food

Excited about Eating by Ernie & Dora Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 12 Comments

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to the mountains of Tennessee and to The Old Mill Pottery House Café & Grille located in Pigeon Forge. This charming local favorite eating spot features Southern cooking with fresh breads from their bakery and gorgeous homemade desserts.

Old Mill Pottery House Cafe Fiction Faith & Foodies Ernie & Dora Hiers

Old Mill Pottery House Cafe & Grille directly across from the Old Mill

Dora here. We get over to this area a few times a year, and The Old Mill has always been a favorite. But any more, even sharing, I just can’t shovel down ALL. THAT. FOOD. So when we stumbled on Old Mill Pottery House Cafe & Grille, directly across the street, this became my new favorite restaurant in the whole Sevierville area. Hands. Down. Oh, and my dad would tell you that it’s just about the only restaurant that’ll make him a rare burger. 🙂

Always a crowd!
Front and center, love this rustic fireplace!

Don’t bother waiting for a parking spot out front. There’s ample parking in the back and then you can decide if it’s warm enough to enjoy the gorgeous patio. Unfortunately, during this visit, it was too cold and rainy.

Old Mill Pottery House Cafe & Grille Fiction Faith & Foodies Ernie & Dora Hiers

Ample parking in the back. Then, you can decide if it’s warm enough to enjoy this stunning patio.

For my lunch, I chose the Grilled Rib-eye Steak Sandwich, served on a fresh baked hoagie roll with lettuce, tomato, red onion, melted provolone, peppers, and caramelized onions with a baked potato on the side. This sandwich was outstanding, tender so that you could easily bite through, covered by melted cheese and a combo of peppers and caramelized onions that just kept me going back for more. The baked potato was cooked just the way I like them, with a harder skin and soft inside.

Old Mill Pottery House Cafe & Grille Fiction Faith & Foodies Ernie & Dora Hiers

Grilled Rib-eye Steak Sandwich, outstanding!

Dora here. It’s always a tough choice because I love their burgers and so many other items on the menu call out to me. But not as loudly as the Quiche / Salad combo. lol. They always offer a daily quiche that sounds intriguing, but inevitably I order the Chicken and Almond. The almonds add a nice texture along with a buttery firm crust, and, honey, is this thing loaded with chicken! Insert happy sigh. The Strawberry Spinach Salad with raspberry vinaigrette is fresh and light, and pairs nicely with the quiche and cinnamon raisin bread.

Old Mill Pottery House Fiction Faith & Foodies Ernie & Dora Hiers

Chicken Almond Quiche with Strawberry Spinach Salad ALWAYS calls my name!

Still Dora. My only beef (pun intended, lol) with Pottery House is the back dining room. They have this beautiful rustic front room with stone floor and fireplace and a stunner of a garden to enjoy through ginormous windows on both sides, but then…the back room where they sit most of their larger parties. It’s almost as if you walked into a different restaurant. One day maybe they’ll add those little touches that make the front half of the restaurant so rustic and charming. In the meantime, we usually just ask for a table in the front. 🙂

We rate this restaurant 5 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving outstanding food. (4.5 for Dora, 5 for Ernie)

The Old Mill Pottery House Café & Grille Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Excited about Eating by Ernie & Dora Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 12 Comments

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to Carolina Ale House, a sports bar and grill that boasts over 50 TV’s located in the busy Concord Mills Mall area. This family friendly place has an extensive menu featuring wings, burgers, tacos, pizza and much more.

Carolina Ale House Excited about Eating Ernie & Dora Hiers

Dora here. When we first moved to this area, we were disappointed at the lack of sports pubs. That changed when Carolina Ale House came on scene, and we especially like that they offer tables and booths separate from the bar area, which makes it great for families.

Carolina Ale House Excited about Eating Ernie & Dora Hiers

We like that this restaurant has tables and booths separate from the bar area

For our appetizer, we chose the Beer-battered Cheese Curds served with a red pepper jalapeno jam dipping sauce. These curds were great with a soft smooth center and a light batter on the outside and when combined with the slightly sweet dipping sauce, just kept me coming back for more. Next time I would ask them to be a little crispier, the way I really like them. Dora here. The curds could’ve used an extra minute both in the fryer and the drying basket, since they were just a tad greasy. But that didn’t stop us from eating every last one of these little nuggets. Yum! And the sauce was a great dipper, tangy with a tinge of sweet.

Carolina Ale House Excited about Eating Ernie & Dora Hiers

Cheese Curds could’ve used an extra minute in the fryer and the drying basket, but that didn’t stop us from eating every last nugget!

For my meal, I chose the Crispy Ribs with onion strings. These ribs were slow-cooked, dropped into the fryer to crisp up the outside, and then tossed in a BBQ sauce. The ribs were great, fall off the bone tender and the crispiness added a completely different texture. Just a warning, that Thai chili dipping sauce was HOT, so try a little before dipping the entire rib into it.

Carolina Ale House Fiction Faith & Foodies Ernie & Dora Hiers

Crispy Ribs, great! Fall-off-the-bone tender and the crispiness added a completely different texture. But the sauce is HOT!

