A Successful Abduction Involving Demo's, Russell Stover, Monteagle Inn, and High Point

I cannot believe that I pulled this off! I managed to keep a secret from my husband for weeks - a romantic getaway to the Monteagle Inn. I made all of the arrangements when he wasn't around, packed the bags while he was showering, and had him completely believing that we were on our way to his parent's house for lunch before I told him my true plans. He was totally shocked and I was enormously chuffed. 

On the way out of town we stopped at Demo's Steak House - home of the best chicken and rice soup in the world. It was a light lunch, since I planned for a decadent supper.

Yum...that soup is so good! They have the best steak in town, but that will be for another day. Our car cannot get from Murfreesboro to Monteagle without stopping at the Russell Stover store in Manchester. Free samples. Nuff said.

We arrived just at check in time. This, ladies and gents, is one of my favorite places on earth. The Monteagle Inn.

We were happy to stay in room number 1 for this adventure. Isn't it lovely? There was also a small sitting area and a large bathroom.

There are three places in the world where I have had holidays that were completely peaceful and blissfully calm: the Ntchisi rain forest, the Ark in Kenya, and the Monteagle Inn. One of the reasons Monteagle Inn makes this list is this room (see my hubby already tucked in with a book). Comfy couches...perfect lighting...time to do nothing but read and drink tea.

Of course, on our way to relax and read, we stopped by this lovely oasis of tea for a cuppa. We may have also stepped into the hospitality room where there are always fresh baked goods (like a macaroon wrapped in chocolate chocolate chip cookie).

After a few blissful hours of reading, we went to High Point for dinner.

For years, the locals knew that this house was not just any house. It belonged to a local doctor, but everyone said that it was actually built for the doctor's wife. By Al Capone. In fact, Al Capone was reported to have frequented the house and was seen playing cards with his cronies on the porch.  No one outside of Monteagle paid  much attention to these rumors until the state decided to build a highway through Monteagle. They discovered an underground passageway leading to High Point, which lead to the discovery of other underground passageways and escape hatches. All for the benefit of the local doctor? People think not.

Whatever you make of its history, it is now an amazing restaurant. They serve excellent bread, perfectly crusty on the outside and soft on the inside.

Stone then moved on to crab stuffed silver dollar mushrooms in lobster cream sauce. They were delightful - the sauce had just a hint of spice that brought out the flavors of the crab and lobster.

I chose the Savannah crab cake with remoulade sauce. It was the most delicious crab cake I have ever had - moist, sweet, and spicy.

Neither of us had enough room for an entree after that, so we moved on to dessert. Banana's foster - absolutely the best I have ever had. That sauce is so thick and rich and sweet that it borders on obscene.

After a restful night on what must be the softest sheets in the universe, we awoke to the sounds of church bells from the small Methodist church next to the Inn. It was time for a journey to this room.

Breakfast! Monteagle Inn breakfast is unforgettable. I started out with orange juice, a cup of coffee, and this lovely plate of food. In my head I said a small and selfish prayer asking that herb roasted potatoes would be on the main menu.

And they were. This beautiful bouquet of potatoes is served with whatever herbs looked best in the Monteagle Inn gardens that morning. They never disappoint. The cucumber was also from the garden and had the fresh taste of homegrown. The eggs Bearnaise were from heaven. Stone almost cried when he got to his last bite. (Always the best of hosts, they offered to fix another for him when I told them how much he enjoyed it, but he decided to stop since he was - after all -completely stuffed.)

After a couple of hours of relaxing (and of course reading) in the courtyard...

And snapping a pic of one of the super cool downstairs bathrooms (you know I have a thing about cool bathrooms)...

It was time to head home. We will be dreaming about Monteagle Inn until we are able to make another trip. Perhaps we will make our next trip on the weekend so we can try out their new wine lounge.

I am so glad I was able to pull off this little getaway for my much deserving husband. It may have been one of my best kept secrets of all time.  Can you keep a secret?

Miller's Cafe, Cream Coffee

Until I moved to Tennessee, the only thing I knew about fried green tomatoes was that they made for a darn good movie...

and an even better book. Then I went to this place...

Miller's Grocery in Christiana, Tennessee. And I had these...

actual fried green tomatoes. Eating one is, to use a Southern colloquialism, a religious experience. They are crispy outside, soft inside, salty, sour, and piping hot. They are everything that is best about Southern fried food - they are unique and comforting at the same time. They are only available when green tomatoes are in season. Like today, for instance, when I met some friends for lunch at Miller's.

