Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

It was the best of times.  There is nothing like spending a long weekend with the family enjoying the end of summer on the lake.  We had cookouts, a birthday to celebrate, a wine tasting and some firsts.  Unfortunately I took very few pictures of the food but will share some of the images from the weekend.

Granddaughter Rachel has been taking swimming lessons and this was the first year that she jumped into the water from the dock.

It was Grandson Cameron’s first visit to Lake Lure.

Uncle Jeff got a chance to wakeboard.

We had a blind wine tasting of Pinot Noir wines from California.  The unanimous winner was a Hendry Vineyard Napa Valley Pinot Noir 2008.  Thank you Dave A. for always bringing a case of Hendry wines to the holiday get together.

The kids had their own blind fruit juice tasting.  The winner was Simply Lemonade.

David smoked two pork butts for our pulled pork dinner.  It was better than any barbecue restaurant in North Carolina.  He made a ketchup based sauce and a vinegar based sauce.

My friend Lyla suggested I try Trisha Yearwood’s recipe for Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese.  In the interest of keeping it real here, I have to tell you that this is not my picture.  I did not remember to take a picture.  The picture came from this site.  The adults absolutely loved the mac and cheese and it was easy to put together.  The kids liked it, but did not love it.  It has something to do with that little box of powdered cheese, if you know what I mean.

We also celebrated our DIL Kristen’s birthday.  I made a Lemon Layer Cake with Raspberry Curd.  I made the cake layers and the raspberry curd ahead of time and frosted the cake on the day that we served it.  The cake layers are split in half and the raspberry curd is spread between the layers.

The raspberry curd  filling was delicious.  The recipe came from a book called Luscious Berry Desserts by Lori Longbotham.  Here it is.

LEMON LAYER CAKE WITH RASPBERRY CURD

Cake:
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup whole milk
5 large egg whites, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Raspberry Curd:
1 stick unsalted butter
12 ounce package frozen raspberries, thawed
5 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Frosting:
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 tablespoons lemon zest
3 1/2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice

Curd Directions:
Melt butter over medium heat.
Add raspberries, yolks, sugar, and salt. Mash raspberries. Cook 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Pour through a strainer, pressing to extract as much as possible.
Cool to room temperature then stir in lemon juice. Chill.

Cake Directions:
Heat oven to 350. Prepare two 8×2 round cake pans. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Pulse 1/4 cup of the sugar with lemon zest in food processor until finely ground.
Beat butter and zest mixture with electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add remaining sugar and beat until smooth.
Add 1/4 cup milk and beat until just blended. Reduce speed to low and alternately add flour and milk in 3 batches. Beat only until blended, no longer.
Beat egg whites in a large bowl until foamy. Add cream of tartar and beat to stiff peaks.
Fold the egg whites into the batter carefully.
Divide batter between the two pans and bake about 35 minutes.
Cool 10 minutes in pan then remove and cool completely.

Frosting Directions:

Beat butter and zest until fluffy.
Gradually add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
Add lemon juice and beat for one minute.

Assembly:

Cut each cake into two layers.
Spread curd in between layers, leaving about a 1/2 inch border.
Spread frosting on sides and top

Printable recipe

I eat differently when I am alone.  But no, I do not make do with a bowl of cereal or a frozen microwaved meal for dinner.  I am known to live on grilled hamburgers and my new passion, Hebrew National Hot Dogs, but I also like to make a big batch of something and serve it in different ways for several days.

A cookbook that I have come to rely on for well tested and unusual recipes is The Fresh Market & Friends Cookbook.  This black-eyed pea salad is a case in point.  It is something different. It can be served as is and is deliciously refreshing.  It was not at all spicy though.  I seeded my jalapeno pepper so that may be the reason.  If you want more spice, add the whole minced pepper.   I also liked the fact that it used dried black-eyed peas which actually cook up in no more than 20 minutes; much better than the salty canned variety.  Right after I made the salad I served it with the predictable grilled hamburger.  But then I got creative.

I always have flour tortillas in the refrigerator and I had picked up a rotisserie chicken on my way home from the Memorial Day weekend which I had barely put a dent in.  So I fried the tortillas in a little oil, topped them with the black-eyed pea salad, cubes of chicken and a little sour cream.  It was delicious.  Now what should I do next?  How about adding them to salad greens with a can of good quality olive oil packed tuna or, if I get lazy and desperate, it would make a good relish on my hot dog.  What would you do?

