Archive for ‘Blazing Hot off the Presses.’

July 17th, 2010

Chicken Fried What?

by Dena

I have a friend who suggested that we go eat at a place called the Rockin Rooster in Avery, Texas.  It sounded like our kind of place so we took off to Avery to see what we could find.

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The Rockin Rooster is a quaint home style restaurant where most of the patrons know each other. I even knew someone there, surprisingly.

My husband spied it the second he opened his menu……………Chicken Fried Bacon.  Yes.  We laughed about it and when we ordered (him) fried fish and (me) a hickory burger I had almost forgotten the plate of pork death.  Then, he yelled out to the waitress, ” and an order of chicken fried bacon.”

I could not begin to imagine what  this looks like.  When she brought it out I was shocked to see that it looked like long chicken strips. It came with a side of gravy, just in case we wanted to stare death in the eyes a little sooner.  Really though, it wasn’t that bad.  Not if you like greasy and crunchy drenched in gravy.  Rod gave it two thumbs up.  I’m making a cardiology appointment as we speak.

RVW 003He said it would be great for breakfast.   Dream on.

RVW 001Chicken fried bacon is one of those foods that you should probably eat only once in your life.  Like bungee jumping or knife juggling, you take a picture and talk about it for years to come, but it’s really only for the brave.

RVW 012The fried fish was really good, as was the coleslaw.   I like my fish a little more brown but he doesn’t. This was perfect for him so he was happy.

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I got the hamburger with hickory bbq sauce, bacon, and onion.  It was hand pressed and more than enough for two people.  Yikes!

We opted out of dessert.  They had everything from blackberry cobbler to fried oreos and fried twinkies.  Rod had taken in his limit of grease for the evening!

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I tried to call Joy and tell her of the happenings at the Rocking Rooster but part of the charm of this place is that it is kind of far from things like cell towers.

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To the left….

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And to the left….

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You may not be able to get any signal out here, but you can definitely get a good meal!

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June 24th, 2010

Whistle Stop Cafe/Hope, Arkansas

by Dena

When we first married we used to ride around and listen to songs and singing along. These days we don’t really have to time to find that kind of entertainment very often. One day this week we did find  a day to ride and listen to some good oldies rock and also found a very sweet place to have lunch.

We ended up in Hope, Arkansas when looking for a place to eat lunch.  Hope is not only the birthplace of Bill Clinton, but of the maid of honor in my wedding!

We ended up in downtown Hope. There seems to be a church on each corner.

RVW 036We found a cute little place called The Whistle Stop Cafe. How could we resist?

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Bakery AND deli? Sounds great. They had a daily lunch special,  which happened to be meatloaf on that day. All lunch specials are $4.99, drink included.  You don’t find a bargain like that very often. Anyway, we got sandwiches.  Rod got a Reuben. To be honest, I didn’t really think he would get a good Reuben in Hope, Arkansas. I was wrong. He loved it. He’s incredibly picky, even refusing Hamburger Helper tonight just because we had dirty rice (from a box) this week once, and anything with hamburger appears to be Hamburger Helper.

RVW 042I got a cheeseburger. Again, my expectations were smashed when I got a burger that was a hand formed patty from fresh beef. Another touch that I loved that was with each sandwich meal you got a mini dessert. Ours was a small muffin. I think that is an awesome idea because most of the time you are too stuffed for dessert but would like a taste of something sweet.

RVW 044On the way to the ladies room I peeked in the kitchen and had a nice chat with the owners. They knew we were from  out of town right away.  Maybe we looked like tourists, or we had Texas tags on the car. Whatever it was, they were nice and they wanted to know if we liked our food. I told them I was a little surprised at the quality. Overall, a great find in Hope.

While I was chatting, Rod ordered some banana pudding. I guess I chatted too long.

RVW 045This is the type of place we love to find. They are moving to a new location next week and I’m not sure of exactly where it will be. I know it is still in downtown Hope, so if you are there, give it a try. It makes it even better if you have been driving around, singing 70’s rock for a few hours!

June 12th, 2010

Summer Vacation: Week 1

by Dena

The first week of our summer break is over and we have accomplished a few things on our list.

  • 1st watermelon of the summer….DONE
  • sleep late….DONE
  • eat salads made from foods from our garden…DONE
  • eat a sinfully delicious meal, starting with an appetizer and ending with dessert…..DONE

RVW 011abWe celebrated our first week of summer (not official summer, just school out summer) with a trip to Jackie OHS. I’ve never had apricot cheesecake but I can tell you that I want to have it again. My husband, the pickiest eater EVER, said that it was possibly the best cheesecake he’s ever had. That is like finding the Hope Diamond or something.

RVW 009I don’t really care for big summer plans. I like to have fun each day, whether doing something big or small. I look forward to a summer of kids in the sprinkler and shaved ice, sleeping late and watermelon for lunch. I hope we find good books and good friends each day.

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May 13th, 2010

Family Reunion:Last (and favorite) Dish!

by Dena

Since last weekend we have done two cake recipes that we took to our family reunion.  But, oddly enough, the dish that we got the most feedback on from the crowd was a side dish.  We actually had people come up and ask us for this recipe, which made Joy happy because she was the one who actually put this salad together.  Like most everything we post on here, it’s fairly easy and doesn’t really have a specific measuring system.

