Cookbook Book Club - July -- Gobbler's Roost

There is a restaurant outside of Nevada

That's been in business eight years or so

And except for me, none of the Cookbook Book Club had been there

They're usually open on Fridays and Saturdays

but in June, they also do Thursdays

(which is Cookbook Book Club night)

so this week we ventured East

to Nevada and "the boonies" to dine at

It is on gravel roads

(so don't wash your car before you go -- you'll have to wash after!)

The property consists of a cabin, an event center and the restaurant

owned by Kent and Kathy Abele

And there are turkeys "everywhere"

Even turkey tracks on the floor.

On Thursday's it's an abbreviated menu.

Normally, dinner consists of appetizer, soup, salad, bread, entree with potato and dessert for one price

But on Thursdays, appetizers are separate.   There is no soup and dessert is ice cream.

Kathy, for us, made us appetizers and a dessert

But alas, we had no soup!

The group was enchanted by the property and restaurant

(And amazed that I could drive right to it!!!)

As we say every month --

"It was the best one"!!!

The food:

Appetizers:

Onion rings

Everybody agreed they were the best ever!

(and believe me, we live in "onion ring" country so that's quite a compliment!)

We inhaled them!

Spanikopita

served with an Asian sauce

OMG was it good!

 A salad with choice of Housemade Sweet Onion vinaigrette or Ranch

We all chose the vinaigrette, fell in love, and were clamoring for the recipe!

Some of our entrees:

Sara chose ribs

Donna chose pork chop

Michelle was one of four fried chicken eaters!

Sorry, did not get a picture of the steak eaters!

I chose fried chicken as well.    Delicious and enough that I took the breast home

and we both shared it for lunch!

Those "little brown things" on the plate?    They're called M and L potatoes.

Why M and L.    They stand for Mary and Lonnie

Who ran Marlon's Cafe in Bronaugh for years!

That was the way they fixed their "baked potatoes"

(it's hard to call something "baked" when it's never seen an oven -- but Marlon's did!)

I like that Kathy kept a little bit of local history in her choice of potato

And we did have ice cream for dessert

(it came with the meal)

But then Kathy made for us:

This wonderful summer dessert.

Two kinds of sherbet rolled into an angel food cake!

Perfect!!!!

 We were happy campers!

And full campers!

After dinner, Kathy gave us a tour of the kitchen.

A small kitchen to be sure

And we learned a lot

We also fell in love with the Sweet Onion Salad Dressing

And bottles can be bought to bring home

Which several of us did!

Kathy wouldn't give us the recipe but she did share the ingredients

(it's no secret -- it's on the label!)

My goal this week is to try to replicate it!

(And I think I can!)

We'll all be back.

It's really that good of a restaurant

A hidden gem in Vernon County, Missouri

Afternoon Tea with Another "Tea Cupper"

I belong to a facebook group entitled 

"Tea Cups and Cupcakes"

It's about all things tea

and members share their tea ware, their tea food, their tea experiences

and even their recipes.

In talking about a tea room in Ozark, Missouri,

I found not only a kindred spirit but one who lives in Kansas City!

Donna Beauchamp

And last Friday we decided to meet up at

for Afternoon Tea

She's never been --

I've been before --

Many times!

In fact, I'll meet anyone there at the drop of a hat!

It is that good!

And it's the closest to a real English tea than any I've had in America!

She told me she was bringing a friend --

so it was tea for three!

(which meant we could chose two kinds of tea -- for with 3 you get two teapots!)

And they do it nicely --

white tablecloth

china tea ware

The curate

(it's proper name -- others may call it a three tier server)

properly  filled with sandwiches and savories on the bottom,

scones in the middle

and sweets on top.

You work your way from bottom up!

And unlike many American tea rooms, food, although dainty, is not postage stamp size.

For afternoon tea, after all, is really a meal!

The curate held the sandwiches

The scones -- round scones -- real English scones

(and somehow the shortbread jumped ship and landed on the scone plate)

and they're  served with real clotted cream and homemade strawberry jam

The top layer held the sweets.

And although small, they're not minuscule!

The sandwich offerings:

(per person)

2 cucumber (made correctly -- bread, butter and cucumber)

a finger of chicken salad

a finger of egg salad

two bite size sausage rolls

and a slice of baguette with brie and pear jam

The scones were delicious and we all gobbled ours down
slathered with real clotted cream and homemade strawberry jam!

Our sweets:

(and I still have my brie bite!)

A square of pistachio shortbread that's out of this world!

A cream puff

a lemon bar

a strawberry macaron dipped in chocolate

A millionaire shortbread

and

Battenburg cake

Donna and friend Penny posing with the tea and treats!

We had a grand time.

Donna and I both took food home

But I don't think we left any tea!

We chose Earl Grey and an English breakfast

They were perfect with the tea offerings.

IF you're within driving distance of Kansas City

(it's actually on the Kansas side -- downtown Overland Park)
and want an amazing Afternoon Tea experience
remember
Clock Tower Bakery

The price is very reasonable -- $23 and change with tax

And if you're looking for a tea companion,
let me know for I'll show up for tea at Clock Tower at the drop of a hat!

There are two requirements for tea, however --
1 - you need to book a day or two in advance
2 - you need to pay when you book with a credit card
(since we each were buying our own, they let us book and pay for our individual teas)

It's nice to have a real English tea without having to spend 12 hours in an airplane!!!