Townsend Fall Festival is September 28th-29

Come celebrate Appalachian heritage this weekend at the Townsend Heritage Fall Festival September 28-29. The Townsend Fall Festival offers something for the whole family to enjoy! Bring your lawn chair and sit back, relax and enjoy scheduled musical performances. There will be many impromptu jam sessions along with clogging that showcase Appalachian roots. There will be arts and crafts booths featuring local artisans showcasing their special talents. Storytellers and local authors will also be on the festival grounds to tell of the mountain stories that show the true colors of the Appalachian heritage. Buses will run from the Heritage Center to Trillium Cove to Little River Railroad Museum to the Townsend Visitors Center and back to the Heritage Center. For a list of scheduled performances and Townsend shuttle times click here.

Dancing Bear Lodge & Restaurant in the News!

Bear Lodge & Restaurant continues to impress! The restaurant was recently featured in a USA Today article about being one of the 10 great places to blaze a (bike) trail for good food! Chef Jeff Carter was also recently featured on WBIR's Live at Five at Four for his new fall menu, and check out Southern Living's October article for a lodge special just for Southern Living readers! 

Dancing Bear Restaurant Announces New Fall Menu

Once again the fall season is upon us and Dancing Bear Lodge and Restaurant Chef Jeff Carter has created a remarkable menu for the season. Fall is the perfect time of the year to come and take in the breathtaking views of the Smoky Mountains while enjoying a delicious meal. To make your reservation contact Dancing Bear Lodge at (865) 448-6000.

Fall Menu

Snacks for the Table

In Jars: Spicy Black-Eyed Pea Hummus, Pimento Cheese, Smoked Trout Rillette

House Made Crackers and Pickles

Charcuterie Plate - Local and House Made Sausage and Cured Meats

DBL Mustard and Toasted Bread

Selection of Artisanal Cheeses

Beer Bread and Relishes

Starters

Tennessee Sweet Potato Soup

Sorghum Crème Fraiche

Romaine Salad with Benton’s Bacon, Crumbled Blue Cheese

Oven Dried Tomatoes, Garlic Croutons and Buttermilk Herb Dressing

Baby Spinach Salad with Apples, Dried Cranberries, Candied Walnuts

Goat Cheese and Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Mixed Greens Salad with Roasted Beets, Clementine Supremes

Parmesan Cheese and Herb Mustard Vinaigrette

Spicy Cashew and Pear Salad

Baby Arugula and Honey Vinaigrette

Entrées

12 oz Rib Eye with Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes

Roasted Curried Carrots, Garlic Herb Butter and House Made Demi-Glace

Braised Bison Short Ribs with Falls Mill Grits

Mustard Greens and Horseradish Mustard Crème Fraiche

Cider Glazed Springer Mountain Chicken with Carolina Gold Rice Risotto

Roasted Butternut Squash, Toasted Pecans, Apple Cider Jus

Veal Chop with Anson Mills Tasso Polenta, Collard Greens,

Pickled Grapes and Pommery Mustard Jus

Rainbow Trout with Shrimp and Grits

Cornmeal Dusted Trout, Local Andouille Sausage, Falls Mill Grits and Tomato Vinaigrette

Sichuan Dusted Moulard Duck Breast with Sweet Potato Puree

Apple Cider Braised Red Cabbage and Apple Onion Sauce

Mason Jar Take-Aways

DBL Chow Chow, Muscadine Jam, Red Onion Jam, Apple Butter

Fall Colors Coming to the Smoky Mountains

One of Tennessee’s most spectacular displays of autumn color lies here in the Smoky Mountains. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park experiences autumn leaf season for several weeks in the fall. Fall colors start to appear as early as mid-September in the higher elevations and continue down during the months of October and early November. To take part in the show of beautiful colors that the mountains have to offer, take an afternoon drive on Clingmans Dome Road, the Blue Ridge Parkway, or the Foothills Parkway. Before you set out for your drive review the fall foliage report from the Great Smoky National Park.

The fall color display is at its peak in the late weeks of October and early November, which is also one of the busiest times in the fall especially in Cades Cove and Newfound Gap Road. Click here for routes that tend to be less crowded but equally beautiful. Don’t miss the stunning view of colors that paint the Smoky Mountains during the autumn months.