Everyone was excited to eat at Miller's because they all love it - and they know I love it. They were surprised when I - who have lost so much weight and try to eat so healthy - ordered the fried green tomato appetizer. You should have seen them when I ordered the Country Fried Steak with sawmill gravy, mashed potatoes, and fried okra. I told them I will bike the whole Greenway to work that off and it will be worth it. I wish so much that I had the presence of mind and self control to take a picture when my entree came out. Unfortunately, I was deeply involved in a conversation about Michael Cunningham and began inhaling my okra before I remembered to reach for my camera. I guess that means I have to go back for more pictures. Darn.

I did get a picture of my dessert. That is a mud bar. It is amazing. Brownie on the bottom topped with nut and marshmallow filled fudge frosting. Every year Miller's is voted best place to get dessert by the readers of Tennessee magazine. Can you see why?

After my amazing lunch, I came home to do a little cooking...

(two pans of bread and one pan of green beans not pictured) for the homeless shelter. My Sunday school class was providing Friday night dinner, and I offered to do the cooking while they helped with the funds. After all of that heavy food, I needed something light and creamy. So I used drinksmixer.com, and found this.

Cream Coffee from drinksmixer.com
Equal parts
coffee brandy
rum
milk
strong coffee


A good day over all. To end it...

"Goodbye" by Hootie and the Blowfish- the Friday song randomly chosen for you by my Zen DJ.

I hope you have a lovely Saturday. If you happen to be at the Murfreesboro Farmer's Market on the Square or the U2 concert and Vandy - we just may run into each other.

A Date Day in Smyrna/Murfreesboro and 4 Point Scallops

Stone had the day off today, so we took a "date day". True, there was some errand running. But, we greatly enjoyed being together. We started out in Smyrna at the best donut shop in Tennessee. M and E's Donut Palace has a fantastic, small-town feel - low prices - excellent products - and the owners are the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. I wish they had a website I could link to, because you are going to want to visit after you see these pictures. 

Eclair and Chocolate frosted with nuts

Chocolate frosted and maple glazed with  nuts

Then we ran a couple of errands...pharmacy...Dollar General...blah, blah, blah...before going to our favorite coffee shop, JoZoara,  to pick up some frappes - coconut for me, java chip for him. Both unbelievably good, but I am partial to mine. It tastes like an actual coconut. You just can't beat that. Of course, I have never had anything at JoZoara that I didn't love.

From there to Old Fort Park for a Deep and Meaningful Discussion (we want this marriage to last, so we schedule these at least every two weeks). From there to the movie theater, which was not showing movies at the times listed on the website. So, to the bike shop instead to pick up new helmets...blah, blah, blah. Then, lunch at Ahart's! Yes! I will reiterate that Ahart's is the best pizza shop in the world. The. Best. Ever.

BOT (Basil, bacon, onion, tomato)

Genova (Fresh basil, eggplant, mushrooms, tomato, and goat cheese) - apologies for the lack of focus

Chocolate on chocolate cheese cake (okay, this is actually from another visit but I didn't get a chance to post it and it must be seen)

Key lime cheesecake (again, from before, but still....)

What, you want more? How about the plate they bring out to show you your options?

Ahhh...I am happy just remembering. From there, to a long doctor's appointment. Not so bad since the doctor's office has really good coffee.

Finally, a walk at around the Gateway Trail-head. There were lots of protective mama ducks today, but they were so fun to watch.

Date over, time to come home for dinner. I am calling these "Kroger Scallops" because I got the recipe off the back of a bag of Kroger brand scallops. It is super good. You never know where you are going to find a great new idea for a dish. 



Kroger Scallops
12 oz scallops
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp white wine
1 tomato, chopped
salt, pepper and parsley to taste
spray butter

1. In a medium bowl, combine scallops, lemon juice, wine, and tomato. Stir gently to combine. Place in the fridge to marinate for 2-4 hours.
2. Line an oven safe skillet with aluminum foil. Place scallop mixture on foil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parsley to taste. Spray with 10 sprays of butter.
3. Bake at 350F for apx 9 minutes, until cooked through.
4. Yields 2, 4 point servings

 

What a nice day it was. Since this post is all about my husband, it seems appropriate to end it with a song that brings him to mind. I hope your day was lovely and that your tomorrow is full of good food and love. 