SPICY BLACK-EYED PEA SALAD WITH TOMATOES, CUCUMBERS AND CILANTRO

1 1/2 cups dried black-eyed peas
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
4 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil then add black-eyed peas and a pinch of salt; cover and bring back to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer partially coverd for 15 to 20 minutes.  Drain, rinse and allow to cool.

In a serving bowl, combine cooled black-eyed peas, cucumber, onion, tomatoes, jalapeno, cilantro, garlic, oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper; toss to combine.  Serve immediately or place in refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow flavor to develop.

Printable recipe

Christmas this year has been delightful.  After opening our presents Christmas morning, we traveled from our Son and DIL’s home in Cary to Jacksonville NC to join the other family members at Kristen’s sister’s and brother-in-law’s home.  Jeff is a grill master.

The 12 pound beef brisket was smoked on the grill for 15 hours.  Jeff maintained a temperature of 180 degrees for most of the time, but cranked up the heat to 250 degrees for the last two hours of cooking. The pans of water helped to maintain the moisture while they cooked.  The pork ribs were grilled at some point in the process.  We had them as appetizers with an array of other goodies.

Dinner was a feast.  The brisket was moist and tender.  To add to the splendor on the buffet we had a cajun deep fried turkey.  Unfortunately I did not take any pictures because I was too busy admiring and eating.

We awoke this morning to a snow storm.  We were planning to drive to Lake Lure today but the roads are covered with snow and traveling is dangerous.  We have all hunkered down in the house, the kids have been playing in the snow and there are good smells coming from the kitchen.

Peppers and beef being sauteed by Kim for Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches.

Sandwiches hot out of the oven.  They were delicious.

There is nothing more inspiring to a foodie home cook than to spend a long weekend experiencing fabulous restaurant meals in a major city.  My friend Jackie and I took off on a road trip to Atlanta because our husbands are on a two week motorcycle trip out West.  Unfortunately I took very few pictures of my own for various reasons; camera in the hotel room, low light, close tables and courtesy to other diners.  But I found many pictures already online.  The above picture was taken by an Atlanta blogger, Adventurous Taste and it is the dish that I had at Wisteria;  the Molasses-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Potato Souffle topped with Onion, Apple and Walnut Relish.  It was succulent and on the sweet side with many textures from the relish and crispy onion rings.  It is one of those dishes that I will try to duplicate in the future.  Outstanding! 

Chef/ Owner Jason Hill’s Southern inspired menu changes seasonally using many local sources and features comfort food with a twist.  Wisteria is housed in a century old building in the historic Inman Park neighborhood and was once a grocery store.  It has brick walls and muted plaster with low lighting and tables close together.  It put me in mind of an intimate Paris bistro.

Another excellent restaurant in the Buckhead neighborhood is Horseradish Grill.  One of the original chef’s at this charming converted horse barn was famed chef Scott Peacock.  He started the restaurant’s raised- bed organic garden as part of Atlanta’s farm to table movement.  Today under the stewardship of chef Daniel Alterman, the restaurant’s philosophy “that there is an immediacy to good food and cooking; that there is value in understanding the connection between a region, its history and its people, the seasons and natural rhythm of life” is still alive and well.  Chef Alterman began his career at Horseradish Grill at the age of 13 as a dishwasher and has worked all stations in the kitchen.  My dish of  Horseradish Crusted Grouper with Sweet Potato and Beet Gratin, Spinach and White Wine Butter Sauce proved that the chef has earned his reputation for good food.

A Buckhead institution, The Buckhead Diner glitters with neon tubing and shiny chrome.  Who would expect that the interior is posh with marble and mahogany with a well dressed waitstaff and elegant service?  When Jackie went to the ladies room, her discarded napkin was whisked from the table and refolded to standing attention.  In spite of such attention to detail, the service was never formal or pretentious.  We were there for lunch and found the food down to earth and welcoming.  All of the bread and rolls are homemade by The Buckhead Bread Company.

