Magic Wineglass Tours

Tag: mountain B&B

  • s’More Apples

    Ok, so I bought the teeny tiny itty-bitty micro mini squishy marshmallows to make scones.  Because I was buying raspberry chocolate chips for scones, and lemon drops for scones, and cinnamon bits for scones, and I already had milk chocolate chips and graham crackers at home… so when I spotted the teeny tiny itty-bitty micro mini squishy marshmallows, I thought, “Aha!  S’more scones!”

    But this morning wasn’t about scones.  We were having Cherry Chapelure (my version of oven French toast) with a pecan praline topping, and I had these lovely apples for the fruit course.  I really (really) didn’t want to make baked stuffed apples.  And the t.t.i-b.m.m.sq. marshmallows were just sitting there… trying to look all innocent… temptation in the making…  irresistible…

    So, I peeled, cored and sliced the apples.  This next step will revolutionize your morning, if you haven’t figured it out already:  put the apple slices in a bowl with a healthy splash of orange juice (toss ’em around in it).  The OJ will keep them from browning.  Now cover and steam them in the microwave until they are just tender.  They get a head start on cooking, and it helps them keep their shape.

    I sprayed ramekins and layered the apple slices with a sprinkling of t.t.i-b.m.m.sq. marshmallows.  Not too many.  Just enough to make the apples say ahhh.  Then I put graham crackers and vanilla wafers into a big baggie, sealed it shut, and rolled them just like a pastry with my rolling pin, until I had nice coarse crumbs.  Added just a hint of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves to the baggie, shook it up, and topped my apples.  Then I melted way too much butter and drizzled it over the top.  Off it went into the oven to bake with the Chapelure and sausage patties, and voila – breakfast.

    This was all packed into the breakfast basket along with cinnamon-vanilla syrup, maple syrup, orange juice, and everything they needed to make a picnic breakfast happen, covered in pretty linens, flowers tied to the basket, and delivered to the cottage door.

    And voila.  S’more Apples.  A new addition to my breakfast repertoire, for sure!

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  • Just a plain breakfast, please

    Just a plain breakfast, please

    After a request for a ‘plain’ breakfast, and a bit of discussion, guests have had a breakfast basket delivered daily with ‘plain’ food.  Today’s was a pretty crystal tray of fresh cut fruit (nectarines, kiwi, and grapes) with no dressing or yogurt or sauce, per request.  Frittatas made with eggs and ham, potatoes, peppers, onions and herbs (and a little cheddar because I can’t help myself).  Cheese grits, by request, and yes there’s a little jalapeno in there because, well, I’m pretty sure there’s a law about that…  And some decidedly un-plain cherry scones.  I just love this Southern man to pieces – he wants sweet tea at every meal.  How precious is that?

    Breakfast Basket Menu
    We just want a Plain breakfast, please

    .

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  • Veteran’s Day 11/11/11

    Veteran’s Day 11/11/11

    A wedding, a re-marriage, a renewal of vows ceremony…  Lifelong friendships forged, commitments made, shared laughter and lots of love in the air…  This was such a joyful day for all!

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  • Keeping my coffee hot…

    Keeping my coffee hot…


    Ahhhh….  Of course!  A lid for the coffee mugs.  Why didn’t I think of that?  Well, no matter.  The folks at Deneen Pottery thought of it for me.  And you.

    I like my coffee hot.  Not mostly hot, or a little bit hot, or fairly hot.  Steaming, piping, right-from-the-pot hot.  Now, it takes me a while to drink a cup of coffee at my desk, sitting at this computer.  And I have a really good coffee warmer (which fits my new mug perfectly).  It keeps my coffee pretty hot.  (Sigh.)

    Then one day, I asked Niles Deneen if I could order a few of those lids.  They came right away, and wow was I ever surprised!  I popped one of those babies on my hot coffee and twenty minutes later, I took a sip and it was still really hot!  Not a little, not mostly, not acceptably warm.  Well, honey, color me happy!

    Larry actually lets his coffee cool a bit before he drinks it.  (Horrors!)  So he just rolls his eyes at my hot coffee nirvana.  That said, if you’re like me, you’ll want one for yourself.

    Now, where was I?  Oh yes:  Ahhhhh….

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  • October’s Bright Blue Weather

    O SUNS and skies and clouds of June,
    And flowers of June together,
    Ye cannot rival for one hour
    October’s bright blue weather;

    When loud the bumble-bee makes haste,
    Belated, thriftless vagrant,
    And Golden-Rod is dying fast,
    And lanes with grapes are fragrant;

    When Gentians roll their fringes tight
    To save them for the morning,
    And chestnuts fall from satin burrs
    Without a sound of warning;

    When on the ground red apples lie
    In piles like jewels shining,
    And redder still on old stone walls
    Are leaves of woodbine twining;

    When all the lovely wayside things
    Their white-winged seeds are sowing,
    And in the fields, still green and fair,
    Late aftermaths are growing;

    When springs run low, and on the brooks,
    In idle golden freighting,
    Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush
    Of woods, for winter waiting;

    When comrades seek sweet country haunts,
    By twos and twos together,
    And count like misers, hour by hour,
    October’s bright blue weather.

