Party Pack at Tour de Grows

Somewhere between Over the Top Tour de Branch and Sanitation Grade Pending Tour de Guzi came Tour de Grows. Eugenia was a little anxious to hear that she was following infamous chef Ron, but Ashley and I decided to let those nerves motivate the Grows to create another inspirational meal on TDK. We may have "forgotten" to tell them about the food poisoning that was promised for the following night. However, I think Eugenia may have gotten her inspiration elsewhere as she sent this picture to entice us as she and Brad were "prepping" for the meal.













Ashley and I made a run for the border to South Charlotte for Tour de Grows anyway. After all, Taco Bell is still better than cereal for dinner. However, after we arrived, we weren't so sure we were welcome.

Umm, hello Grows, asking for handouts is the whole point of Tour de Kitchens! Luckily, a little cutie decided to welcome us inside.

The Grows had an awfully nice table setting on the deck for a Taco Bell dinner. As we enjoyed the 71 degree weather at dusk with our first glass of Pinot Noir, the Grill Master and the Mistress of the Domain put the final grill marks on the filet marinated in a top secret family recipe.

Little Grow was looking for something else to enjoy while Brad was working to keep all of his arm hair from being singed.


Both the arm hair and the filets were salvaged. The plates were completed with a creamy risotto and a spinach salad with strawberries and feta. This is the best Taco Bell I've ever had! Cheers!




Looks like our asking for handouts paid off. The final course of lemon pound cake with vanilla whipped cream, strawberries and fresh ground nutmeg was served just as Lucy found what she was looking for.





Thank you Grow family! Let us know when you are doing drive thru and we'll join the feast!

Sanitation Grade Pending at Tour de Guzi's

So you know you're in trouble when you ask your host what's for dinner and her daughter replies, "food poisoning." Uh oh! Well this tour de kitchens was full of surprises and like none other we've experienced thus far. Lauren and I were excited about having dinner with the Guzis before they leave for their big summer sabbatical. After Taylor's reply and Jacob's comment that bug salad was on the menu, we were a little nervous about the food part. In fact I think Lauren was so nervous, she ended up having to bail in order to "work late" in Greensboro. Sure Lauren... The Guzis were gracious enough to invite a few others along for this treat so LP (not to be confused with LW), CC and Farrell came along for their first tdk guest experience. I think they were a little jealous after their first experience that none of them had come up with this idea before. Of course, I don't really blame them. TdK is AWESOME!!!

So I arrive at the Guzi's to see this posted on the door, "Sanitation Grade Pending" by the State of NC! This is not a good sign when you're planning to eat dinner somewhere. Then I walk inside to the back deck (which is incredible by the way) to see this centerpiece of beautiful flowers accompanied by Prilosec, Tums and Maalox Plus...just in case. To make things even worse, the menu was printed up and indicated we were having skewered roadkill, weed slosh and pig slop for dinner. Did I just agree to have dinner with Harry Potter?



Fortunately Grill Master Matt came to the rescue and cooked up some yummy "roadkill" that tasted a lot like chicken...thank goodness. This was served over "maggots and ears of...something". Thankfully chef Jen knows what she's doing and made these taste like rice and corn. Call it a mom thing. Then our handsome waiter brought out chocolate covered strawberries to "cleanse the pallet" before dessert. What a cutie!! To cap it all off, Taylor whipped together our dessert which was "pig slop with worms". I don't know how she did it but it tasted a lot like cookies, whipped cream and gummy worms. Fantastic!

So this tour de kitchens was quite a change from our usual "normal" menus but it was just as tasty. I never ended up having to take anything from the centerpiece, but I can't speak for everyone. Here are a few of the other guests enjoying their tdk experience.

Thanks Guzis!! I can't wait to come back after you get your "D" sanitation grade!!

Going Green at Tour de Bouts

It must be getting close to summer time because the healthy meals are coming out on Tour de Kitchens! Following up a great grilled chicken salad at Tour de Petters, Amber Bouts hosted us the following night with green veggies and broiled fish.

Amber graciously rescheduled us a day early at short notice and was pleasantly surprised by our timely arrival.

For those new to the blog and the brilliance of Tour de Kitchens, these meals (complete with fantastic company) are the highlights of our weeks! Case in point, eager to ease our Monday blues, Amber promptly served some of our favorite whites and greens.

Amidst sharing the highs and lows of the day, the sounds of Need to Breathe and the smells of our yummy entree, our hostess with the mostest used her piggy potholder to deliver a delicious Mahi Mahi.

Our plate was completed with a side of asparagus topped with a generous portion of Parmesan cheese. Chef Bouts knows how to make those green veggies taste even better! Ready to enjoy our delish meal we move to the table for a quick photo op before settling into the living area with enough room for all three of us to enjoy.

