 stick melted butter
1 C sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 T fresh orange juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In small bowl, combine the granulated sugar, pecans and zest; set aside.  Separate the biscuits.  Cut cream cheese into 20 equal squares 4 X 5.  Place a square in the center of each biscuit.  Fold each biscuit in half over the cream cheese, pressing the edges to seal.  Dip biscuits in melted butter, and then dredge in granulated sugar mixture.  Place the biscuits, curved-side down, in a single layer in the hollows of a lightly greased 12-cup bundt pan, spacing them evenly (do not stack.)  Place any remaining biscuits around the tube, filling any gaps.  Drizzle any remaining butter over the biscuits and sprinkle with any remaining sugar mixture.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown.  Immediately invert the cake onto a serving platter.  Combine the confectioners’ sugar and orange juice, stirring well; drizzle the glaze over the warm cake.  Best served warm. The full recipe will easily serve 10 people.

You can prepare this the night before, cover with saran wrap and store in the fridge.  Take it out the next morning and bake it off.

If 2 rolls for 10 people is too much, you can put 4 rolls into 5 ramekins.  Wrap well with saran wrap, then foil, and then freeze them.  Take out one ramekin per two people and bake off.

This is my favorite new coffee cake recipe this year, courtesy of Barbara Leach from the Tuesday “Down and Dirty Domino’s Group!”

Rosemary Feta Cheese Bread

1 ½ cups half and half
¼ cup water
¼ cup melted butter
4 to 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 t sugar
½ t salt
1 package rapid rise yeast
¼ cup butter softened
6 oz feta cheese grated
2 T butter melted
Fresh cut up or diced rosemary

Melt ¼ cup butter in saucepan.  Add milk and water and bring temp to between 120-130 degrees F.  Remove from stove.  In a separate mixing bowl combine 2 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast.  Add the liquid mixture and beat at low speed with an electric mixer until blended.  Beat another 2 minutes at medium speed.  Stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough.  Turn dough out onto a floured surface; knead lights 4 or 5 times.

This recipe makes best as 2 long skinny loaves of French bread.  It is possible to make it in a bread pan, which I had to do to enter it in our county fair.  See attached photo.  If made as French loaves, divide dough in half and roll out into a 16” by 8” rectangle.  Brush each of the rectangles with 2 T of softened butter.  Sprinkle 3 oz of feta on each rectangle and sprinkle on fresh rosemary to taste.  Roll up jellyroll fashion on the long side pinching ends to seal.  Place dough seam side down on a lightly greased French bread pan or on a large baking sheet.  Brush each loaf with the last of the melted butter.

Cover and let rise in a warm place 85 to 100 degrees for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.  Bake uncovered 375 for 15 minutes, then reduce temp to 350 and bake an additional 20 more minutes or until loaves sound hollow when taped.  Remove from pans and cool on wire racks.

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Criss Cross Puff Pastry

1 package of Pepperidge Farm Frozen Puff Pastry, 2 sheets
4 eggs
1 Tbsp milk or water
1 lb bulk pork sausage
1 lb mild Italian sausage
2 C herb seasoned dry stuffing
1 medium-large onion, chopped
3 C sliced fresh mushrooms
2 Tbsp butter

Thaw pastry at room temp about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown Sausage, drain thoroughly. Sauté onion in a little butter. Mix in a bowl the sausage, onion, dry stuffing and 1 1/2 eggs. Sauté Mushrooms in a little butter and set aside. Roll out puff pastry on a floured surface. Place 1/2 the mixture down the center. Place mushrooms on top of sausage mixture. Cut slits in remaining puff pastry and lift and fold over the top of the sausage forming a braid. Makes 2 rolls. Take remaining egg, mix with milk and brush on top. Bake 35 minutes or until golden. 8 Servings. Can be assembled the night before, washed with egg, cover with plastic wrap, place in fridge and bake off in the morning.

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A Winter’s Snow at Gracehill

Local Channel 10 WBIR TV held a contest to determine the top five bed and breakfasts in East Tennessee.  Any one logging onto WBIR’s website could cast a vote for the several days the contest ran.  By Friday at noon, Gracehill B&B was at the top of the list with four of the five winners belonging to the Smoky Mountain Bed and Breakfast Association. 