    O suns and skies and flowers of June,
    Count all your boasts together,
    Love loveth best of all the year
    October’s bright blue weather.

    Sometimes, a poem just speaks to you.  This one, by Helen Hunt Jackson (1830-1885), could have been written just for me.

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  • Fresh Blueberries!

    Fresh Blueberries!

    We’re blessed with the most wonderful friends. Thank you, Rick & Judy, for the gorgeous just-picked blueberries from your garden!

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  • Wildflower Bouquet

    Wildflower Bouquet

    The bride said, “I want my wedding bouquet to be filled with light, airy flowers… like you just walked out into a field and picked it.”  Ah, romance.  She loved it!

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  • The Maggie Valley Weddings Website

    The Maggie Valley Weddings Website

    I’m having fun, updating the anniversary picture on the Maggie Valley Weddings website every day.  Nostalgic for me!  Every wedding couple is unique, so every wedding has its own flavor, its own memories.  I have the best job in the world.  Oh yes, I do!!

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  • The Perfect Coffee Mug

    We leaned forward to listen, as one of the ladies prepared to tell us about her requirements for a Perfect Man.  He would be tall, she said, and employed.  Funny and smart go without saying.  She restricted his age to 35-43, and begging your pardon, he simply cannot be a democrat.  We sat back and laughed, and discretely surveyed the dining room.  Hey, you never know.

    So here I am this morning, preparing to tell you about my notion of the perfect coffee mug.  Like my friend’s ideal man, it must be taller than round.  It must also fit on my cup warmer.  Even though it takes me an hour in the morning to savor that first cuppa, I enjoy my coffee scaldingly hot, so a cup that fits on the warmer should have a flat bottom (I’ve no idea what my friend’s requirements are in that area) so that it will actually keep the coffee hot.  Most commercial cups, which bore me to tears, have a concave base that doesn’t make contact with the warmer, and I’m back at the microwave every few minutes.  That said, it really can’t be a commercial cup.  There are just too many really fine potters out there that can make a beautiful coffee mug, and these North Carolina mountains are right smack in the middle of clay heaven.

    A brief aside about our clay…  It’s so special that Wedgwood China imported it in the 1700s.  It was taken to port via the Indian Road (now I-26) to the port of Charleston and shipped to England.  Josiah Wedgwood pronounced it remarkable and called it Cherokee Clay.  There you are, a special nod to today being Earth Day.

    Back to the Perfect Mug.  It should have a pleasing appearance, that evokes some uplifting emotion.  It should feel wonderful – the handle should be easy to use, your thumb finding just the right place, and the rim should be thoughtfully crafted so you don’t get that aggravating drip down the side.  It should be exactly the right size to hold a bit more than a tea cup, but not so large that your coffee’s bound to cool.  It should invite you to lean back and wrap your hands around it on a chilly morning.  Decorative, certainly, but being decorative can’t outweigh function… like those silly handles your fingers won’t fit in, or square for the sake of being square, or squat, just in case that’s adorable.  Flared rims may be unusual, but that’s because they’re difficult to use.  As in architecture, form follows function.  And it should be hand-crafted.  I don’t want to ‘make do’.  I want to Enjoy.  I want to Savor.  I want to Appreciate -both the coffee and the mug it’s in.

    I’m just guessing that my friend would also like to find a man crafted here in these Smoky Mountains, with a pleasing appearance, who feels wonderful, and is just the right shape, who works flawlessly and is prepared to help her enjoy a cup of coffee every morning.  I hope she finds him.  I’ve found my mug.

    Here it is.

    Coffee by the Creek - New Timberwolf Creek mugs from Deneen Pottery

    Made in America.  By hand.

    In case you’re wondering, our mugs are handmade by the good folks at Deneen Pottery.  And the coffee that goes in them is Elida Estate, from Panama.  We’ll be happy to send you home with both.  Come enjoy your next cup on the porch by the stream, under these tall trees, at Timberwolf Creek.

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  • And the bride’s bouquet was yellow

    And the bride’s bouquet was yellow

    She said, “I’d like a small round bouquet, in yellow.”  I’ll admit to having to make it twice, but it was so worth the effort!  Palest yellow roses, deep yellow tea roses, bright yellow spring mums, a touch of baby’s breath and a white satin wrap – voila!  Beautiful.

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