See what we ate in Tennessee
Yesterday, I gave you a little tour of Don Shadow's Shadow Nursery in Winchester, Tennessee and also of Falls Mill, the local grist mill where fabulous grits, cornmeal, and flour are made. Don has amazing energy and my group and I certainly worked up a good appetite keeping up with him. Next stop was the pre-civil war home of the Shadow's, where we were served a fabulously satisfying traditional Southern meal prepared by the lovely Blackberry Patch Cakes and Catering. Don and his wife, Mary, were such gracious hosts and we enjoyed every minute of our visit. WARNING - You may experience hunger pains.
1 Don and his wife, Mary, were consummate hosts.
2 A portrait with Don's family - Charles, Evan, Elijah, me, Don, Jennifer, Ethan, and Mary
3 Don's antebellum home has one great tree - a magnolia grandiflora of great size.
4 The view from the front door was so impressive.
5 A Japanese bronze with a camellia arrangement
6 Andrew and my gardener, Shaun, enjoyed looking at Don's book on dogwoods.
7 Don and his wife, Mary, collect handmade wooden bowls, Tennessee baskets, and beautiful pieces of pottery.
8 More of the collection
9 And some more
10 A fine old daffodil was cut from the garden.
11 These unusual and delicate daffodils were so fragrant.
12 Don showed me some of his many world travels.
13 This is Don's father's salesman book. He grew and sold apple and other fruit trees in Mississippi and these hand painted illustrations were what he showed prospective growers.
14 More apples
15 Beautiful peaches
16 And handsome plums
17 Bunches of cherries
18 And clusters of grapes
19 A selection of berries and nuts
20 Don's grandson, Elijah, wanted to show me his beautiful chickens. Here I am learning that fun trick that I put on YouTube.
21 Here are Don's fishing buddies L.C. Daugherty and Jim Wimley - they came by to fry us up their fresh catch of croppy fish. Some people call it crappy fish.
22 The fried croppy was delicious! Can't you tell from my expression?
23 And so were the hush puppies made from corn meal ground at Falls Mill - so crisp and tasty.
24 All the frying was done in this fryer out in the garage.
25 We were served the crunchiest buttermilk fried chicken.
26 And a real old-fashioned Southern potato salad
27 Southern ham on flaky whipping cream biscuits
28 Little open-faced tomato sandwiches
29 A really good slaw laced with celery seeds
30 My lunch plate - fried chicken with gravy, potato salad, slaw, ham biscuits, broad beans, fried croppy fish, hush puppies, and tartar sauce
31 This fruited iced tea was very refreshing.
32 Blackberry Patch Catering is known for their blackberry cobbler.
33 The blackberry cobbler was served with homemade vanilla ice cream.
34 Coconut macadamia nut cake
35 Here I am with the wonderful crew from Blackberry Patch Catering - Martin, Jackie, Jennifer http://www.blackberrypatchcatering.com/1501.html
36 After lunch, we continued our tour - At Don's property adjacent to his home, he grows witch hazels, and more than 140 heirloom apples. We were given a great 'fruit' lesson.
37 In addition to the heirloom apples and witch hazels, Don also cultivates magnolias.
38 These field-grown plants are so impressive in their sturdiness and vigorous growing habits.
39 Row after row of trees and shrubs
40 This is Andrea Mason - garden editor from TV - standing with an heirloom apple tree.
41 Don gave us a demonstration of how to bud a witch hazel shrub. Budding, a form of grafting, is typically done in August.
42 Budding is the union of one bud and a small piece of bark from a healthy budstick onto a strong rootstock.
43 Ethan loves running around the nursery.
44 This is a hand-carved mounting block to enable women to get up on their horses.
45 I loved this block, but where's my horse?
46 And here I am with my friends Susan Warburg, Kathy Sloane, and Don.
47 Here we are taking off after a most fulfilling visit.
48 Tennessee is a very beautiful place.
Isn't it lovely that Don and Mary are together and looking so happy? And, yes, i got hungry. So many sturdy trees! Thanks.
