AN ALL YOU CAN EAT TUESDAY BUFFET AT THE CUMBERLAND MOUNTAIN STATE PARK RESTAURANT

About 45 minutes west of Harriman, up on the Cumberland Plateau, is Cumberland Mountain State Park. We have gone there for years starting way back in the 60’s. It’s a lovely little state park with gently rolling hills, deep untouched forest with winding trails, a lovely lake brimming with fish, a huge swimming pool, lots of cabins and camping sites, and rustic sandstone lodge sitting right in the middle. Inside this main building is a wonderful kitchen that turns out delicious food almost every night, served up buffet style.

No, it’s not an ordinary buffet where all the selections taste like all the food was cooked in the same pot. This buffet has never failed to please all my senses: my vision, my olfactory, and my gustation! Seriously good tasting chicken, roast beef, BBQ, catfish, with all the vegetable and bread trimmings! Tuesdays are set aside for a seafood bonanza that includes: fried and peel-and-eat shrimp, scallops, fried and baked catfish, crab legs, and salmon cut in the shape of a crab shell and stuffed with crab stuffing! OMG folks, it was all great…and then there were the hush puppies!

The other offerings were coleslaw, a pea salad, a salad bar, chocolate cake, banana pudding, and soft-serve ice cream! Tuesday is not the only fantastic evening either:

Cumberland Mtn. Restaurant Dining Schedule - Open 7 Days a Week

Monday - Saturday: Lunch - 11:00 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. - Dinner - 4:00-8:00 p.m.

Sunday: All day - 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Tuesday - Seafood Buffet with All You Can Eat Crab Legs - 4:00-8:00 p.m.

Friday - All You Can Eat Catfish (baked or fried) - 4:00-8:00 p.m.

Saturday - All You Can Eat Rib Night - 4:00-8:00 p.m.

FOOD IS PROBABLY TOO IMPORTANT TO MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY...

…but, hey, there are worst things to be addicted to I suppose!

As soon as my friend Jeff Wilson arrived in Harriman, we began his visit with a lunch feast at Midtown, Tennessee’s “Good Ol’ Days Diner” with hot dogs and burgers. The hot dog I had, pictured here was a delight with a sweet tasting slaw and corn nuggets. If you travel through this area (Intersection of Hwys 29 and 70), you must try any of the treats here!

After a day of hiking and sightseeing, we took Jeff to Big Ed’s Pizza in Oak Ridge, TN. Big Ed (Jr.) had expanded the draft beer selection to include two of my favorite pal ales, Fat Tire and Yuengling. I was absolutely thrilled and will go there twice as often now for sure. The pizzas were made to perfection, as only Big Ed’s staff has been making them since 1970. It is a must if traveling through East Tennessee – it’s an institution!

At breakfast the following morning, I started the day with a Ciabatta Breakfast Sandwich at Mimi’s Café at Turkey Creek in Knoxville. Between the great bread is an egg, grilled ham, bacon, garlic spinach, tomato, cheddar cheese, and citrus remoulade!

Jeff picked out the huge Chipotle Breakfast Burrito, which was stuffed with scrambled eggs, shredded beef, green onions, cilantro and black beans, all topped with chipotle sauce and melted cheeses, and served with red skin potatoes!

Jeff and I met Judy, Neena, Ron, and Corey at the Wild Wings Café that evening to cap off a wonderful day of shopping at the Smoky Mountain Knife Works, Bass Pro Shop, and Gander Mountain. Man, we were so hungry for some wings!

As I have documented, Judy and I went to Memphis with Jeff on Wednesday morning. GO HERE for two post on the wonderful time we had last week! In Memphis we treated ourselves to BBQ!

Our first outing was at Charles Vergo’s Rendezvous Charcoal Ribs. The Rendezvous has been in Memphis since 1948. If dry-rub ribs are your weakness, then you must drop by there and pig (on pun intended)! You can see the guys working the BBQ beef and pork in the kitchen from your table. You’ll notice that there are just as many orders “to go” as dine-in! The place is a bee hive of activity. Oh yes, they ship too!

On Thursday night, we made it over to Neely’s Bar-B-Que (west). In February 1988, four brothers (Gaelin, Tony, Mark and Patrick) launched into the barbeque business. They opened their first restaurant in downtown Memphis, with only tables, chairs and one BBQ pit. The brothers started building a reputation of hard work, great BBQ and consistently good service. Four years later after a huge demand we expanded to an East Memphis location, which was opened in October of 1992.

To our delight, these “wet” ribs were sweet and delicious. We also tried the pull-pork and BBQ spaghetti! The spaghetti was a wonderful surprise for us all.

Well, I’ve made myself hungry, so I have to go now. I think there is some “chicken-chili” ready in the kitchen!

