Frogs Leap Public House in Waynesville, NC

This past weekend my aunt and I had a girl's trip to Waynesville, NC. Quite some time ago I had purchased a deal from Living Social for a weekend get away at the Waynesville Inn Golf and Resort Spa. It was a deal I just could not pass up, especially after I read some reviews on trip advisor. I have to say we really lucked out, the weather was amazing, the resort was beautiful and the view from our room was fantastic!

The other thing I did some research on was where to eat when we got to town! Very typical of me if I do say so myself. I am kind of a menu junkie! I came across Frogs Leap and it drew me in right away due to the fact that it was a new farm to table place in town! On the way into town we called the resort to see what they suggested in order to make our reservation for the evening. I asked about Frog's Leap and got rave reviews, so that made our decision very easy! I called and we were in!

The inside is rustic and cozy, perfect for a little mountain town. The staff was friendly right away which is always a plus! Now I have to say before I go any further I finally got a new camera! However, I am still trying to figure it all out and was not really too impressed by my pictures, but don't let that deter you, the food was really tasty!

We started off with the cheese plate and that was gone in about 5 mins. The combos of flavors were spot on.

We were in such awe of the cheese, I forgot to take a picture before we dug in! Next was the Fried Green Tomatoes with pimento cheese and bacon. This one was by far our favorite. The flavor combo was so rich and delicious we ate every last drop!

After that we figured we should try something a little lighter, so we went with the tuna. I thought this was very tasty, but a little too spicy for my aunt...

Our last small plate was the BBQ Pizza with apple and pork..This too was yummy, but had no mention of red pepper flakes on it and unfortunately, they were all over the pizza and again to spicy for my aunt.
We ended our meal with two scrumptious desserts, a toffee ice cream and snicker doodle apple tart. YUM DE LUM.
So overall, I would give Frogs Leap a thumbs up and next time I am back in Waynesville I will definitely pop in for more yummy creations! Enjoy-

Waynesville on Dwellable

Blackboard Bistro in Carmel, NY

On my last night home I wanted to take my mom to a nice dinner. After a little research and recommendations from friends we decided on Blackboard Bistro in Carmel, NY, a farm to table restaurant. As usual this was our main meal for the day, so we were ready to eat like little piggy's for sure:) Blackboard is a cute, quaint little home, probably only about 15 tables. And the name says it all as the chef changes the menu daily depending on what the local farmers market had that day...hence the blackboard below..

We started out with a bottle of wine, which turned out to be really great!

For an appetizer we had the fried calamari. This is one of my favorite apps, but as we all know not always cooked to perfection. I can say hands down, this was some of the BEST calamari I have had. It was not over coated or over cooked, it was seriously perfect and the plate was overloaded with it as well!

I must also add the marinara was also super tasty and being Italian we are not throwing out compliments that often when it comes to sauce!!!
For dinner I decided to give the duck a try. I have only had duck twice and the first time was amazing, the second, not so much...so I was a little hesitant, but the waitstaff could not say enough great things about it. I have to say they were right, it was delicious. The crispiness of the skin was SO good, the crunch of the pistachios and soaked cherries made it and the succotash underneath it was just the right side to this dish. The flavor was amazing!

I pretty much licked the plate! My mom went with the Filet Mignon Oscar, which is a filet topped with crab and hollindase and served over garlic mashed potatoes. I was able to sneak in a bite and it was really great! Cooked again to perfection!

I have to admit, the picture probably is not the best, but the taste was fantastic! I could not get a picture in fast enough before my mom dug in;)
For dessert I went with the fresh peach tart with a creamy ricotta cream. My mom got the fresh berries in a puff pastry. We were both very happy with our choices.

So overall we had a great experience at Blackboard. I would recommend it to anyone and plan to go back next time I am home for sure! DELICIOUS!!! Enjoy-

A Country Kitchen in Brewster, NY

For those of you who don't know, my aunt Chrissy is the owner of A Country Kitchen in Brewster, NY. It is a great little place serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. I have eaten there every time I go home and it is always fantastic. The portions are huge, fresh and delish!! This last visit my mom and I went for an early dinner, after the lunch crowd so Chrissy could hang with us while we ate. Since it had been a while since the last time I visited I asked my mom what she recommended....the burger was top on her list and I was all for it!. I started off with this fresh roasted veggie and mozzarella salad that had unbelievable flavor!

It was full of mozzarella balls, grilled eggplant, zucchini, squash, roasted red peppers and spinach leaves with an amazing vinaigrette. From there I moved on to the burger, and let me just say this thing was HUGE! But I scarfed it down no problem! Oink Oink!

It was loaded with sauteed mushrooms, onions and topped with Swiss...it was insane! The shoestring fries were yummy as well! So after that, you would think no way could I put another thing in my mouth, well not me, I was ready for the dessert menu! haa I mean I had to have a little of everything, I only get to visit like once a year, I need to make up for lost time. Chrissy sold me on the fresh out of the oven brownie sundae, one of my all time fav desserts!