Posted by: http://twitter.com/geotravel | April 6th, 2010 at 1:05 am
The food looks soo delicious!
Posted by: Rowaida Flayhan | April 6th, 2010 at 1:30 am
Loved this. That meal looked like a lunch at my S. Carolina's grandmother's house about 40 years ago.
There are always some photos in the slideshows that just don't show up. Not sure what's wrong but it always happens (couldn't see the plums, for example)
Posted by: Charlotte K | April 6th, 2010 at 7:32 am
I grew up in the Mississippi River Delta of the south and crappie (spelled with an 'a' but always pronounced like 'croppy') was and still is the favored fish for eating. Thick, white and clean, it demanded a high price, although I've since learned that technically it wasn't legal to sell it. My father would buy it from one of his farm hands and I can still see those beautiful fresh fish laid out on ice in the back of his pick-up truck.
Posted by: Carol in NC | April 6th, 2010 at 8:40 am
What a wonderful feature of your visit - your hosts, the scenery, their home, the food. It is so evident from these images how sincerely hospitable this family was to you. I would LOVE to see pictures of your Easter-Sunday lunch/dinner gathering. I so look forward to these blogs and photos. I filled my house with all of my finest Easter/spring decorations after viewing the images of your recent dinner you hosted for your Hallmark friends. I had been on the fence whether to trouble myself this year but quickly changed my mind after visiting your blog. Your home, the decorations, the table-top arrangements, the flowers, the food - I draw such inspiration from it all, and I am really looking forward to seeing pictures of Easter Sunday. Thank you for continuing to be in inspiration, Martha.
Marie Matthews Gonis - Venice Beach, California
Posted by: Marie Matthews Gonis | April 6th, 2010 at 9:56 am
Don's such a busy bee! Thanks for the pictures.. I want some potato salad!!!!
Posted by: NeatNicole from Illinois | April 6th, 2010 at 10:34 am
Hi Martha,
You like to make us hungry, don’t you? And guess what – it worked again! Southern meals are so tasty and especially the fried chicken. I ate a lot of those meals on my many trips to Dollywood years ago. Haven’t tasted the croppy/crappy though but you gave a pretty good indication of how good it was, and the blackberry cobbler looked especially inviting! I imagine the caterers were excited when they found out they would be preparing a meal for you. I know I would be! Well, thanks again for including us in another of your adventurous days and introducing us to your gracious hosts.
~
I wanted to mention to those who have trouble seeing your pictures – if they would look up at the top of the page to the right of the address bar they might see an icon that looks like a page torn in half. It is used to correct compatibility view on older browsers so images, text and out of place menus can be corrected. I use Internet Explorer but once in awhile, I have to correct the compatibility on certain pages like hotmail for instance. It’s worth a try. Thanks Martha. Trish
Posted by: Trish | April 6th, 2010 at 10:50 am
Thank you so much Martha and your staff. It was such an honor to be able to serve you a homemade southern meal. We enjoyed meeting all of you and hope to see you again.
Thank you from Blackberry Patch Catering
Jackie, Martin and Jennifer.
Posted by: Jennifer | April 6th, 2010 at 11:14 am
What wonderful photos! I am just in awe of the fruit sales brochure.....what a wonderful piece of art
Posted by: Tamara | April 6th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
Everything is beautiful, the food looks amazing.
I would the recipe for the Coconut macadamia nut cake. It looks so moist and that is what I am trying to accomplish is a very moist cake. I love Coconut.Thank You so much. Diane Fryar from Houston, Texas
Posted by: Diane Fryar | April 6th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
I'm so glad to see my beloved home state of Tennessee getting this much deserved recognition....what a whimsical adventure you all must have had. From that delicious fried chicken to the precious tomato sandwiches, it looks like you had quite a feast. This southern belle is simply green with envy!!!!
