Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

I know that I have blogged about a similar recipe here.  After you have posted recipes for over 4 years you sometimes find you start repeating yourself.  But seriously, this recipe for barbecued chicken is a bit different that the previous one.

I was inspired by Kayln’s Kitchen to make a pulled chicken sandwich again.  Her recipe is very good, using low sugar ketchup, agave nectar, sriracha sauce and pineapple juice.  The only think I borrowed from her was the pineapple juice and the method of cutting the chicken breasts.  Kayln served her sandwiches with guacamole.  I served mine with coleslaw.  Either way they would be great.

I plan to double this recipe for our Labor Day weekend with family.  It will be great for lunch if I start it first thing in the morning in the crock pot.  So easy and so good.

BARBECUED CHICKEN SANDWICHES

3 to 4 boneless chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise
1 onion cut into fourths
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons vinegar
Tabasco sauce to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Spray inside of crock pot with cooking spray.  Add chicken breasts and onion.  Mix sauce ingredients and pour over chicken.  Cook chicken on high for 1 hour.  Turn to low setting and cook an additional 2 to 3 hours.  Remove chicken from crock pot and shred with two forks.  Return to crock pot and set on warm.  Serve on heated or grilled buns with coleslaw or guacamole.

Printable recipe

I am taking a short blogging break.  We are leaving for France on June 8th and there is much to do before we board the plane.  I am excited about the trip and plan on blogging while we are there.  One of the adventures that I am looking forward to in Paris is a cooking class with Catherine Reed at her restaurant Reed.  She is not as well known as a Patricia Wells or a Dorrie Greenspan, but she and her restaurant are a “hidden gem” that has yet to be discovered.   The information is here.  Reed is just around the corner from our apartment.  We will have our first dinner there on Saturday.  Catherine Reed is French Canadian and her menu is in French and English.  This will ease us into Paris while we are still jet lagged and confused.  The cooking class will be on Tuesday and for a small charge, David will join us for lunch with the results of our endeavor.

The rue Cler market street is just blocks from our apartment.  I plan to spend lots of time here stocking up on cheese, wine, bread and croissants.  Throw in a rotisserie chicken or two and I’m sure we will not go hungry.

Then it is off to Provence for a week.  We will be staying in the village of Isle sur la Sorgue known for its canals, waterwheels and antiques.  We are looking forward to exploring many of the villages in Provence and plan a tour of the Bandol wineries.

Our last week will be spent in Tours in the Loire Valley, home to beautiful chateaux and wineries.  We have French friends there and look forward to seeing them again.

So until later . . . . Au revoir!   A bientot.

David appreciating the selection of food

“Oh the people you’ll meet”.   That is a play on the line from Dr. Seuss’s book The Places You’ll Go.  It is a coming of age book for children that is meant to send them out into the world on their own, ready to face their futures… . But there is another connotation to the phrase.   Some of us who have established ties with friends and family still welcome getting to know new people.  We have found that to be especially true with the blogging community.

Welcome all!

When I heard that Larry ( Big Dude’s Eclectic Ramblings) was having his yearly blogger get together at his lakeside home called Almost Heaven South, I knew that this was the year that we could be there.  Here is Larry welcoming everyone.  His place has always been a special gathering place for bloggers and friends.  This year the major part of the meal was prepared by Katherine of Smoky Mountain Cafe and her husband  A.J.  These native New Orleans transplants, who now live in Tennessee, are experts in making Crawfish and Shrimp boil.

A.J. and Katherine

The cooks are ready for the presentation.  We all appreciated the authentic tastes and demonstrations on how to eat  crawfish.  It was a bountiful presentation.

And here.

Crawfish, shrimp, sausages, potatoes, corn and whole cloves of garlic were strewn across the paper covered tables.  What a feast.  Thank you Katherine and A,J.!

Sam of My Carolina Kitchen made a Bahamian Pea and Rice Salad.  It was a perfect accompaniment to the crawfish boil.

I brought watermelon and pineapple and cream cheese stuffed celery.  The recipe is here.  There were many appetizers and desserts that I did not get a picture of including a medley of delicious nuts from Cathy of Wives with Knives, who could not be there.  Oregon would be a long way to come, but thank you Cathy.  The nuts were delicious.

Here are some of the bloggers in attendance.

Dave of My Year on the Grill and Inspired by eRecipeCards and his wife Jackie came all  the way from Kansas City.  What an honor it was to finally meet them.  Dave’s website eRecipeCards is awesome and Jackie knows how to tell a mean story.  LOL.  In the background you can see David  of Big Daddy Dave and his wife Laurie.  They live close by and are lucky enough to visit Larry and Bev often.

Sam, of My Carolina Kitchen and her husband Meakin were also there.  They go to the event every year and it was good to see them again.  They, along with Meakin’s brother Stuart and his wife Sandy, were staying an extra night so they could cook Larry and Beverly a special dinner.  I hope she blogs about it.

I didn’t get a picture of  Chris ( Nibble Me This ) and his wife Alexis, but I enjoyed talking photography with him.  Go on over to his blog to see some of the attendees sucking mud bugs.  He has some great pictures of the whole event.

Larry makes the best Margaritas and I hope he will blog about them on Big Dude’s Eclectic Ramblings.  Here he is holding the secret ingredient.

Thank you Larry and Beverly for opening your home and dock to all of us.  You are terrific hosts and if you can put up with all of us, we will be there next year.  You are the best!

Left to right, Penny, Jane, Me and Mary

One of the perks of blogging is getting to meet special people.  On Wednesday I met with three talented bloggers for lunch in Asheville.  Of course Penny (The Comforts of Home) and I live near Asheville so getting together for lunch is a regular occurrence.  But we had two other blogger buddies in town for a visit.  Jane from Blondies Journal and Mary from A Breath of Fresh Air joined us.  Jane is visiting from Chicago and also has a lake house in Michigan a stone’s throw from where I grew up.  Mary lives in Raleigh and is a world traveler.  I enjoyed talking to her and her husband about France.  Jane’s hubby also came and it was good to see them both again.  Last year we did brunch at the cottage which I wrote about here.

We had lunch at Corner Kitchen, one of my favorite restaurants in Biltmore Village.  Since I am on an all French theme this month, it was obvious what I would pick from the menu.  The Au Courant Steak Frites was my choice.  Steak Frites is served in many bistros in Paris and I have no doubt that I will experience the French version soon.  The frites at Corner Kitchen were wonderful, as was the salad with candied walnuts and goat cheese.  The steak was a bit tough but very flavorful.  But the lunch was more about talk and laughter.  You get a bunch of bloggers together and there are endless things to talk about.

After lunch we did some shopping at The Screen Door, one of Penny and my favorite antique stores.  I so wanted that French bread box to come home with me.  I have the perfect place for it in my kitchen.  But, with our trip coming up soon, I don’t need to be spending extra money now.

Bloggers are special people.  And I will be meeting more of them over the Memorial Day Weekend.  Will keep you posted.  Enjoy the weekend.