QUICK AND EASY HAM AND TURKEY POCKETS

Lightly spray an 8X12 glass baking dish, and spread out half of a Pillsbury Crescent Big and Flakey Dinner Roll package, so that the bottom is covered.

Bake that layer at 375 degrees for 8 minutes and remove.

Then, using thin sliced deli ham and turkey, like Hormel’s, (do not used smoked meat of any kind) layer generously over the baked layer.

Then place a layer of provolone cheese over the first meat layer. Then place a second layer of meat over the cheese layer, and then another layer of cheese.

Cover the last cheese layer with the other half of the dinner rolls, making sure to completely cover the cheese, and bake again according to the full package directions.

Serve with chips and a small side of mayonnaise, Miracle Whip, or Dijon mustard for dipping!

It’s not exactly a pocket, but it taste just as good without all the extra salt!

FLANK STEAK FAJITAS

Judy and I bought a medium size flank steak at the store this week, a green bell pepper, a large Vidalia onion, a package of McCormick Fajita Mix, a jar of Paul Newman’s Salsa, and a package of high fiber tortilla wraps. That’s all we used for this meal except for some garlic powder, some salt, and pepper.

I rubbed the steak in the fajita and garlic powder, sprayed it with olive oil, and let it set for 30 minutes.

I put the marinated steak on the grill with the setting as low as it would go, and set the timer for 15 minutes. When the timer went off I flipped the steak, and reset the timer.

Over medium heat, Judy then sautéed the green pepper and the onion pieces in olive oil, with salt and pepper.

When the timer went off the second time, I brought the steak in on a cutting board and let it set for 5 minutes. Then I sliced the steak, across the grain, into very thin slices. On plates I spread out an “Ole’ Xtreme Wellness 8 Grain Tortilla Wrap”, lathered mine with Miracle Whip and hers with sour cream, spread out a line of shredded cheese, layered on strips of steak, then covered those with the sautéed peppers and onions, and dabbed on the salsa.

I sprinkled a little more salt over the center of the wrap, and folded up the bottom and wrapped over each side forming the standard wrap roll.

On the side we had a handful of “LAY'S® Kettle Cooked Reduced Fat Original Flavored Potato Chips” and an icy cold Diet Mountain Dew! It was wonderful!

After a day of mowing, blowing off the driveway, taking off a load of garbage, and spraying the yard where the concrete truck had mashed my Zoysia Grass, I was starving and this meal filled the bill!

The steak turned out very tender and required only 30 minutes cooking on low flame! When you’re in a hurry, this is a great meal to satisfy your taste buds and get you back in the game…or through a nap!

CHICKEN WITH FRUIT AND RICE

My wife Judy whipped this little ditty up the other day and no time, and it had a unique taste combination that we loved.

The most time consuming part of this meal was the shucking and pulling the whiskers off the yellow and white corn she bought. The corn-on-the-cob was wonderful with this meal. Around these parts we call them “rosin ears” (short for roasting ears)! Momma never hollered for me to run to the garden for some corn, or corn-on-the-cob, it was usually “James Paul, go pick me ‘bout six ‘rosin ears’ for supper!"

Judy first fried some chicken tenderloin, about 8 pieces, in olive oil and garlic, season with salt and pepper.

She sat the chicken aside to cool, before she chopped it all up in bite sizes, and then worked on washing, peeling, and cutting up a mango and some kiwi in to cubes and/or pieces. She then cut up some green onions (you can use shallots) and dumped it and on top of the bowl of fruit, which included a handful of washed seedless grapes.

All the while, Judy was cooking the brown rice according to the box directions. She timed this to be done when the dicing and slicing was all over.

She then dumped the chicken cubes and rice into the same skillet she used to cook the chicken in, and dumped in the bowl of mixed fruit and onions. She then blended in some low-fat plain yogurt, and about a 1/3 cup of fresh orange juice! What a combo of wonderful taste.

She then reached up and pushed start on the microwave, and start again for 6 minutes on the timer, and cooked the ‘rosin ears’ that were wrapped in wet paper towels. Yes, just 6 minutes!

This dish is best enjoyed either cool/cold or at room temperature with the hot buttered and salted corn-on-the-cob. It’s yummy and good for you!

GENERAL TSO’S CHICKEN BREAST

OMG! Go to Wal-Mart, of all places, and buy you a box of Innovasian Cuisine’s General Tso’s Chicken Breast (if cooking for two – two boxes if cooking for 4 or more) in the frozen food section! It comes with a spicy sauce that is out of this world – kind’a sweet and lots of spicy kick!

Pop the chicken into the oven as the directions indicate. Remove them and add the included sauce for another 5 minutes before finishing the dish.

However, the dish needs something else – that’s where ol’ Mushy comes in!

