We had our second wedding here a week ago.  The bride's mother and her friends arrived at 3 and filled our Garden Room with an arbor that they covered with vines and flowers.  A little flower girl scattered petals on the floor, making a path for the bride and groom.

 

After the ceremony we moved the tables into place while guests enjoyed hors d'oeuvres in the front of our shop.  Dinner followed and then cake and then dancing.  I, the cook, peeked out now and then, snapping some photos, tearing up at their promises.

 

We do a Thanksgiving Dinner to go each year. People have been asking for the menu so here it is. We will take orders up until Monday, November 23rd. Dinners will be made on Wednesday the 25th.  You can come between 2 and 4 to pick up yours. We'll include reheating instructions. Order for 1 or for 50. (And yes, you can order parts if you wish, though I'd get the entire meal if I were you.)

 

Thanksgiving 2009

At the start:

Smoked Trout Pate

With Roasted Garlic Crostini

**

The Dinner:

Oven-roasted Turkey with Fresh, local Herbs

North Carolina Shitake Mushroom Gravy

Cornbread Stuffing with Hickory Nut Gap Apples

North Carolina Sweet Potato Wedges with a Sorghum Glaze

Brendan’s Southern-style Green Beans

With Bacon

Laurey’s Jubilee! Chutney

Soft Rolls made with YellowBranch Farmstead Cheese

**

The Sweet Finish:

Traditional Pumpkin or Apple Crumb Pie

The Asheville Humane Society is trying to build a new shelter.  As a fundraiser they are offering tiles and bricks with your pet's name and picture.  Here's a look at one of the big tiles with my beautiful sweetheart's picture.

 

Dinners come with a freshly-made green salad, salad dressing of the day,

and made-right-here bread of the day. We take reservations until noon or so.

 

We're open until 8 these days so feel free to stick around and enjoy your dinner right here.  (And if you don't see what you like on this menu, just drop by - we make all sorts of things every night according to the weather and our whim.)

 

Please order by phone (252-1500), by fax (252-0200)

or stop in to speak to one of us in person.

 

Monday October 26 Chicken Parmesan with Linguine 10.75

 

Tuesday October 27 Stuffed Cabbage with Potato Cakes 10.25

 

Wednesday October 28 *Pan-roasted Duck Breasts with Turnips and Collards 15.50

 

Thursday October 29 Chicken with Herb Dumplings 11.25

 

Friday October 30 *Roast Wild Alaskan Salmon, Lentils, and Herbs 15.25

 

 

* these items are Gluten Free

We make a special casserole each Wednesday.

 

Order by noon or so. Order a half if you have around 4 folks. If you have a bigger group, or you just like leftovers, order a full-sized one. Then come pick up between 3:00 and 8:00. (Or bring a gang and enjoy your dinner right here. WE DO have beer and wine by the glass, you know.)

 

 

This week's special casserole is on Wednesday, October 28

 

Macaroni and Cheese with Roasted Vegetables

Full: 30

Gordon Smith is running for Asheville City Council and had a fun idea to have me do a cooking class that would support his run.

 

Come on Thursday, October 29th for a glass of wine or a beer and a lesson.  I'll show you how to make these Free Form Gallettes, Puffed Pastry Apple tarts, a simple Shiitake Mushroom hors d'oeuvre and a couple of other things.  All will feature our local farmers and the whole thing will benefit Gordon. 

 

The class is from 6:30 - 8 and costs 37.00 per person.

 

We got hats.  We sold hats.  The hats sold out.  Yikes!

The new order just arrived - thank heavens!

Red, black and green are here, as is the new Charcoal.

 

Ever since Nicole moved away we've been wiping the tables as best we can.  Fortunately, we now have Andy here - just on Fridays so far, though hopefully he'll be with us more once it gets too cold for him to work at his other job at a local golf course.  He is doing a swell job, methodically keeping the tables and chairs tidy. I'm delighted to have him with us. 

 

Can it be? Already the end of October? How is this possible? How?

 

Life around here continues to be very full. Asheville is full and a lot of folks are finding their way down the hill to our shop. Suits me just fine. The other day I had fun meeting some visitors from Loudon, Kentucky and another group from Oxford, Mississippi. Sweet!

 

We were chosen as Asheville’s Best Caterer in the mountain Xpress Reader’s poll. You might have seen our picture in the paper – all decked out in bright purple wigs. (I’m the one with the red wax lips.)

 

And if you pick up a copy of the November Our State magazine, you’ll find an article about our Thanksgiving side dishes. I haven’t seen it yet, so I can’t tell you much more, but do see if you can find a copy.

 

As you see, we had a wedding here last week. We also had an Old Time music jam on Tuesday, a cooking class on Thursday, and a private dinner party on Wednesday – a celebration of a local business’s new business acquisition. (Congratulations to them!) Looks like the Tuesday jams are going to continue with Old Time on the first and third Tuesdays and ukulele jams on the second and fourth. Come play or come just to listen.

 

We’re ALMOST ready to launch our new website. These things take a long time, even if you know exactly what you want. Our friend Jeff has been quietly working away, building the infrastructure. I have a couple of illustrations to do and then we’ll be set.

 

We’re going to get a new roof which will eliminate the Rube Goldberg-like assortment of buckets that we drag out whenever it rains. I bought a new drill and have been shoring up our chairs and tables. And the air conditioning guy was here yesterday, diagnosing and eliminating the highly irritating squeak that had been driving us all crazy. There is always something to fix but we’re chipping away, chipping away, chipping away at the list.

 

Meanwhile I’ve been meeting a lot of folks who are planning weddings for next summer and fall. We’ve got a growing list of holiday parties in our lineup and that, too, suits me just fine. We’re approaching our 6th year in this space, my 22nd year in this business.  Oh my. I have no idea how this can be true but the numbers seem not to lie. On we go.

 

And now, right now, I need to clean up my desk and see about a few more menus and see if I can get a little bit of organization to my chaotic corner of this office. Everyone else is VERY tidy and I feel a bit like Pigpen. Sigh. Things just keep ending up here. Paint. Posters. Chocolate. T-shirts. Tools. Vinegar. Apples. And my hula hoop. Sigh.

 

Here's Henry when he was feeling a lot better than he is these days.  He has just had a bone marrow transplant and is at Duke with his lovely parents, Emily and Adam (who work here). We're going to have a big pancake breakfast benefit for them.  They do have insurance (thankfully) but their personal expenses are still huge.  Join us here on Sunday, November 8th for pancakes, bacon, sausage, coffee.  It's just 10.00 per person, and kids are free.  All proceeds go to the Thomes.  And yes, there's room for you to make a larger donation if you wish.