No meal, healthy or not, is complete without dessert! Amber topped off the meal with a sweet little vanilla bean cupcake with buttercream frosting. This mini-dessert was just enough to satisfy a sweet tooth and create a perfect ending to any day.

Tour de Branch - Over the top!

We knew we were in for a treat at Tour de Branch but Ron surpassed our expectations and then some. So in case you don't know him by reputation, Ron Branch is an incredibly gifted architect friend who was instrumental in helping me decide to finally renovate my kitchen. Not only did he provide great ideas and resources, he helped me find my contractor. He's also an almost famous chef who loves to cook, and he does an incredible job! We were so pumped for dinner, we showed up EARLY, something unheard of on tdk! Here's what we encountered...

Upon arrival, we were treated to our first incredible course of the evening: a basil cheesecake appetizer drizzled in olive oil and served with crackers. I'm sure the crackers were good, but in reality they simply served as something to smother this to-die-for app on. They could've been made out of drywall and I would have still eaten them all! This app was AWESOME!! I was tempted to ask for the recipe but when Ron mentioned it took over two hours to make, I decided to just enjoy another bite and move on.

As we were enjoying this tasty treat, Ron was telling us stories about his house and all the work he had done to it. Are you familiar with extreme home makeover? It sounded very similar except Ty and friends weren't swooping in to help him with this one. It was all Ron (and a few friends for backup). Here the chef prepping our crusty bread!

Next up was this nicely paired grapefruit and avocado salad topped with a homemade vinaigrette. Weird combo, but really good. Our main course was london broil topped with a balsamic, chili and honey glaze served with a side of linguine in a homemade sundried tomato pesto. Unfortunately I was so excited about eating it, I forgot to take a picture other than this one of our decked out table.

Not to be outdone by all of the homemade desserts we've been served throughout tdk (and why my jeans fit a little tighter now than they did when we started this thing), Ron cooked up these lemon shortbread cookies and drizzled them in chocolate. He served this homemade chocolate holder with vanilla ice cream and a fresh fruit and berry compote. Really?? Need I say more?

So while the night included some incredible dining, the true highlight was hearing Ron's stories of the cougar in his life, sweet Edie. Now, there isn't enough time to tell it all here but just don't be surprised if you see Ron lounging by your neighborhood pool with his older lady friend.

Now I'm not saying tdk has found its winner, but I think the final four is crystallizing. Stay tuned!

Kitchen Update - cabinets

The cabinets are in!!! Just wanted to post some pics of the kitchen so you believe that tdk is still a necessity for us!! Thanks again to all of our friends who have been graciously hosting us during this mis-adventure!

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Tour de Petters - Night of the Kitchen Crashers

Sunday night we had a Tour de Kitchens (tdk) first: Kitchen Crashers!! Lauren Petters graciously offered to have me and Lauren over for our tdk dinner, which naturally we were telling everyone we know about. She had planned an amazing salad bar with grilled chicken to balance out the rich (but also amazing) dinners we've been enjoying up to this point with all of our friends. Who knew that a little thing called tdk would bring out the competitive iron chef juices in so many?! I mean, from pasta to tuna to creme brule and filet, a girl needs a salad or tour de kitchens will turn into tour de gyms. So LP had planned to grill out and serve one of her famous salads. Well, apparently word got out and little Ben Eddy was not going to be left out! Little Ben (aka Bubba) talked his parents into crashing LP's tdk and we loved it!! Here's the little kitchen crasher:


As we were running a little late, LP was already manning the grill when we arrived and taking care of business. In addition, she had laid out our salad bar spread for us to pick and choose what we wanted to enjoy during this feast.


As we began to enjoy this treasure of all things veggie, we realized we had a special event going on...just about everyone had the same names. We had to capture this momentous occasion and share it. The Bens and the Laurens:


The evening ended with an amazing dessert explosion of brownies with chocolate chips cookie dough mixed in topped with vanilla ice cream. Need I say more?? Little Ben and the Eddys picked a great night to crash! ;)

Down Home at Tour de Gallagher

Georgia native, Lindsey Gallager, channeled her inner Georgian Paula Deen as she prepared a delicious Southern spread served in a cozy kitchen complete with sunflower napkin rings and a fresh orchid centerpiece.


The salad, a bed of romaine with crisp apples, walnuts, and goat cheese topped with a light balsamic vinaigrette was served with a chilled red sangria.


Lindsay challenged herself as well as all other Tour de Kitchens hosts by preparing the first red meat entree. Yea for filet! She knows her way to this Texan's heart (despite Lindsey "not really liking meat")! Here's Linds in action:


Paula really made her debut in the side dishes - creamy homemade mashed potatoes and grilled squash and zucchini. (Note: Please substitute "Paula" for "butter.")


And what pairs better with butter than butter? The warm, homemade brownies were served with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Thanks Paula, er, Lindsey!