Posted by: Kate a' la Southern Belle Simple | April 6th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Martha I adore the picture of you with the fried croppy! Thanks for the smile
Posted by: Wendy | April 6th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
According to the dictionary and my husband's fish shirt, that type of fish is actually spelled "crappie". And they are gooood. Also, I love that kind of blackberry cobbler. It reminds my of growing up in Indiana.
Posted by: Kathy | April 6th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
I love southern cooking, I was raised on it. That blackberry cobbler looks so delicious and takes me back to my childhood when mom made many a blackberry cobbler. We had a hugh patch of blackberries. I also love crappie cooked to a crisp on the outside. Everything look so good.Thanks for the picks.
Posted by: Libbygirl | April 6th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
Oh, mercy! I am sooo homesick for Tennessee and good Southern food. Yum. Plus those lovely pictures, especially the view from Don's front door, sent me back. Ummm-hmmm.
Posted by: Penny | April 6th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
I loved the pictures....since I live not far from Winchester. I'm glad you made the visit and enjoyed it. We are so proud of Tennessee,
and I love it and all things Southern.
Vivian
Posted by: Vivian Price | April 6th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
A nice feast for the eyes...both the food and everything growing there. Cobbler...sigh...i made a rhubarb one last weekend and look forward to making peach, blackberry and whatever is in season!
Posted by: sherey | April 6th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Hi Martha, I certainly can see why you enjoyed your trip to Tennessee. Your superb photos show so many wonderful things that they have there. I love all the photos, especially the ones that show the aerial view of that beautiful state and all of the fantastic food you had while there. Shaun and Andrew sure look like they had a great time and I'm sure we will hear about the trip from them. I can almost taste the delicious foods you had. Thanks for sharing. Love, Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | April 6th, 2010 at 11:53 pm
I grew up in Minnesota also eating crappie (we kids called them "sun fish"). Miss it so! Haven't had it in years! What a treat for you, Martha. It was good to see you doing something really "down home."
Posted by: Clayvessel from Pie in the Sky | April 7th, 2010 at 12:38 am
Mmmmmm yum
Posted by: Yolanda | April 7th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
Martha ~ can you please share the "recipe" for the little open faced tomato sandwiches and also the dressing for the coleslaw? They look delicious!
brendak@ucsd.edu
Posted by: Brenda Knowlton | April 7th, 2010 at 11:25 pm
I love all your images from this trip... keep on traveling!
Posted by: Punctuation Mark | April 8th, 2010 at 12:57 am
Martha, any chance these nice people will come on your show to share some of their delicous looking recipes? Looks like you had a fun trip!
Posted by: Celia | April 9th, 2010 at 5:51 am
MUST have the recipe for that coconut macadamia cake. Those are two of my most favorite foods! I am officially obsessing over it. Need to make and need to eat! Martha, somebody...help!
Posted by: Marie | April 10th, 2010 at 4:12 am
Martha--
You look so lovely and your farm is looking great!! I was in your audience in January for a show taping. I must say that you are more
beautiful in person!!! The whole experience was wonderful!!! Thank you for fulfilling
a life long dream!!!
Posted by: nancy mackey | April 11th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
Martha!
I adore you! I plan my children's birthday parties around ideas from your site... And, I live in Winchester! 10 minutes away from where you were... How did I not know that you were coming! I had a 22 hour semester and I was really a very busy woman, but I am not sure how I missed this! I am so very glad you enjoyed your visit to Middle Tennessee!
Posted by: Brandy | June 2nd, 2010 at 10:50 am
Martha Stewart,
You visited the homeplace of the Warmbrods.
I was born in Winchester (1946) and my dad (1919) and lived in the house in Belvidere until our family moved to Jackson TN. My uncles, Alf and Arthur, farmed the land and lived in the house until a few years ago when the family sold the homesite. I have millions of memories of the Warmbrod homeplace, summer reunions, Christmas gatherings, and visits other times of the year. Even though it now belongs to someone else, it will always be MY HOME.
David
Posted by: David Warmbrod | June 14th, 2010 at 9:11 pm