In a skillet or large “stock pot”, add about ¼ cup of EVOO, and turn the heat up. Take about a 3^rd of the box (if cooking for two – ½ if for 3 or more) of Barilla “Plus” Thin Spaghetti and break the spaghetti into 3 pieces. Drop the spaghetti into the hot EVOO, pour in about 1 cup of chicken stock, sprinkle with salt, and put in 4 or 5 whole pieces of garlic, dash in about a table spoon of soy sauce, and about 1 heaping table spoon of butter.

As the liquid begins to boil, crush the garlic with a large spoon, and stir the mixture until all the liquid is absorbed and the spaghetti becomes limp.

When the chicken is ready (after pouring the enclosed sauce over them), dump the chicken and sauce into the pot with the spaghetti and mix thoroughly.

Man…you talking about a taste wake up, this dish will make you say “WOW!” out loud!

Look at my Katie Bug enjoying the finished dish!

A QUICK CHORIZO BREAKFAST WRAP

Open and squeeze one tube (approx. 2.7 oz.) of Ole’ Mexican Chorizo sausage into a medium skillet and heat it on low heat.

Cut into small pieces, enough onion to mix with the appropriate number of eggs you plan to cook. I cooked for two, so I used 3 eggs. The chorizo will make its own grease, but you will need to blot that out with a paper towel before adding the eggs.

Once the sausage is cooked through and the onion pieces are translucent, reduce heat and remove the skillet until you have seasoned the eggs with salt and pepper. Do not use as much as normal for scrambled eggs since the sausage contains a large amount of both!

Break the egg yokes and mix the chorizo, onions, and eggs into a batter. Put the skillet back on the heat and cook until eggs are done.

Hopefully, you have already prepared your coffee, and have placed one Ole’ Mexican Xtreme Wellness Tortilla wrap on a plate. I prepared 2 plates for the 3 egg scramble I made. I like to put a little Kraft Mayo with Olive Oil on my wraps!

Spread the chorizo and egg mixture evenly over the tortillas you have prepared and serve with hot black coffee!

A MEXICAN TWIST TO BREAKFAST PIZZA

I bought myself a new camera, not for Christmas, but for my wildflower and hiking hobby! So, this morning while we were engaged in cooking up a twist on our “breakfast pizza”, I made a few snaps of the yummy pizza being constructed!

The basics are the same, a roll of large Pillsbury “Big and Flaky” Crescent Rolls, a round pizza baking sheet or dish, some eggs, cheese, and some kind of meat!

While I gently coaxed the triangles of dough into the round shape of the Pampered Chef pizza dish, Judy chopped up some sandwich ham, cut and opened two rolls of Ole’ Mexican Food Chorizo Sausage, and half a small onion. In some EVVO she sautéed everything together until the onions turned translucent.

Having finished the dough, I then beat up 3 large eggs, added salt and pepper, and some diced jalapeños. I poured the mixture into the middle of the dough and worked it out evenly over the dough’s surface. I then took the skillet of ham, chorizo, and onions and sprinkled them over the beaten eggs. Finally, I layered on the Kraft Pizza Cheese!

I then popped the dish into a 375 degree pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes.

When the pie came out it had bubbled up in a few places, but as it began to cool it shrank back into a perfect pizza shape!

Let me tell you, coupled with our coffee, this was delicious!

We sat and watched CBS NEWS Sunday Morning, as we’ve been accustomed to doing since we were married almost 29 years ago! If you’ve never tried the taste of jalapeños with your morning coffee, you have missed an incredible taste sensation! The hot of the pepper and the coffee mingle romantically in your mouth…it can’t be described adequately, so just try…trust me!

BREAKFAST PIZZA

Judy and I discovered a long time ago that we love to drink coffee with the heat of jalapeños in our mouth. This means that we must occasionally have a spicy omelet or breakfast pizza, loaded with diced onions and jalapeños, in order to give us that special taste in our mouths.

We had the omelet earlier this week, but when we discussed what to fix this morning, we both remembered the crescent rolls in the refrigerator – naturally, we both said “breakfast pizza” at the same time!

The first step to preparing bacon, or anything fried, in our house is prefaced by the "lighting of the candles". Judy loves her candles, so there are always at least half a dozen to light! Notice the Christmas flower arrangement she made…lovely huh!?

Jeff asked, “Who died” when I shared the photo with him earlier in the week! Judy may never speak to him again!

While Judy cooked a couple of strips of bacon, and sautéed the diced onions and jalapeños, along with a couple of strips of sandwich ham, I sprayed the Pampered Chef pizza dish with EVOO, and spread out the triangles of Pillsbury® crescents with the Baker's Roller® Judy had hidden in a drawer of implements we rarely use.

The triangles want to separate, but if you work hard at kneading them together, they will eventually cooperate and flatten out together.