They are known for their homemade potato chips with maytag blue cheese.  With the chips I had a filling Flatiron Steak BLT with a Horseradish Aioli.  The sandwich was one of the best I have eaten in a long time.  Wish I had gotten a picture of it.

It was not all about the food.  We did our share of shopping too.  I coveted the French confit pot on a table in Foxglove Antiques in the Miami Circle Design District of Buckhead.  French confit pots were originally used to store duck confit and old ones like this are very pricey.  I came home without it.

But what I did come home with were good memories and lots of ideas for food and decorating.  Traveling always inspires me and I hope to share some of my creative attempts with you soon.

Hi, Mr Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen here.  Out of desperation, Penny has invited me to do a guest post for the second time in as many years.  She had nothing to write about.  She was planning to write about Chicken Negimaki, a  recipe from the NY Times  that she tried for the first time last night.  It sounded great….flattened chicken breasts, each wrapped around a couple of scallions that had been sauteed in soy sauce, mirin and garlic, then brushed with sesame oil and grilled while basting occasionally with the soy mixture left from cooking the scallions.  Sounds wonderful and looks good, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, the finished product didn’t live up to expectations…a little too salty from the soy sauce, and a little too dry, probably from me over cooking it on the grill. In any event, Penny said, “I can’t write about this…not until I work with it some more and get it to the point that we like it.  Now what am I going to do?”

“Never fear,” I say. “Let me write about my trip to The Beacon for lunch today.”  So here we go.  I am a big fan of Guy Fieri’s show, Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  I record it each week and watch every episode with paper and pencil in hand, making notes on any DDD that looks worthy of a visit.  I have an extensive list now, organized by states, that I will take along on our next cross-country bike trip this fall. My intention is to check the list for an unusual place to have lunch wherever we happen to be around noon on any given day.  I got a head start on the list by driving down to Spartanburg yesterday with my friend Jim to have lunch at the Beacon Drive In.  Jim had been there before, but it was my first visit.

The Beacon has been an institution in Spartanburg for over 70 years.  The present owners bought the place in 1998 and were allowed to do so by promising not to change a single thing.  So, what you see today is pretty much what you would have seen over a half-century ago. You walk in and get in line to place your order with J. C. Strobble who is standing at the head of the serving line.  JC has been calling orders at The Beacon for over 50 years. You tell JC what you want, and he calls it out loud and clear in diner-food speak to the cooks working behind him. JC is blind, but you would never know it.  He is amazing to watch and to hear. And you better not hesitate too long to tell him what you want, or he will ask you to step aside so that someone behind you, who knows better what they want in life, can place their order.  I had decided ahead of time to order the second most popular sandwich on the menu…the Outside Chop Pork Sandwich.  By the time I uttered the first word, “outside”,  JC called it out to the cooks and asked me only if it was to go or eat in.

Any sandwich can be ordered by itself or “A-Plenty”.  A-Plenty means with a heap of both french fries and onion rings.  The sandwich will be underneath there somewhere, hidden by all that fried goodness.  Jim and I had decided that only one of us needed to order “A-Plenty” because there would be “plenty” of fries and onion rings for both of us.  We agreed that Jim would order his Chili Cheeseburger (first most popular menu item) A-Plenty.  As you can see, there were more than enough fries and rings for the two of us.

My pork sandwich was very tasty with large pieces of tender, juicy cut-up pork and a delicious sauce that I couldn’t quite put my finger on (even though it was all over my fingers). It’s a good thing they have rolls of paper towels on the tables.

After placing your order with JC, you move on down the line and your order will magically appear on the stainless steel counter in front of you about a minute after you placed it.  A few more feet down the line, you can pick up a large styrofoam cup of your beverage of choice, the most popular by far being Beacon Ice Tea….loaded with sugar and lemon.  The Beacon sells more ice tea than any other restaurant in the country.

At the end of the line, you pay the cashier, find a seat in one of the several dining areas, and enjoy. This lovely lady will take your tray when you are finished.

You might recall some of Penny’s posts from early last spring when we were doing the snow-bird thing in Florida and attending Weight Watchers meetings.  I already have about 10 reasons to go back on WW when we get back to Florida, and by the time I get back from my motorcycle tour of other Triple D establishments this fall, I will undoubtably have several more reasons.  I can’t wait….for the Triple D tour that is.