Fabulous Food Glorious Food Enticing Food

Food is something about which we all have opinions and which we cannot do without.  But what I find fascinating about food is that in your entire life, you never have to eat the same thing twice if you don't want to.  Now, you may be using the same ingredients, but what you do with them makes the outcome different than the time before.

Since I like to try new/different dishes often, I'm always looking for new recipes and ingredients.  The internet is a great resource for this!  The following recipe I got from friends who tail gate in Connecticut and love good food and drink.And I think they got it from a George aka Ed who got it from Mario TailGates NASCAR Style.  And since I'm close to Bristol Motor Speedway, "the last great Colosseum this is a very appropriate meal.

Eggs From Hell

INGREDIENTS:

4 TBLS extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion coarsely chopped

6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and cut into 1/4 inch dice

1 tsp hot chili flakes (or a few drops of Mazi Piri Piri sauce - known at the Jersey shore)

3 cups basic tomato sauce

8 farm fresh eggs

1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese

PREPARATION

Place 10" cast iron skillet on stove (or outdoor grill) over medium heat

Add olive oil and heat until just smoking

Add chopped onion, garlic, jalapenos and chili flakes and cook until softened and light brown.  Takes about 7 minutes

Add the tomato sauce and bring to a boil

Immediately lower th heat to a simmer and carefully crack the eggs one by one into the tomato sauce.

Cook until set to your liking

Remove the pan from the heat and sprinkle with cheese.

It will be cool enough to serve by the time you transfer the eggs to a plate and then to the table.,

Serves 4

Sausage or other ingredients may be added during the cooking period.

Once you try this and I'm sure each of you will adapt it to your taste it will become a mainstay in your recipe box.

We get our eggs from a local farmer who has chickens which lay blue, green and pink eggs. These are green... at least some of them are!

Spring Race at Bristol

Won't be long until the trucks, trailers, campers and cars will start arriving at the Bristol Motor Speedway for the Spring Race!  As always...the "last great .... well I can't spell Collesium....so if someone reads this, please let me know!

Anyway, we are a short 45 minutes from the track and we give a "secret" back road so you don't get caught in the after/before race traffic.  Leave your seats, walk to your car and you'll be back up the mountain in no time at all!  So give us a call before all the rooms are gone and enjoy the weekend at the Iron Mountain Inn B&B.,  Have a few friends coming with you?  Why not either rent the entire Inn (4 bedrooms and 4.5 baths) or the Creekside Chalet (3 bedrooms 2.5 baths, hot tub under the stars) or the House on Watauga Lake (3 bedrooms 3 baths and a fishing dock at the end of the lawn).

Of course, many guests enjoy relaxing at the Inn with full breakfast each morning, snacks and drinks on your return from the track,,in fact, dinner may be ordered in advance so once you return to the top of the mountain you don't have to leave,

And what a view you have from the mountaintop!  First timers always stop, get out of their car and then stop to look.  At night...it's often the stars which are so close you can reach up and grab a handful they seem so close.  Sunsets are spectacular as the last light of sun slides behind Iron Mountain.  Even cloudy days have a beauty all their own..

So check out the website: www.ironmountaininn.com, send us an email or give us a call.  We look forward to sharing the magic of the mountains with you...either for the Race Weekend in March, or August, or anytime you need a break from the 9-5!

Iron Mountain Inn B&B: Spring Race at Bristol

Iron Mountain Inn B&B: Spring Race at Bristol: Won't be long until the trucks, trailers, campers and cars will start arriving at the Bristol Motor Speedway for the Spring Race!  As al...

Sun and Snow

Have been watching the Sochi Olympics...they could be holding them in Butler, TN with all the snow and cold weather we've been having this winter!  It sure has been warmer in Russia than in Johnson County!  

After the summer rains and flooding we had in 2013, I figured we might be in for it this winter...and we have been.  But today the sun was out, I walked down the driveway to see the blue sky and puffy white clouds. Puffed my way back up to the Inn. Then my driveway alarm went off.  I thought it must be a deer or turkey, but no, it was a big 4 wheel drive truck!  Someone looking to hold a Quinceañera Celebration.  The last time I saw her, she was 10 years old and helping her mom clean houses.

Unfortunately, the Inn isn't big enough for the number of people she plans to have...don't think her dad has any idea of the cost of this party!  Gave her the names of some other places. Also suggested instead of having the party from 2-11, she cut it off at 4 hours!  More than enough time for a party/celebration.

Birds have been going through sunflower seeds...and I don't think the squirrels have helped them the last couple of days....just the finches, nuthatches, and juncos.  I think I heard a robin this morning....have seen a couple of cardinals but they don't like perching on my feeders and the one they use was knocked off and broken.  Time for a new one!  When I go out tomorrow!

Tried a new pancake recipe....glue!  Back to the drawing board...or kitchen.  That's what I love about cooking....mistakes don't matter when you are cooking at home for yourself!  There is always another try!

Speaking of recipes...guess it's time to start sharing some with my readers.

Stay warm and smile!

Scones

I love reading a newspaper with my morning juice (I'm not a coffee drinker) and the paper I really enjoy is the Wall Street Journal.  Of course, the "news" may be 3 days late because it comes via USPS, but the in-depth coverage makes up for what I see and hear on radio and tv.

But it's the other features of the paper which I truly enjoy and often share articles with friends and family.   I love the weekly real estate "Mansions" section; I avidly read the tech columns to learn what I should be thinking about buying next; I enjoy the wine discussions and have enjoyed giving some of the wines mentioned although now I usually give wines from our local winery Watauga Lake Winery in Butler, TN; and the recipes often catch my fancy.