For cornbread salad, you start off with baked cornbread.  For this big gathering, we used 3 boxes (Jiffy which is our fave) but if you have a regular meal  you can just use 2 or even 1 if it’s for a small group.  Crumble it up and mix in chopped green onions, for a large bowl you can use a the entire bunch in those little produce bags, but again use more or less according to taste.   Mix in chopped bell pepper, and then comes the glue that holds it all together…..Miracle Whip.  I told Joy to add enough to make it creamy.  Now, I realize that’s a pretty ambiguous instruction but there’s no other way to say it.  You really have to do a mix and taste on this.  Basically when it is the consistency of dressing, it’s about right.  It’s best to put it in the fridge over night, then when you’re ready just pull it out, top it with tomatoes to garnish and that’s it.

Some people like to put any number of things in this such as corn, peas, jalapenos, and bacon to name a few.  (***bacon makes it even more perfect if that’s even possible***)  Just be aware that the more stuff you add, the less like dressing it will be.  We sampled a similar salad that had lots of veggies and less cornbread.  We liked it but Mama said it seemed like the cornbread had “walked through it on stilts” which means she needed more bread and less veggies.  However you decided to make it, it’s delicious and your guests will love it.

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May 3rd, 2010

Family Reunion….Part 1

by Dena

For our family, the first weekend of May always means the Bowman Family Reunion.   Mama’s mama was a Bowman, and some of Mama’s best memories are centered around that side of the family.  They gather annually in what used to be a little schoolhouse in a place called Wilton in Southwest Arkansas.  I’m not even entirely sure that Wilton is actually even considered a town it’s so small.  The building has high ceilings, hardwood floors, and no central air conditioning.  Thankfully this year it was cloudy enough to provide a little bit of cover from the heat.

the food line!!

the food line!!

joy helping arrange part of the buffet table

joy helping arrange part of the buffet table

Reunions with our family mean lots of delicious food, and lots and lots of laughter.  Every year, no matter what happens, the one story in particular that makes us laughs the hardest is the story of the year our Aunt Marie brought the “Better Than Sex Cake, ” to the reunion.  This cake has been around long enough that lots of people have heard of it, but Marie was a bit of a maverick and brought this cake to the reunion about 25 years ago, long before there were movies and TV shows with sex in the title and it wasn’t something that everybody talks about every day in front of whoever.

Well, poor Marie worked hard on this cake, and proudly brought it to the reunion, only to have her pride dashed when she announced the name of the cake.  Our grandmother apparently, really didn’t actually listen to Marie when she said that it was a better than sex CAKE, and only overheard Marie talking about sex.  Assuming that our aunt was oversharing, our grandmother promptly screamed, “MARIE—-HUSH UP NOBODY WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR SEX LIFE!!!!”  Well, once our grandmother had something in her head, there was no changing it (something passed down to our Mama), and she spent the rest of that reunion flustered about Aunt Marie giving too much personal information.

This year, we wanted to make this cake in celebration of the reunion.  Marie has long since passed on, so we were hard pressed to get an actual recipe.  There was dispute as to exactly what the cake tasted like (everybody remembers the story but can’t remember the cake).  So we found a few different versions, and made both.  Both were equally delicious, and after discussing it with Mama we are fairly certain this is the correct version.  Stay tuned later in the week for another fabulous recipe of this cake!
(*****we got this particular version from Paula Deen, who we worship*****)

Ingredients

  • 1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix, plus ingredients to prepare
  • 1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar
  • 1 (3.4-ounce) box French vanilla pudding, plus ingredients to prepare
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup flaked, sweetened toasted coconut

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Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare yellow cake mix as directed using a greased 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. While cake is baking, combine the pineapple and 1 cup of sugar in a saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Remove cake from oven and using a fork, pierce holes into cake. Pour pineapple mixture over hot cake and set aside.

Prepare pudding according to package directions. Spread pudding over cake and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Whip heavy cream and remaining sugar until stiff. Cover top of cake with whipped cream and sprinkle toasted coconut on top.

spreading the toppings on

spreading the toppings on


April 19th, 2010

Do Not Feed the Animals…..Please!

by LanaJoy

Recently I was online looking at things to do in Little Rock, and I surfed into the website of the Little Rock Zoo.  It had been a few years since I had been there, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they now had an on-site cafe, so I decided this would be a nice little outing for me and my accomplice.  The information on their site said that the cafe had burgers and such, which excited me because I do love a good burger, and sometimes random places like that can have really good ones.

The zoo has been trying to build themselves up after over the past few years, but adding on to some existing exhibits and creating a few new ones.   Hence the building of what they call Cafe Africa.  After strolling through some of the great apes, we decided to stop in for a bite.

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Cafe Africa is centrally located in the zoo, and when we got there it was moderately busy.  It does have a nice open air feel, and there are indoor and outdoor seating options.  We ordered cheeseburgers and an order of spiral cut potato chips.  Now, if I learned anything about food from my mother, it’s that you don’t need a lot of fancy stuff to make something taste amazing, and I think burgers are a great example of this.  If you get a good burger with quality meat and good toppings, you can have something that is delicious.   Sadly, the people who decided to serve food at the zoo didn’t get this memo.

burger resaveThis is pretty much the same burger that you get in your average school cafeteria, only it’s more expensive.  For as much as they charge (like $4) they could do a LOT better.  The zoo has banned all outside food so if you have a hungry screaming kid, you’re stuck with this.  The one saving grace was the spiral cut potato chips.  These were actually pretty good, but not good enough to make up for that atrocity they called a burger.

chip resaveSo overall, I would say if you go to the Little Rock Zoo, eat a good meal before hand, and pack a big purse with some snacks if you just have to.  I didn’t see any food police on the prowl, and let’s be serious, how do they even know where that bag of chips came from really???

However, I did get some lovely animal snapshots for you to enjoy!

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my favorite pic of the day!!!!

my favorite pic of the day!!!!