Pan-Roasted Chicken with Cheesy-Herb Mashed Potatoes

After this recipe from the Sweet As Pie Cooking club, my next cookbook purchase may be a Cook's Country book.  I have been interested in the TV show off and on but many of the recipes and their process was too much for me, the not-a-gourmet cook.  I hope Jennifer keeps those Cook's Country selections coming to the club!

I've never had Boursin cheese until now.  This cheese takes potatoes to a yummy new level so we'll be having those again!   The nice girl in the Publix deli, told me she loves to spread Boursin cheese on wraps.  She's also very helpful, just look for her, she's the one with the purple streak in her hair and gauges in her ear lobes.  I think she recognizes me as the lost old lady always wandering around looking for something!

1/4c of chives is called for in this recipe.  My chive pot, which was mostly neglected last summer, has been the most popular this summer.  Good thing the pot is full!

The pan sauce is simple.  I used boneless skinless chicken breasts so there wasn't much drippings left in the pan from cooking them, but enough to whip up in the sauce.

Just serve with a green side like the roasted asparagus above.  Oh, and don't forget a fresh garden tomato.

Sweet As Pie Cooking Club - Baja Chicken Sliders

The kitchen is STILL closed and I am WAY behind on the Sweet As Pie cooking club recipes.  But I do have access to a grill and managed to put together the Baja Chicken Sliders that I chose back in May.  Back in May????!   Yes, it's been that long!

The slaw in this recipe is the best part.  Crispy broccoli coleslaw with red pepper, onion, jalepeno, and lime, and cilantro.  Fresh and crisp!

Without a dishwasher and kitchen sink, I'm using way more paper plates than I would like.
The second best thing about this recipe is the sour cream and lime zest spread.

Pile it on the toasted bun with the marinated chicken and slaw.

I was so ready to eat I forgot the lettuce and tomato.  With this slaw, it wasn't necessary anyway.

New Orleans and a "thank you" to Ms. enPlace

The kitchen remodel is moving along, more about that later.  The blog obviously hasn't received any attention these days.    Today is Saturday and the carpenters are working away so I'll finish sharing that surprise trip to New Orleans.

I especially want to give Michelle at Ms. enPlace a big THANK YOU for her local insights. I emailed Michelle to see if she could suggest where the locals eat in New Orleans.  You know it's easy to find the touristy places anywhere and there are a LOT of good places to eat, but I wanted to know where the locals would go.  Michelle gave me lots of places to consider and her recommendations didn't disappoint!  

The Bassman had made brunch reservations at a couple of well known local places.  The first day, we made our way by taxi to Commander's Palace (where Emeril got his start in the kitchen) in the garden district.  I found myself looking often at a layout of the city to see which "district" we were in.  

Turtle soup is one of their specialties and it was good along with that crusty french bread.

Visiting the cemeteries wasn't on our to-do list, but since there was one across the street from Commander's Palace we took a few minutes to take a look.  The architecture is interesting just don't get lost in there!

We made our way back via the streetcar.  This is the way to go as a tourist for no stressful driving!   If they're busy, the timing can be an issue so just make sure you allow plenty of time to get where you're going or better yet don't have a set schedule.

Now on to the French Quarter Festival for some music, sightseeing and lots of walking!

 Of course you don't want to miss Cafe Du Monde's famous beignets.  Are they ever not busy?  More beignets, please!

Dragos just happened to be right down the street from our hotel.  Michelle mentioned that this is one of her parent's favorite places.  And yes, have the grilled oysters.  Now we want to make these on the grill at home, only because there's not a Dragos nearby.

I mentioned earlier about not having a schedule but we did have to set the alarm to make our breakfast reservation at Brennan's.  

Bananas Foster was created here.  This was the fanciest breakfast I've ever had and, yes, I had Bananas Foster for dessert!

Now on to more music, sightseeing and walking.....

...on ROYAL street.  I liked the tile street markers.

WHO DAT cat in the window at the Bourbon Street Veterinarian.

Past a historic architect's house.

On to the house that Michelle recommended for their poboys, Napoleon House in the French Quarter.

I enjoyed the muffaletta.

There was plenty of crawfish at the festival.  Here is the Bassman getting some tips on how they prepare them.  He is getting very good at his own crawfish boil at home.  It is becoming an annual tradition!

