From the Hills of East Tennessee...

Well I think I can honestly say....I work at a badass place. I have been very busy since beginning my new chapter at Blackberry Farm, with learning the ropes, an unexpected surgery, and summertime means busy busy busy.

BUT with all that work there have been some pretty sweet perks...

I have gone horseback riding...

I have learned how to fly fish... (and actually caught not one, but TWO!!)

Met one of the very cute and fuzzy Lagotto Romagnolo (aka Truffle Dog) puppies, Tom..

Witnessed the first Saturday of Farmer's Market... Krissy is a Bread Master!! I have become one of two Queens of the cookies...

A little sampling of the goods:

grape jelly (top), strawberry jam (left), and smoked onion jam (bottom) on a fresh buttermilk biscuit

Supported the gift shop for Mother's Day.

Strawberry Jam and Sweet Onion Jam 

And finally an evening on the other side... Dinner at Blackberry Farm!

A HUGE Thank You to Gisell for including me in her dinner plans! :)

Wine Cellar Tour

Buttermilk Panna Cotta with housemade chip, caviar, and dried yolks

Farmstead Charcuterie Plate
 pancetta, ham hock rillette, soppressata, housemade pickles and oatmeal crisp

Country Fried Sweetbreads
crayfish, fava beans, asparagus, shellfish cream

Wood Oven Roasted Guinea Hen
potato croquettes, forest mushrooms, broccolini, and cippolini onions

Profiterole with peanut butter ice cream

Cheese Plate
Blackberry Farm's Singing Brook and Yellow Branch Natural Rind
vanilla apricots and cashew butter

Farmstead Brebis Semifreddo
South Carolina strawberries, cornflour crumbs, sweet pesto

Benne Seed Cake
Honey Mint granita, preserved lemon, Prichard's Run

Neopolitan
Malted Ice Cream, strawberries, and bourbon chocolate ganache

Rocky Road
Toasted marshmallow, chocolate, and pecan toffee

Of course, being pastry girls we had to try ALL of the desserts. Everything was delicious. The charcuterie plate was amazing - I could have eaten that all day long. The sweetbreads were perfect - the cream sauce - yum. The Guinea Hen was so tender and salty. Excellent.

I cannot wait to go back and eat again....couple more months!

SO MUCH FUN! And there is SO much more to explore and enjoy! Hope you are enjoying your summer! I, personally, am headed home to celebrate Father's Day, and am looking very forward to having some cocktails on a new patio with best friends :)

Cheers Friends!