inspiration

New Release: BECK’S PEACE, a Christian Romance Book

/ Dora Hiers / 2 Comments
Happy Book Birthday to Beck’s Peace,
the second book in the Harmon Heritage series, 
where three siblings struggle to find healing and peace after their father’s tragic death. 


Purchase Link ~ Available now
with Pelican Book Group

Burn survivor Savvy McCord doesn’t blame her best friend for running away. She can’t even look at her scars without wincing. When Beck’s disappearing act spans years, she relinquishes dreams of love and marriage. Unable to face Savvy’s expectations of happily-ever-after, Beck Harmon deserts her, far away from the rumors that he’s just like his father. When the wanderer returns, dreams of forever blossom in Savvy’s heart, but she worries he’ll leave again. Can Beck convince Savvy that her true beauty comes from her inner strength and faith? Will his idea to help burn victims regain their self-confidence restore Savvy’s trust in him? Will love be what the wanderer needs to find peace for his hurting soul?

Harmon Heritage, available with Pelican Book Group
Rori’s Healing ~ available now
Beck’s Peace ~ available now
Burk’s Surrender ~ Coming September 18, 2015

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 7 Comments
This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to the Boone/Blowing Rock area in the mountains of North Carolina.

Our first stop is Our Daily Bread, a casual upbeat delicatessen. 

From the menu, you can tell this deli focuses on blending unique ingredients together to make unusual sandwiches.


I chose the Smoke Stack, a combo of smoked components (smoked turkey, smoked applewood bacon, melted smoked Gouda), along with chipotle aioli, tomatoes, and spring greens on sourdough bread with a side of Sweet Basil Corn Chowder. Loaded with corn in a creamy broth and a sweet basil undertone, the soup was great. But the sandwich was outstanding. All of the different smoked flavors worked well with the chipotle aioli, and the toasted sourdough bread held it all together.

Smoke Stack

Dora here. Since we visited on the Fourth of July, I opted for the daily special, the Red White & Blue Chutney Sandwich. Smoked ham, melted brie, balsamic blueberry chutney, tomatoes, roasted red pepper aioli and basil leaves pressed in cranberry French bread. Hello! Blueberry chutney? Doesn’t that sound fabulous? Well, it was. A melt-in-your-mouth mixture of everything I like about breakfast and lunch. Yum! Definitely adding this place to our “must visit” list.

Red White & Blue Chutney Sandwich

We rate this restaurant 4 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving great food.
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Our second stop is Town Tavern in downtown Blowing Rock.

It was a beautiful day, so we decided to sit outside.

Dora here. Great choice! Restaurants with an outdoor patio score bonus points. 🙂

For lunch I chose the Tavern Philly Cheesesteak served on a Milano roll with a huge amount of thinly sliced rib eye steak, American white cheese, peppers and onions and a side of Tater Tots.

Tavern Philly Cheesesteak

This sandwich was unique in that the components were all cooked together giving it great flavor, as opposed to cooking individual ingredients and layering. Not only was the sandwich great, the tater tots were just the way I like them. Crispy.

Dora here. Burgers are my go to meal when we’re away from home, and I hadn’t had one all week. The Bacon & Cheddar burger satisfied my burger craving. Meaty and juicy, and the slightly toasted bun makes this meal a winner! Oh, and the creamy ranch dip for tater tots now replaces boring ketchup!

Bacon & Cheddar Burger

We rate this restaurant 5 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant that serves outstanding food.
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Your turn. What’s your favorite go-to meal when you’re away from home?

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 9 Comments

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to the Elizabeth neighborhood of Charlotte and to Hawthorne’s New York Pizza and Bar. 

Nice covered patio!

Elizabeth is named after Anne Elizabeth Watts, the only Charlotte neighborhood named for a woman. You can read more about the history here. 

Interior

Dora here. Don’t let this picture deceive you. We arrived right at eleven, and by the time we left, both inside and out was jammed. Hawthorne’s appears to be a popular place for locals as many people walked here.

The garlic cheese bread appetizer was cheesy with just the right amount of garlic. It came out fast, the cheese bubbling and gooey, and browned to perfection. 

Garlic Cheese Bread


Dora here. This cheesy bread reminded me of our favorite pizza place in Florida. We always divided it up into equal portions because our son ravaged it. Same thing happened this time, but with our grandson. A sure sign that it was a winner. 🙂

We wanted to pace ourselves, so we ordered the 9” Meat Eaters pizza, and we were glad we did.

9″ Meat Eaters Pizza

This pizza was loaded with meat (pepperoni, Italian sausage, beef, ham, bacon) and mozzarella. In each bite, I tasted all of the different meat flavors, and they all worked together. One thing we noticed, unlike other meat pies which tend to be greasy and heavy, this pizza was light with no greasy aftereffects. 

Slice of Meat Eaters


Dora here. I really wanted to order the Sicilian, but that only comes in GIANT size, so since we were ordering cheesy bread and dessert, I compromised on this. Not my favorite pizza, but it was good. I appreciated that it wasn’t heavy on the sauce or spice. 

Check out the Cannoli Plate, three mini cannolis. 

Cannolis

Dora here. We first sampled cannolis in Sicily, and loved them! Since then, we’ve tried the US versions, and none of them have come close to what we experienced overseas. Not that we’re food snobs, but buttercream filling..really? Yuck! Hawthorne’s cannolis tasted like the real deal, ricotta and cream cheese goodness in a fried pastry! Three minis were just the right size to cap off our meal. Well, Little Man didn’t think so. 🙂 

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

What’s your favorite pizza hangout?


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