Lunch at Travinia

So, my lunch at Travinia yesterday.  Our group was seated in the Wine Room.  The server we had did a great job handling a large party.  Everything seemed to time itself perfectly.  I wish I had caught his name.

I ordered the Pollo Isabella.  This was grilled chicken breast with sun-dried tomatoes, basil and goat cheese over baby spinach.  The presentation was delightful and I couldn't wait to try a bite.  The goat cheese was so creamy and had a bold flavor, which I like.  The chicken was nicely grilled and the combination of the basil, spinach and sauce was a lovely backdrop.  The only change I made was a little salt to pop the flavors.  You guys know how I feel about salt.  It enhances flavors!  Don't be afraid of it.  Just use it correctly.

Sorry this photo isn't very good; the room was kind of dark,

Some other dishes that my companions tried were the crab cakes, which looked like giant lumps of crab and not tons of bread and filler.  If I hadn't just met Staci, I would have asked her for a bite!  MP got a beautiful salad with chicken, mixed greens, & huge blackberries.  Everyone enjoyed their lunches...no complaints.  

Another thing I can say about this Travinia is when I've been there before at night, they had some awesome specials like tempura asparagus and a romaine wedge salad that was remarkable.  Even though this is a chain, I like Travinia.  Lexington needs more upscale restaurants so I think bringing Travinia to them was a welcome move.  

Blog News

You may remember awhile back that I told you about being chosen as one of the winners of Lexington Medical Center's contest.  They were looking for guest bloggers to feature on their Every Woman blog.  This is the video I submitted.  Apparently they liked it.

Yesterday, all the winners and the folks from LMC met for lunch, got to know each other and to discuss the project.  Wow!  What an incredible, exciting, stimulating luncheon this was!

First, we met at Travinia's in Lexington. I'll post a separate review of lunch for you.


Lexington's idea is to create a community blog for all the women (and men) in our area to share real life stories, experiences and information.  The ladies that I met yesterday are each fascinating people.  Our blogs are all completely different, covering a wide and eclectic array of subjects.  I think having so many points of view will make LMC's blog quite interesting.  As we move toward the debut of the blog, I'll keep you posted.  I'd love for all of you to check it out and check out the blogs of my new friends.  I'll post links as soon as I compile a list of them all.  I'd also like to take this moment to thank you for reading Gastronomy (by a Wanna-be Chef).  This has become an important creative exercise for me and I love interacting with you all on one of my favorite subjects!  Thanks for reading and I hope you'll introduce your friends to the blog as well.  :-)

New Giveaway coming soon!

Ok, I'm really excited!  The awesome people at BlogSpark contacted me about a product trial for Betty Crocker's new "Fun-da-Middles."  Today I arrived home to find a package with all kinds of goodies inside: a box of the Fun-da-Middles mix, cute cupcake papers, small cupcake note cards, a cupcake motif oven mitt and a 12 cup muffin pan.  

Check out all this cool stuff

So, here's the plan.  I'll make the cupcakes in the next couple of days and tell you guys what I think.  Then, I'm going to post some sort of challenge for you and whoever wins will receive the same package that I got today...absolutely free of course, courtesy of Betty Crocker and BlogSpark. In the meantime, if you'd like to go ahead and try it out yourself, click here for a coupon for $.85.   So, stay tuned!

Like Betty Crocker on Facebook or follow on Twitter.

Wendy's Rant

Let me preface my rant with the acknowledgement that an adult working the drive thru window at Wendy's may have limited career options.  BUT, basic math and listening comprehension should be a prerequisite for anyone taking orders and handling cash.  I mean, right??


My mom and I pulled in for a drink.  Here's what I ordered.  Pay attention, it's complicated. I'd like one "value" tea, half sweet, half unsweet.  (The value menu is the $.99 stuff.)  I'd also like a "value" diet coke.  I'm told it's $2.16.  That adds up.  I drive around and hand the lady exactly $2.16.  That's two one dollar bills, one dime, one nickel and one penny.  She then hands me back a nickel.  "Didn't I give you 16?" I ask.  She replies, "no, you gave me 11."


>>Uhhh, shouldn't the computer have taken care of this anyway??


She hands me the drinks and dismisses me so off we went.  Now, let me tell you about the drinks.  My diet coke was NOT diet.  This is a major "make me go off on a senseless rant" kind of faux pas.  I am so sick of people not listening to my damn order!! I did get the value size, as ordered, however.  Here's photographic evidence.  Take a good look at the size of this drink, friends.  

Mom's "value" tea was about 12" high and as big around as a bread plate.  I'd show it to you but she just left and took it with her.  But it only cost $.99.  Or really $.95 if we deduct that nickel from her tea.   


Word of advice to this Wendy's owner:  internal audit!  No telling what is going in and out of that window.  Okay, I'm done.

Weekend in Asheville

Friday was my brother-in-law Darren's birthday, so the little fam trucked up to Asheville to celebrate with him.  My sister planned this dish for Friday night that she had actually gotten from our mom.  It's a pecan-crusted pork tenderloin.  In a word, fantastic.  It's pretty simple too.  So many simple dishes are, in fact, the best.  You slice the tenderloin into medallions, dip in maple syrup then chopped pecans and into the skillet.  We combined with roasted potatoes and green beans for a super supper.  

Medallions a-cookin'

 

Darren's party was great fun too.  Cooked hot dogs and brats on the grill and had my sister's newest surprise find.  She was at Sam's and one of the ladies had a stand to try a smoked brisket.  Now, my sister is probably the BIGGEST skeptic I know.  She tried it; she liked it; she bought it.  And I'm so glad she did.  It was a fully cooked smoked brisket that only needed to be heated 15 minutes per pound.  OMG this was some daggum good meat!  I made a sandwich with just mayo and it was superb.  Neil added some BBQ sauce to his and was pleased.  I think it would also be great on a foccacia with herbed mayo.  If you see this at Sam's, buy it.  You'll thank me.  Well, really you'll thank Katherine.

Since we had the Vivver with us, we swung through Hendersonville on the way home and hit up Stepp's orchard.  We picked a 1/2 bushel mixed with Fuji and Golden Delicious.  I love this orchard. It's family owned, they have wagons you can pull the kiddies around in and a corn maze.  Afterwards, we drove to Lake Lure and got Vivian in a mountain stream for a little creek hiking.  Now, we are up to our ears in beautiful NC apples.  Last night I made apple pie ice cream.  Today, a monster of an apple pie.  Then, when I get a second wind, apple turnovers to put in the freezer.  

My pie crusts don't look good, but taste is another matter!

 

New Product

Image from Pillsbury's website

The nice people at Blogspark emailed me some information about a new product.  Pillsbury is introducing Pillsbury Grands! Biscuit Sandwiches and Pillsbury Egg Scrambles.  I haven't tried these products yet, so this is for your information.  You can click here to get a $1.00 coupon to try them out!

The Pillsbury Doughboy teamed up with Grammy-winning American gospel duo Mary Mary and surprised morning commuters with an unexpected performance.  There is a video that you can check out here of their impromtu breakfast boogie. Kind of a Doughboy flash mob.  


Thanks again to Blogspark and Pillsbury for sharing this information.  If you try the products before I do, post your comments here for others to see.