Music stages everywhere just stop and listen.  It brought a smile to my face to hear praise and worship music in the French Quarter.

Another place Michelle recommended is Mother's Restaurant.  I wasn't clear on whose mother it was, but her Ferdi special poboy (not pictured) was worth the wait.

Michelle mentioned 7 other places in her email so there was plenty to choose from and not enough time to make it to all of them.  The down side is we both came home with 3 or 4 extra pounds that we didn't have when we arrived!   It was kind of like a scavenger hunt to visit as many as we could and definitely a nice connection to have through a blog!

Thanks Michelle!

Amtrak Crescent to New Orleans

The Bassman surprised me with a long weekend trip for our anniversary.   Now this was a surprise and a treat because I usually get the travel planner title around here!  I admit I was a little nervous about it too!  Not that I'm a control freak or anything...maybe a little.

We often talked about taking the train to New Orleans and we finally did it!   We boarded the Amtrak Crescent in Tuscaloosa.  The train station itself is old, yet clean, and has a lot of character.

We had never taken a passenger train before so this was a new and exciting experience.

Shortly out of Tuscaloosa, we passed Moundville, AL

We stopped at several stations, each with their own character, to board more passengers.  If the stop wasn't your final destination, you're not allowed to get off the train.

There is evidence in some cities that business was good at one time around the train stations.  But sadly, many of the buildings along the route are empty.

Entering Louisiana, you get a great view of wetlands.

Whew, we had just missed a storm!  This was the sunset after the storm over Lake Pontchartrain.  It was a very impressive site.

And on the train ride back to Alabama, we ran into a special friend.   You see our area, as well as others, opened their arms and hearts to those who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina.  One of those ladies stayed here for a long time until she felt the need to reunite with her family.  She says this is her home away from home and comes back to visit when she can.  Today, she will tell you how God was working in her life through all of this.  You can imagine our surprise to run into her taking the same train back home!

More later on our trip and how a local blogger gave me some great tips!!

The kitchen is closed

The kitchen is closed due to illness.  I'm sick of it.

The pans won't fit in the cabinets.  It's not that the cabinets are full (which they are), but they physically will not fit into the narrow door openings!  So they must sit on top of the stove ALL the time.  The taupe countertop has got to go as well as that corner sink.  A corner sink?  Yes.  Sounds and looks neat but put more than one person in there ... well that is the problem...you can't get more than one person at the sink!

The tile floor is cracked and the grout is gradually crumbling away.
 

It's been 2 months since I've talked about anything except to share a recipe experience with the Sweet As Pie Cooking Club.   No painting projects, no craftiness, no crochet, no sewing.  No project of any kind has received any attention except this one:  the cabinet layout for the kitchen redesign.

Goodbye old kitchen!

Goodbye sunroom floor.

After week 1, the house is a mess with the contents of 3 rooms being shoved into 2 rooms and out in the garage.

The cabinet install started today and I am getting excited to see it come together!

More to come!

InSPIREd in Cades Cove

When I saw my friend, whose beautiful photos can be found at Rose Street Reflections, has been linking to a meme called inSPIREd, I decided to pull out the photos from our trip earlier this year to Gatlinburg and Cades Cove.

There are several historic places of worship in Cades Cove.

This one is the Baptist church.

They are all rustic, open air and well maintained except for the occasional graffiti from disrespectful tourists.

The grave yards in the back are currently used as family grave sites.

This is the Methodist church.

The wood floors are solid and dusty.

 The wood pews are worn smooth.

"I rejoiced with those who said to me,
    “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”  Psalms 122:1

http://sallysaw.blogspot.com/2013/05/inspired-sunday-rural-virginia.html

Spring Break: Great Smoky Mountains

We took advantage of spring break this year by spending a few days in Gatlinburg, TN and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  

It had just snowed a few days before and the scenary was beautiful!!

The snow was fun....

and dangerous...!

We're all squinty eyed the glare was so bright!

This is our family selfie with the cellphone camera.

Then onto Cades Cove where we explored several of the rustic preserved structures.

I just wonder what stories that these buildings could tell.

And while we're here...get a family photo.

and a silly one or two!

Of course, I had to search out the non-chain local restaurants.  I found this article helpful to find a few local places.  We had a late breakfast a couple of mornings at Log Cabin Pancake House and enjoyed dinner at The Peddler Steakhouse.   We'll just have to go back and try the others!