Once it was all spread out as far as I dared to push it, I poured three beaten eggs over the top. The eggs were seasoned with salt, pepper, and Tennessee Sunshine hot sauce. The mixture will run off the edges unless your put the dough into a smaller pan with sides, but as it turned out, on the pizza stone, the egg cooked up just right in the oven. We simply cut it from the edges of dough and laid the cooked strips on top of the pizza.

After pouring on the eggs, I layered on the bacon, and sautéed onions, jalapeños, and ham! Yum!

This was all popped into a preheated oven at 375 degrees for about 13 to 14 minutes.

The taste was wonderful and the jalapeños and coffee bit at our taste buds!

WIENERS, RICE AND BEANS

Being retired means you try and make everything as easy as possible, without sacrificing good taste!

Judy and wanted something quick, delicious, and we promised to eat only one serving. It's our way of trying to cut back - put a normal portion on the plate and put anything left over up for next time! Seems more logical than doing without the foods you really like...doesn't it?

Anyway, as Baylee girl looked on, hoping I dropped something, I prepared wieners and onions for cooking.

Judy busied herself in measuring and cooking the right amount of brown rice, and opened a can of black beans.

I chopped a small onion into slivers and set them aside.

I cut the wieners in half length wise, then each half into quarters. I cooked the sliced wieners in a little EVOO, then poured my famous half Heinz 57/honey sauce over them. At the same time, I added the onions over the top and mixed it all up.

After adding the onions, I watched for them to start to get translucent, and then supper was ready!

You can tell the difference in our eating habits by looking at the different servings. Judy likes to compartmentalize, while I pile everything on! After all, it wall winds up in the same place...as my dad used to say!

Now if we weren't trying to cut back a little, we would have served this meal with some cornbread on the side! Man, that would have been great too!

Sorry Baylee...Daddy Dog was just too hungry!

VISITING APPLEWOOD

Once a year, Judy and I take my Mom up to Pigeon Forge, TN to make her advance Thanksgiving Dinner Reservations at the Applewood Farmhouse Grill. She is very old fashioned and does not believe she can accomplish the same thing over the phone!

I pointed out to her this time that all she has to do is request seating in the Fireside Dinning Room. I think I saw a light come on, as she looked up at the side on the doorway to the dinning she favors. The other dinning areas in the restaurant have different names and, therefore, different signs hanging above their entrances.

She tried the phone one year and ended up in the Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant, which is a few hundred feet further down into the Applewood area. The restaurant is several years older and she has always preferred to have her “wonderful” Thanksgiving Dinner in the Grill, and in the “Fireside” dinning room. However, until today, she did not know they had specific names that she could request and be sure of her seating.

However, going up once a year does give us an excuse to eat and enjoy the day together. If for nothing more, we may drive the 115 mile round trip next year. Who cares?

Today, Judy and Mom had a traditional vegetable plate, while I could not get the “fried bologna” sandwich out of my mind. I wanted the chicken livers, then I wanted vegetables, then I wanted the catfish, and then…heck, I wanted everything they had! I ordered the sandwich and appeased my watering mouth with a couple apple fritters slathered in apple butter!

I was all beautiful…as food is to me!

FRIED SQUASH AND PINTO BEANS

As promised, mom cooked for me Sunday afternoon. However, she went to two places and could not find okra or green tomatoes, but she prepared a find meal just the same.

The fried squash was delicious, dipped in egg and rolled in corn meal! She added pinto beans, with lots of juice so the corn bread muffins could soak it up! She also made mashed potatoes and meat loaf.

To add to the taste combination were fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and sweet onions! Of course, I added to the flavor of the potatoes by adding a dab of Miracle Whip Salad Dressing! Yep, and it is great! You put mayo or Miracle Whip in your potato salad don’t you? Well, you should! I learned this little “common-sewer” tip from my Uncle Tom. He loves his mashed potatoes this way, of course, he is one to eat a raw onion while drinking a Pepsi!

My little 80 year-old "mama-zoody", who weighs a good 100 soaking wet, can still stand by the stove and cook with the best of them. She has forgotten more about cooking than I’ll ever learn!

She promised to get okra and green tomatoes soon and do it all again. I personally can hardly wait!

SZECHWAN CHICKEN

Tonight’s menu:

• Bring to boil 14 ounces of chicken broth and add one slice of American cheese for additional flavor
• Add in 14 ounces of white rice, cover and set aside
• Add 1 package Szechwan oriental seasoning, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 3 table spoons of soy sauce and ¼ cup of water in boil, mix, and set aside
• Heat olive and sesame oil and table spoon of fresh garlic in skillet
• Add 3 boneless chicken breast cut into thin strips and brown
• Add the following fresh vegetables and stir fry until soft:
  Green beans
  Asparagus tips
  Squash
  Orange bell pepper
  ½ red onion
  ¼ cup almond pieces
• Add ¼ cup of pineapple juice and pineapple pieces and the seasoning mixture
• Stir fry until sauce is thick and hot and remove from heat

Present as shown in photos