This February, your not so intrepid innkeeper, moi, elected to take some vacation time, and for the first time in ten years, enjoyed the winter snowfall instead of obsessing about keeping the road open for guests and us to get up and down the mountain safely.  It was a tough call because the month of February brings us Valentine’s traffic every weekend.  By choosing to take some time off and let Mother Nature take her course, the up shot was, Mom and I were snowed in for nine days.  Beautiful, absolutely, but as the level in the propane tank dropped by the eighth day, I decided it was time to start shoveling.  Hans, our gardener, played a big part in this little 6/10^th of a mile endeavor.  I started at the top, he at the bottom, and thankfully the twain did meet!  Besides, there was only one scoop of ice cream left in the freezer and we had eaten enough out of the pantry to see that I should probably repaint the shelves…

Twenty-four hours after getting the road opened back up I decided to ease on down the road into Maryville to run some errands.  My phone rang while there with the news of the contest and asking if WBIR reporter Josh West could meet me at Gracehill for some photos.  You might ask yourself just how fast can an old lady drive?  I beat him with just enough time to pull the car in the garage and fluff my hair!

I was asked why did I think we won?  My answers were bouncing all over as my mouth flapped, but to be honest??? Cause Gracehill has always been blessed with the very best of guests any innkeeper could ask for.  Thanks from the bottom of this transplanted Yankee to Southern heart to ya’ll who took the time to vote.  mizkathleen @Gracehill

Keri and Tim Meeker on an ATV break at the top of Bluff Mountain in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Keri and Tim Meeker, here at Gracehill Bed and Breakfast for four days on their 1^st anniversary, ran the gamut of what Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Townsend, TN have to offer with one new activity, to me at any rate!  They went ATV four wheeling with Bluff Mountain Adventures in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Bluff Mountain offers guided ATV Trail Rides at Walden Lodge on Bluff Mountain.  Guests sign in at the ticket office on the parkway in Pigeon Forge, and then proceed down Wears Valley Road to Walden Creek and the site where they pick up their ATV.  Keri and Tim did the hour and half tour that took them up the mountain, crossing streams, to get to the top of Bluff Mountain at 2300 feet.  They said the company not only went out of their way to provide a safe yet scenic tour, they were very conscientious about the strengths and weaknesses of the group and tailor made the ride for them.  Definitely an activity worth repeating as the Meeker’s gave it two thumbs up.  The hot tub was waiting for them when they returned to the B&B.    mizkathleen@ Gracehill

Gracehill Bed and Breakfast Living Room

Gracehill Bed and Breakfast Hallway and Snack Bar Area

October 2009 brought Gracehill B&B its busiest month since opening at Thanksgiving in 2000.  As the pace eased in November and December, while most folks got ready for the holidays, I decided to jump in with both feet and do two projects that had been on my TO DO LIST for ten years.

Neighbor and friend extraordinaire, Jim Maness of Century 21 in Maryville, TN, moonlighted and painted the 16 foot dome ceiling in the living room a warm beautiful yellow and the hallway off of three of the guest rooms a light taupe.  Moving all the scaffolding was a chore in itself; two different times removing it three hours before two different Christmas parties!  Once Jim was done, Lisa Haggerty Palmer came in and opened the skies for us on the living room ceiling and painted a beautiful sunset, sunrise??? Your pick.  Lisa had been a guest of ours at Gracehill in the past but we became reacquainted when she painted the backdrop for the altar at St. Francis in Townsend.

I tackled the downstairs hallway.  I had always wanted to paint the words of a song, as a border, where the wall meets the ceiling.  I’d had ten years to pick the song so you’d have thought I wouldn’t still be agonizing over the choice… It also needed to fit in 68 feet of linear space using an 8” font.  Finally decided on the second verse of How Great Thou Art.  Hope you like it as much as I do.  mizkathleen@ Gracehill

When thru the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze.
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Art Work of Lisa Haggerty Palmer