 As the owner of a bed and breakfast, one article recently which said "try me" was Currant Cream Scones.  How could I not enjoy an article titled, "Romancing the Scone" - congrats to the headline writer for that one!
And try it today I did!  Didn't have any currants so made due with dried cranberries.  My guests loved them!  I loved making them since it was so easy.  Put the dry ingredients together the night before, added the heavy cream, mixed and baked!

So in case you want to try it here is the recipe.  Although it says makes 20 scones, I only made 8 as I made them a little fatter in a special scone pan.

2 cups all-purpose flour (I always use King Arthur)
1 tbls baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/3 cup sugar, plus 2-3 tbls for sprinkling
1 1/3 cups dried currants (I used cranberries, next time, dried blueberries and then...chocolate chips)
1 cup heavy cream, cold
3 tbls unsaled butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. over a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and 1/3 cup sugar. Stir in currants.  Add heavy cream to bowl and use an electric mixer to blend on low until ingredients are just combined.
3. Dump dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead very briefly. (I used a Silpat mat instead of putting more flour into the dough).
4. Roll dough out to a 1-inch thickness.  Use a 1-1 1/2 inch cookie cutter or biscuit cutter to cut out scones.
5. Place scones 1 inch apart on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.  Reroll dough scraps and repeat process until all the dough has been used..  Using my scone pan, the dough filled the 8 slots.
6. Use a pastry brush to pain tops of scones with melted butter, then sprinkle with sugar.  Place pan/baking sheet in center of oven and bake until scones are golden - about 12-15 minutes.
7. Let scones cool on a baking rack.  Serve warm or at room temperature with butter and jam. (Scones can be stored in airtight container up to 24 hours or in the freezer for up to 12 weeks.
    My guests didn't need butter or jam with these light flaky scones.

Hope you enjoy yours as much as we've enjoyed these.

Selfies

"Selfie", even the Oxford Dictionary picked it up as the "word of the year in 2013".  I know a lot of people who take Selfies, but my first attempt was not a winner.  Just made me look fat so I haven't posted it here...or anywhere.  I'll keep trying.

However, I came across this site for the "Selfie Olympics" (http://read.bi/1khxZRc ) and thought what a fun weekend we could have at the Inn taking Selfies!  Then at Sunday breakfast we could have them laid out and we could pick a winner.  The prize might be 50% discount on another stay!

I'd like to hear from former and potential guests as to what would be a good time to do it.  I'm thinking Spring, maybe the 2nd or 3rd week in April when the leaves are just coming out, but you can still get some neat backgrounds in your Selfies.

I'm also planning to have Geocaching weekend.  I've always wanted to learn more about it and it's a great way to learn about your area, get some exercise and maybe even be the first person to find a cache!  This will be a weekend when the Watauga Lake Winery is having a dinner so after a day in the out-of-doors, you can follow it up with a wonderful event, delicious dinner and wine!

If you are interested, check our website: www.ironmountaininn.com, leave your name, phone number and an email so I can keep you posted on when these two events will occur.  Space will be limited to rooms at the Inn and the Creekside Chalet (www.creeksidechalet.net).  It'll be first come first reserved.

Snowing like crazy around the Inn, but at least the wind has stopped blowing.  However, think it's time to sweep off the covered deck as the cats are not happy about going out there to relieve themselves....

CATS!!!!

I've always had a cat, a dog when growing up.  But somewhere along the line I've had 3 horses, well 2 horses and a pony, 2 dogs and 2 cats.  Then I was down to 2 dogs and 2 cats.  Then I was down to no pets at all.  That left a big hole in my life.

So when a friend's cat had kittens, I thought I'd go and see....not really certain I wanted another responsibility.  But that adorable orange cat and, of course, I couldn't resist the calico since she looked just like one I'd had growing up...so I came home with 2.

Fearless fit the calico and Frankie fit the orange cat because he had Frank Sinatra's blue eyes!  As soon as they were old enough I had them altered since I feel there are way too many unwanted cats and dogs so each responsible pet owner should alter their pets.

Little by little Frankie and Fearless grew into wonderful companions.  Fearless loved to great guests at the front door, then dashed around to the porch and would hop up on the hammock to be rocked as the guests came by.  She also liked to climb up the side of the Inn which is a lot cabin.  She would work her way up the logs until she was sitting on the balcony of the Appalachian Spring Room.

Unfortunately, the cats all enjoyed the out-of-doors and one fall I heard what sounded like a baby crying.  Turned out to be a bobcat which must have gotten all three cats because I never saw them again.  One of the dangers of living in the woods you don't know what might be out there.

After a period of no cats, I was at the town dump one morning and heard what sounded like cats crying.  Looking into the trailers where the trash is dumped, I saw two scrawny skinny cats: one white and one orange.  Getting the dump supervisor we were able to rescue the white cat and after finding a cardboard box to put it in, I headed home...with a stop at the vet on the way.

Squeak, after her very harrowing start to life, has turned into the finest cat in the world!  For over a year she was my boon companion and still today, she gets very upset when I go out of town and leave her even though I adopted another cat (Mouse) so Squeak would have a friend.

Then there is Noisy who just showed up one day and has continued to gain weight.  Why is it one cat can be overweight and the other two are just fine?  Same food out all the time, but like people Noisy has a slow metabolism I guess.

So my cats...well, I couldn't get along without them at the end of a long day.  However, I could get along without them when I'm trying to work at my desk and when they take over my bed at night!  I may have to go to another bedroom if I want a good night's rest!