A Random Post Including Wild Flours, No Bake Chocolate Chews (3 points), and Elmo

I am so proud of myself for getting up extra early to make sure that I could get to the Farmer's Market and back before taking my nephew on a "date". Look at my great haul - bok choy, local honey, ground beefalo, two dozen farm fresh eggs, and a loaf of the best whole wheat bread money can buy. There were so many beautiful things at the market today - with more money and more time I could have really cleaned up.

There are some great vendors at the Farmer's Market, and one of my favorites is Wild Flours (click on the name to see their blog, with a mouth watering list of available products). We tried their cinnamon rolls two weeks ago and were blown away.

Look at that list of ingredients! Nothing I have to pronounce syllable by syllable. All good stuff. We were on a family jaunt that day and my nephew completely loved his Wild Flours (click to see their Facebook page) muffin.

The whole wheat bread was one of the reasons I got up so early this morning. I knew that I could not wait another week for a loaf. It is super-duper good. If you live in this area, this would be my top recommendation for Saturday morning breakfast, hands down: Wild Flours at the Farmer's Market on the square.

The "date" with my nephew was a I Am the Best Aunt Ever trip to see Elmo Live. Floor seats, baby. How cool am I?

We had lunch at Panera Bread (the closest place to eat that is not on insane-on-Saturday Broadway) and Simon was fascinated with the building across the street.

After dropping off Simon and taking a major power nap, I whipped up some no bake cookies for my overworked grad student hubby.

I have posted a healthy version of these superb, chewy, chocolatey, sinfully easy cookies before. This is the old-school, full on butter version that I grew up on. 


No Bake Chocolate Chews from In the Kitchen with the AWA
4 tbsp cocoa
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup lowfat milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
3 cups rolled oats

1. Combine first four ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly,  for one minute. Remove from the stove and then add the next three ingredients.
2. After the peanut butter is melted, add the oats. Beat until the mixture starts to set (just a few minutes). Spoon out on waxed paper by teaspoonful and let cool.
3. Yields 39, 3 point servings

These poor things never get cooled before Stone steals one.

Wow! That was a long post. I could go on because I really wanted to share my weekly menu. But, I had better stop it - you never know what Bob Newhart might do to me otherwise.

Jazz Fest in Murfreesboro

One of my favorite local events is Jazz Fest. The Murfreesboro square, a historic area that was once the capital of Tennesee, is filled with the sounds of America's most significant contribution to the world of music: jazz. Bands from near and far take turns on multiple stages while vendors sell deep fried, chocolate covered, fresh squeezed fair food.

I love the music; I spend the whole festival alternating between tapping feet and swaying hips. I love a wailing sax, a loud guitar, and a drum solo so hot it melts my face off.  But I would be lying if I said that I wasn't just as excited about the food. When I think about Jazz Fest, two words pop into my head. Funnel. Cake. Deep fried, golden brown, lighter than air cake batter served on a paper plate with a thick dust of powdered sugar covering the top. Yes.

Here are a few glimpses of Jazz Fest Fun

The courthouse surrounded by stages on the east and west, vendors and inflatables on the north and south. Before there was a building here, the center of the square was used (by Andrew Jackson and his cronies) as a cock fighting pit. 

This is where we got our funnel cake...

We were very excited that the MexiVenn food truck was there. We purchased our lunch - tamales and horchata from our favorite Mexican/Venezuelan eatery. (BTW, the red thing on Stone's arm is because he donated blood at the Red Cross before Jazz Fest; what a great guy!)

The backstage of a local school show; Stone and Simon enjoying some music.

Alas....now I have to wait a whole year before enjoying more Jazz Fest fun.

Now, dear blog readers, I have a question for you. Generally, I post recipes with Weight Watchers Points Plus applied. I assume that most people are visiting my blog so see those recipes. So, when I write a post like this one about Jazzfest, or professing my love for big greasy burgers, or singing the praises of my favorite pizza joint, I wonder if they are incongruous when the rest of the site. I have been pondering whether it would be preferable to have two separate blogs: one for recipes and one for travel and restaurant reviews. The wisest people, of course, to help me make that decision are my readers. So...

Are posts like this interesting/relevant/good for this blog or should I take them somewhere else?