So whatever you might be in the mood for, breakfast, lunch or dinner, you MUST stop by A Country Kitchen! Check out the link at the top of the page to see all of Chrissy's tasty creations and if you are ever in Brewster you have to stop in, you won't regret it, that is for sure:) Enjoy-

Mom's home cooked meals in NY!!

Being the foodie that I am one of my favorite things to do before I get home is talk to my mom about what food she is going to cook while I am there! This trip had loads of killer meals and I could not help but to share! Now my mom only eats once a day.... how, I have no idea, but it did not stop me from eating at least 3 times a day...even though her one meal is typically served at about 3-4pm...that just left me ready for something fabulous for dessert at about 7! They say you should not eat later than 8pm right!
One of my all time favs is my mom's homemade pizza. It is to DIE for! Simple, easy and unbelievable flavor...the key is fresh grated mozz and homemade sauce, YUM DE LUM!!!! At home I have always used a pizza stone, but my mom uses this pizza pan with holes at the bottom to get the crust just right...it is now on my list of things to buy for sure, it makes a totally difference!

OMG, just looking at the pic again makes me want to go home right now and stuff my face! Oh and speaking of stuffing your face, we did that for sure....by eating the WHOLE PIE!!! Maybe this is why she only eats once a day!

One of my other favorite dishes, which I have actually been making since I have been back about once a week, is an avocado stuffed with shrimp salad. This has to be one of the easiest meals to make and it is very tasty!

I have to say the picture does not do it justice! I do have the recipe below though and you should totally try it out!

Recipe-
1 avocado sliced in half with pit removed
I would say per avocado you need about 15 shrimp (I usually get the frozen shrimp and just boil til ready)
One the shrimp has cooled off, cut them up into small pieces, add in a little mayo, ketchup and chopped red or white onion- not sure on exact measurements of this, but really just to your preference, I really put very little ketchup to be honest..
And that is it, simple as that! Scoop it into the middle of the avocado and enjoy...which I know you will;)

Another fav of mine is my mom's salad, really it is like a side salad, but we had it as a meal with some fresh bread and yummy homemade sangria!
This salad is super easy to make as well and again, something I make all the time!

Recipe:
Spinach ( I am sure you can use what you prefer, typically I don't ever buy spinach, but it really tastes fabulous with this)
Diced up red pepper
Diced up red onion
Croutons
Grape tomatoes
Blue Cheese crumbles
Oil and Vinegar

Now, obviously being home for two weeks we ate way more than this, but these are three things I had to share. They are all super easy and really delish! So Enjoy-- and thanks mom for always making amazing meals!! xoxo

My trip to NYC- Great food, finds and fun!!

It has been quite a while since my last post, but don't worry, I have just been out of town so I have LOTS to catch up on...the first being my trip to NYC to see my friend Bill. I get to see Bill maybe once a year and I must say it is one of my favorite trips to take. I am from NY and try to get home a few times a year and when I do, the first thing on my list is to head into the city for a weekend of good times, lots of laughs and lots of cocktails and food with Bill;) This visit I actually went in both weekends I was home, so I wanted to share some of the yummy places we visited. All must sees if you ask me!

We started out on the Highline, which has become quite popular since it was opened. It is really a great place to walk around with amazing views as well. Not sure of the exact block, but at one point we decided to get off the highline and check out a new Biergarten that opened, filled with people, food trucks and if you can believe it an outdoor rollerskating rink! It was hysterical. We wanted to try it out, but after watching everyone fall, we realized we should stay outside the rink! Instead we got our ticket and hit the wine line, that's right wine at the Biergarten;)

For more on the highline, check out http://www.thehighline.org/

Once we left there, we headed back towards Bill's place. He lives in Chelsea, fabulous area by the way! Our next stop was Cocoa V- a Vegan Chocolate Shop! For those of you who don't know DARK chocolate which is my fav, is all they have, I did not know it was vegan to be honest, at least that is what she told us! This place was super cute too!

One thing to note and they are thinking of changing this, they only take cash! So while Bill was headed to the ATM, I picked our mid day snack! Dark Chocolate Covered pretzel pieces, delish...oh and a bottle of wine!

This wine was AWESOME!!! So overall, Cocoa V gets a thumbs up from me! Great place to stop anytime of the day, you can never go wrong with wine and chocolate right!
So after Cocoa V we headed back to Bill's to freshen up as we were going to check out a rooftop bar and pool for more cocktails and snacks...man I love visiting NY! Food and drinks all day long and you don't have to feel bad cause you walk everywhere! ha
Next, the rooftop bar and pool at the Dream Hotel! I think this is the first time I have ever seen a rooftop pool in NYC, and it was quite popular....well worth the visit, not only for the yummy pitcher of Sangria, but the food rocked the people watching by far was the best.

So overall this was a fantastic day and I was already ready to come back the following weekend for more fun!!

Manhattan on Dwellable