inspiration

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 7 Comments

This edition of Excited about Eating takes a road trip to Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen, located on The Island in Pigeon Forge, TN. 


This second story family restaurant has tiered seating so that everyone can take advantage of the floor to ceiling windows overlooking The Island.

Dora here. And conveniently situated over the Paula Deen retail store on the first floor. 🙂 Normally, there’s a long wait (with call ahead option), but we visited during Storm Jonas. Not many people ventured out.

This restaurant serves their meals family style with a twist. Instead of having the menu decided by the restaurant and every table gets the same dishes, Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen gives each table three main dishes from a choice of seven and four side dishes from a choice of twelve, all you can eat.

Dora here. All you can eat of your choices. And no doggie bags. Bruiser was disappointed. 🙂

To start, they serve cheddar cheese biscuits and hoe cakes to start the meal, family style. The biscuits were good, soft, and tender. The hoe cakes were served with a sweet potato butter, also great. I could really taste the corn meal ingredient.

Cheddar cheese biscuits, Hoe Cakes, and Sweet Potato Butter. Yum!

Dora here. Oh my yum! Loved, loved, LOVED the biscuits with the sweet potato butter, a fresh twist on apple butter. Not so much the hoecakes. Maybe because they look like pancakes that it’s impossible not to compare them. 

For main dishes we chose Best Ever Southern Fried Chicken, Spare Ribs, and Cheesy Meatloaf. For the sides, Creamed Corn, Squash Casserole, Mac and Cheese, and Poppyseed Tossed Salad.

Spare Ribs and Squash Casserole

Of the main dishes, the southern fried chicken was perfectly fried, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, and full of favor. 

Dora here. Full of flavor because they’d been dredged in hot sauce? Whatever, they were worthy of a second round.

The ribs were tender and covered in a sweet and spicy barbeque sauce that had a unique taste that we later learned was chili power. The cheesy meatloaf was covered in a thick cheese sauce, cut thick and outstanding.

Best Ever Southern Fried Chicken and Cheesy Meatloaf

Dora here. I wasn’t a fan of the ribs because of the sauce. But that meatloaf? I could actually enjoy meatloaf prepared this way.

The creamed corn was sweet, and my favorite followed by the squash casserole, which included both summer squash and zucchini with a crumb cracker topping.

From Left: Poppyseed Tossed Salad, Mac and Cheese, and Creamed Corn

Dora here. Totally unusual, but I vote the same for the sides. Of the meats, the fried chicken was my fave.

We rate this restaurant 5 forks our of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving outstanding food.

Do you enjoy eating “family style” or do you prefer individual choices? What’s your favorite “family style” restaurant?


Paula Deen's Family Kitchen Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Excited about Reading: All the Way to Heaven by Becky Doughty

/ Dora Hiers / 8 Comments
Amazon Buy Link

The Cover Story~
Sometimes help comes from the most unlikely of hands, and sometimes getting lost is the surest way to be found.

Anica Tomlin, business major, has just learned that the man she’s been planning her future around, her Global Finance professor, already has a beautiful wife and family. Ani cashes in her graduation gift to herself a little early–a trip to Tuscany–but from the moment she boards the wrong train in Pisa, her plans for solitude and self-indulgence begin to unravel around her.

When a bicycle accident thrusts Ani into the skilled hands of the dashing Dr. Cosimo Lazzaro, she reluctantly accepts his invitation to recover in his family’s country villa, perched on a hilltop surrounded by the Lazzaro olive groves. But it’s been a black year for olive growers all over Italy, and generations of tradition are being put to the test like never before.

Ani is swept up in the drama of life in Tuscany, the convergence of old and new, and the passions that drive people to pursue the desires of their hearts. Just as Ani begins to get her feet under her again, an unexpected turn of events leaves her doubting the very existence of happily-ever-after, unless she can learn to trust the desires of her own heart.

Sharing My Takeaway~

First off, I almost didn’t download this book because the cover didn’t appeal to me. But, the bulk of the story takes place in Italy, more specifically on an olive tree farm/villa, so I understand the reason for the cover design. It’s just not a typical romance reader cover. But this isn’t a typical romance, either. 🙂
The beginning slogged with a bit too much backstory for my taste, but the story kept calling to me, and I refused to put it down. I’m glad I didn’t because I would’ve missed nuggets like this:

“Lucca is full of light and joy. If you look for it with open eye and open heart and open hand, you will find happy here.”

After discovering the ugly truth about her boyfriend/college professor, Anica “Ani” Tomlin escaped to Italy for an early graduation gift.

“Pain, she is a beautiful woman. You must hold her and comfort her until she is ready to go. Then she will leave some of her beauty with you when she goes.”

Doughty rocks descriptions! I felt like I’d wandered into the book and onto the pages myself, plunked right into the landscape of Italy. The pastry shop in the medieval city. The villa overlooking the olive tree farm. Truthfully, I didn’t want to leave. 
Through an unfortunate accident and the theft of her personal documents, Ani’s plans change. Not only her plans, but she changes. Initially, I sympathized with her humiliating discovery and then the chain of events that left her injured and stranded. But she seemed a bit self-centered, and even with her predicament, I found it hard to likeher, especially her treatment of Paulo. But when she finally realizes who her heart longs for and recognizes that her new friends are experiencing far more devastating issues, she redeems herself.
All the Way to Heavenis geared for New Adult readers, and I believe that’s accurate. But this Old Adult reader enjoyed it too. 🙂 Sweet and clean, awesome descriptions, a very subtle faith thread, and a romance that finally materialized, (did it ever!) I would definitely read another Doughty book.
How do you feel about covers? Would you choose to buy/read a book based on the cover alone? Do you judge a book by its cover?


Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book while it was offered free on Amazon. I was in no way compensated for my fair and unbiased review.