Dancing Bear Bicycle Bash to be Held September 7-9

Come and join us for another weekend of cycling in the Smokey Mountains on September 7-9, when Dancing Bear Lodge will host the Dancing Bear Bicycle Bash. The Bike Bash will kick-off Friday night and will conclude with a post Bike Bash Party on Saturday afternoon. A few of the delicious treats Dancing Bear Lodge will be serving include pulled pork with Tennessee whiskey barbeque sauce, burgers, marinated chicken breasts, new potato salad, and assorted homemade cookies and brownies. During the party, we will offer chair massages as a part of our in-room spa services along with a performance by The Bearded. Friends and family members who will not be participating in the Bike Bash are welcome to come along and enjoy activities such as fly-fishing, spa pampering, nearby shopping and golf during the weekend.

Dancing Bear Lodge has a few lodge rooms and two bedroom packages available. To reserve your package please contact Melanie Clifford at 865-448-1999 or melanie@dancingbearlodge.com. 

Click here to register for the Dancing Bear Lodge Bike Bash

Tennessee Whiskey Cake with Candied Pecans

For a new dessert, try making our Tennessee Whiskey cake at home!  

Tennessee Whiskey Cake

 4 oz                            softened butter

½ c                              brown sugar

½ c                              sugar

3                                  eggs

1 c                               all-purpose flour, sifted

½ t                               baking powder

¼ t                               salt

½ t                               cinnamon

¼ t                               baking soda

¼ c                              milk (or cream)

½ c                              sorghum (may substitute molasses)

¼ c                              Tennessee whiskey

Preheat convection oven to 325 degrees.

Cream butter in a mixer with paddle attachment; gradually add both sugars and cream well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Combine next five ingredients; add to mixture alternately with milk (or cream), ending with dry ingredients. Stop mixer and add sorghum. Restart mixer and slowly add whiskey. Mix until smooth, about 30 seconds.

Pour into a greased and lined 10 in cake pans and bake at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool and slice each cake with a serrated knife into 10 portions.

Serve with candied pecans, chocolate sauce and sorghum ice cream. Vanilla ice cream may be used as a substitution.

Sorghum Syrup can be purchased at www.muddypondsorghum.com

Candied Pecans

1                                  egg white

1/2 cup                        brown sugar

1                                  tablespoon flour

3 cups                          pecan halves

PREPARATION:

Mix brown sugar and flour in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl beat egg white until foamy; slowly beat in the brown sugar/flour mixture. Fold in pecans. Transfer pecans to a parchment paper lined sheet pan and bake in standard oven at 175 for approximately 1 ½  hours. Let pecans cool completely before breaking apart.

Sockeye Salmon with Local Ratatouille Vegetables, Roasted Tomatoes, Fennel Arugula Salad

This is the perfect dish for a summer night from chef Jeff Carter. The dish was recently featured on WBIR's Live at Five at Four. Just in case you missed it, here is the recipe to make it at home!

Sockeye Salmon with Local Ratatouille Vegetables, Roasted Tomatoes, Fennel Arugula Salad

Ratatouille

2              Yellow Squash

2              Zucchini

1              Eggplant

1              Red Onion

2              Red bell pepper

4-6 oz    white wine

1 pint     roasted grape tomatoes (half tomatoes, season and roast for 15 minutes in 375 degree oven)

3 T          butter

1 T          parsley, tarragon, chives

Cut zucchini, squash and eggplant in diamond shapes. Cut pepper and red onion medium dice. Sauté vegetables in a large pan in 2 T olive oil; Season with salt and pepper. Deglaze with white wine or seafood stock. Finish cooking in 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until al dente.  Pull pan out of oven and add roasted tomatoes, herbs and butter. Check seasoning           

Salmon

4                              6 oz pieces of sockeye salmon

2T                           olive oil

                                Salt and pepper

Season salmon with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a cast iron pan and sear salmon flesh side first. Flip fish and put pan in 350 degree oven to finish cooking, about 6 minutes.

Arugula Fennel Salad

1 head                  fennel, sliced thin, on mandolin if possible

6                              radish sliced thin, on mandolin if possible

                                Arugula

2-3 T                      lemon vinaigrette

Toss all ingredients together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper; top salmon with salad

Lemon Vinaigrette

2                              lemons, juice and zest

2 oz                        champagne vinegar

6-7 oz                    olive oil

1                              shallot, small diced

Mix all ingredients and season with salt and pepper.