Pomegranate Fizz

Just in time for your New Year’s Eve Celebration, try your hand a creating a Pomegranate Fizz!

Pomegranate Fizz
½ oz Pama Liqueur
Splash Pomegranate Juice
Champagne

Add liqueur, pomegranate juice in a champagne flute. Top with champagne and add pomegranate seeds for garnish.

The Mistletoe Cocktail

Enjoy one of our signature holiday cocktails with dinner! One of our featured cocktails this month is “The Mistletoe.” Come in and try it or make it for your holiday party!

The Mistletoe:
1 oz House Made Cranberry Vodka
½ oz Cointreau
Splash of Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
Splash of Cranberry Juice
Orange Twist

House Made Cranberry Vodka
1 pound fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 Liter Vodka (what you like)

In a sauce pan combine cranberries, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until berries pop, 6-7 minutes. Divide cranberries in two mason jars and top with vodka. Seal and refrigerate for a week. Strain and store in refrigerator.

Combine all ingredients in a shaker except orange twist. Shake till chilled, serve in a martini glass. Garnish with orange twist.

Dancing Bear Lodge Christmas Eve Menu

Dancing Bear Lodge is open Christmas Eve to celebrate the season! Leave the cooking to us and enjoy the night with close family and friends. Chef Jeff Carter has created a special menu for Christmas Eve. To make your reservation contact Dancing Bear Lodge at (865) 448-6000. Happy Holidays!

Christmas Eve
Saturday, December 24, 2011

Muscadine Glazed South Carolina Quail
Brussel Sprouts, Onion Jam and Brown Butter Apples
Sweet Potato Puree
Sokol Blosser Winery, Evolution

Frisee Salad with Pickled Vegetables
Goat Cheese, Country Ham and Soft Boiled Egg
Sherry Vinaigrette
J. Vidal, Fleury, Viognier, Cotes du Rhone

Veal Osso Buco with Falls Mill Grits
Sweet and Sour Collard Greens, Pearl Onions
Bell Pepper Confetti
Molly Dooker, The Boxer, Shiraz

Cowgirl Creamery’s Mt Tam Cheese
Honeyed Chestnuts and Cranberry Orange Relish

“Fruit Cake”
Cinnamon Walnut Bread Pudding, Stewed Winter Fruit
Eggnog Ice Cream and House Made Moonshine Cherries
Roederer Estates, Brut, Anderson Valley

Seared Scottish Salmon with Cauliflower Potato Puree

Recipe of the week: Seared Scottish Salmon with Cauliflower Potato Puree

Seared Scottish Salmon with Cauliflower Potato Puree
Pancetta Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Horseradish Vinaigrette


Cauliflower Potato Puree

1 head cauliflower, cleaned, stem removed and cut into large pieces
3 idaho potatoes, pealed and cut into large pieces
4 oz heavy cream
4 oz butter
salt and white pepper to taste

Boil potatoes and cauliflower in lightly salted water until tender, about 1 hour. Strain and put through a potato ricer into a pot. Stir in cream, butter salt and white pepper to taste.

Pancetta Brussel Sprouts

1 # Brussel sprouts, clean, cut in half and blanched until al dente
4oz Pancetta, diced and rendered until crispy, saving fat
1 T butter
1 shallot, julienned
salt and pepper

Heat a large skillet to medium high. Sauté Sprouts in 1 oz pancetta fat for 1 minute. Add shallots, toss and put the pan in the oven to roast and 375 for 5 minutes, shaking pan half way though roasting. Pull pan out of oven and deglazed with white wine or chicken stock; season with salt and pepper, add butter, crispy pancetta and serve with salmon and puree.

Horseradish Vinaigrette

2 oz champagne vinegar
6 oz extra virgin olive oil
3 T fresh grated horseradish
1 T prepared horseradish
1 shallot, minced
salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients except oil in a bowl. Slowly whisk in olive oil.

Salt and pepper flesh side of salmon. Sear in a cast iron skillet on flesh side for about 1 minute, or until crispy. Flip salmon over on skin side and put pan in 375 degree oven until salmon is done, about 4 minutes.

Serve over puree with Brussel sprouts and 1 T vinaigrette spooned over salmon.

Make Christmas Caroling a Family Holiday Tradition

One of our favorite things about the holidays is Christmas Caroling! Not only does it bring families together during the busy holiday season, but it warms the hearts of those you share it with!

This Christmas, get the family together and start a new tradition of Christmas Caroling! Try visiting nursing homes and children’s hospitals. Of course, you can’t go wrong with singing in nearby neighborhoods!

A few of our favorite carols:
Deck the Halls
Holy Night
Jingle Bells
The Twelve 12 days of ChristmasWe Wish you a Merry Christmas

Cider Glazed Springer Mountain Chicken

Recipe of the week: Cider Glazed Springer Mountain Chicken

Carolina Gold Rice Risotto with Roasted Butternut Squash, Pecans
Apple Cider Jus

Apple Cider Jus

2 cups apple cider
4 oz veal jus
2 oz butter

Reduce cider to 4 oz. Add veal jus and then whisk in whole butter. Keep warm

Glaze

2 c apple cider
1 c apple cider vinegar
1 c sorghum

Reduce cider and cider vinegar to 4 oz. Add sorghum.

Butternut Squash and Apples

1 butternut squash
2 granny smith apples
½ yellow onion, small diced

Cut butternut squash in half leaving the neck and the bottom. Cut the bottom in half and scrape out the seeds. Rub the flesh with olive oil and season with a little salt and pepper. Roast flesh side down in a 375 degree oven for about 1 hour or until the squash becomes soft. Set aside to cool. Puree in blender with 4-6 oz of water or apple cider until smooth.

Cut the skin off the neck of the squash and dice in ½ inch cubes. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast until tender. Set aside.

Peel apples and dice in ¼ inch cubes. Sauté onion in 1 T olive oil for 2 minutes. Add apples and sauté for 3-5 more minutes, until they start to caramelize. Add to roasted butternut squash and mix to combine.


Carolina Gold Rice Risotto

1 Tbl olive oil
1 cup Carolina gold rice grits
3-4 cups chicken stock
1 onion, small diced
4 oz white wine
salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy bottomed pot heat olive oil. Sweat onion for 5-6 minutes. Add rice and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add white wine and 1 cup of chicken stock. Reduce heat to low and stir with a wooden spoon until most of the stock has been absorbed. Continue adding stock in batches until the rice is cooked and creamy.

Add about 2-3 T of butternut squash puree, fold in ½ cup toasted chopped pecan, butternut squash and apple mixture and 1 T butter.

Winter Hiking Tips

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a great place to visit for a peaceful winter hike! The following winter hiking tips will help you prepare for the perfect afternoon of hiking! It’s time to hit the trails!

1) Don’t forget to dress in layers! This includes a warm hat and gloves. Dressing in layers will keep you warm and allow you to remove items as you warm up!

2) Carry a backpack made of breathable material to keep snow and rain out of your bag.

3) Wear a pair of insulated water proof boots to keep your feet dry and don’t forget the warm socks!

4) Bring plenty of food and water for you to enjoy during your hike as you will be burning calories!