Dora here. Hot? I think I heard Ernie’s taste buds sizzling. haha. The Chicken Dunkers are a promo that I hope end up on the regular menu. Coated in a beer batter, these plump little cluckers were crispy and golden and delicious! The pepper ranch dipping sauce soothed after the kick from the mango habanero, so I appreciated both. A bite of heat, a bite of cool. lol.  

Carolina Ale House Fiction Faith & Foodies Ernie & Dora Hiers

Chicken Dunkers. Crispy and golden and delicious!

Quite a generous sized portion for less than $8, don’t you think? So, maybe fried chicken and fried cheese wasn’t the healthiest of lunches, but I did gnaw on those carrots, too. I’d order this same combo again.

Carolina Ale House Fiction Faith & Foodies Ernie & Dora Hiers

Chicken Dunkers filled this entire plate! I’d definitely order this again.

What about you? What unhealthy choices do you splurge on?

We rate this restaurant 4 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving great food.

Carolina Ale House Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Pieces of Me by Mary Alford

/ Dora Hiers / 10 Comments

Introducing Mary Alford

Today, I’m thrilled to introduce Mary Alford, a prolific writer and fellow Pelican Book Group author. You all know how I like food, lol, and Mary’s sharing a couple awesome-sounding recipes that I will have to try! Enjoy her article and check out her new book!! Mary, thanks so much for visiting.

Pieces of Me by Mary Alford

As an author, I find myself putting pieces of my life into each of my books. Whether it’s my love of coffee, animals, or cooking, they all seem to find their way into my stories.

In my upcoming White Rose Publishing romance entitled, Grace And The Rancher, all three of these things are interwoven into the story.

My heroine, Grace usually has a cup of coffee handy, and her constant companion is her golden retriever, Lizzy.

When Grace first moved to Delaney Mountain, it was in the dead of winter and she didn’t know anyone in town. With many long, cold days up on Delaney Mountain, Grace realized she had to take up a hobby to survive the solitude. So, she took up cooking.

One of Grace’s favorite recipes and one that she made for the hero of the book, Kyle Delaney, is Grandma’s Chicken noddle soup with Amish white bread.

I thought it would be fun to include both of these recipes here:

Grandma’s Chicken Noodle Soup

Mary Alford Fiction Faith & Foodies Dora Hiers

Grandma’s Chicken Noodle Soup

Prep 20 m

Cook 25 m

Ready In 45 m

For more flavor, try using smoked chicken.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups wide egg noodles

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

12 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped onion

1/3 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup water

3 cups diced, cooked chicken meat

Directions

1 – Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add egg noodles and oil, and boil for 8 minutes, or until tender. Drain, and rinse under cool running water.

2 – In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, combine broth, salt, and poultry seasoning. Bring to a boil. Stir in celery and onion. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.

3 – In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water together until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Gradually add to soup, stirring constantly. Stir in noodles and chicken, and heat through.

Amish White Bread

Mary Alford Fiction Faith & Foodies Dora Hiers

Amish White Bread

Ingredients

2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

2/3 cup white sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

6 cups bread flour

Directions

In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.

Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well-oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well-oiled 9×5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

Both of these recipes are easy to make and I found them on one of my favorite recipe sites, Allrecipes.com

Just like Grace, I love to cook and I enjoy trying new and different recipes. I hope you enjoy these.

In honor of the February 17th release of Grace And The Rancher, I thought I would give away a PDF copy of the book to one blogger.

Grace Bradford is living a lie. To the world she has the perfect life: A promising country music career and a husband who adores her. But her husband isn’t the man everyone believes him to be. When a car accident widows her and ends her career, Grace escapes to Delaney Mountain. But moving to the remote town doesn’t wipe away the ugly secret of her marriage. Kyle Delaney never intended to return to Delaney Mountain, but he promises his dying father that he’ll turn their land into a working cattle ranch. He uproots his life in Austin, sells his flourishing business as a music agent, and returns to the Colorado town of his childhood. Can a runaway singer and a makeshift rancher, thrust together by circumstance and held together by the common thread of loss and a love of music, find hope and a happily-ever-after under the stars of Delaney Mountain?

Mary Alford Fiction Faith & Foodies Dora Hiers

Meet Mary Alford

Mary Alford grew up in a small Texas town famous for, well not much of anything really. Being the baby of the family and quite a bit younger than her brothers and sister, Mary had plenty of time to entertain herself. Making up stories seem to come natural to her. As a pre-teen, Mary discovered Christian romance novels and knew instinctively that was what she wanted to do with her over-active imagination. She wrote her first novel as a teen, (it’s tucked away somewhere never to see the light of day), but never really pursued her writing career seriously until a few years later, when she wrote her first Christian romance and was hooked. Today, Mary still lives in Texas, and still writes about romance. In fact, she can’t think of anything else she’d rather do. Learn more about Mary Alford at: http://www.maryalford.net. Also feel free to send her an email to maryjalfordauthor@gmail.com.