Caffé Rel – the best bistro in Franklin, North Carolina

You’ve heard the old adage “you can’t judge a book by its cover”. Well you can’t judge a restaurant by the building it’s in either. Caffé Rel is a perfect example. Located in downtown Franklin in the Hot Spot, a busy gas station on East Main Street, you’ll find Caffé Rel, one of the finest bistros in the mountains of western North Carolina. Don’t let the gas station location fool you because Chef and owner Richard E. Long (hence the name Rel) apprenticed at the highly selective Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia and went on to enjoy a prestigious career running elite restaurants in Pennsylvania. He serves a variety of upscale dishes with complex sauces that you would normally expect to find only in a fancy, pretentious restaurant. Chef Long says at heart he’s a saucier and can make a sauce out of anything. Just have one taste of the Louisiana crawfish tails in a leek cream sauce fired with a fine French cognac and you’ll realize he knows his sauces.

Not only does Chef Long turn out upscale food, he is also an expert at running what’s called in the restaurant business “the front of the house.” He personally handpicks and trains his peppy waitstaff who are dressed in typical French bistro outfits – a white shirt with tie and black trousers. More often than not when you arrive, you’ll be personally greeted by Chef Long himself wearing his dark beret and clogs. He modeled his restaurant’s ambience and décor after one of his favorite cafes in Paris. As you enter a black chalk board announces the daily specials and beyond, under glass, you can see the array of European style desserts, including beautiful tortes and cakes.

After we were seated at a cozy high top and ordered a glass of wine, our attention turned to the menu. My husband asked me, “What are you going to have today?”

“Oh, I haven’t decided,” I said. “Last time I had the Brandied Chicken Livers as an appetizer and they were great. I love their Charleston Shrimp and Grits, but the Bourbon Breast of Chicken Old Tennessee looks interesting with a mushroom bourbon sauce. Or the Lavender Shrimp sautéed with shallots, leeks and deglazed with white wine and served with a country cream sauce sounds good too. But it’s raining today; maybe I’ll have the French Pot Roast. Have you decided?”

“You know I love lamb, so I’m thinking of the Lamb Lollies with the shallot Madera sauce for an appetizer, but their homemade bisque sounds good too,” Meakin said.

About this time the waitress came to take our order. “I can’t decide,” I told her.

“I just tell people to close their eyes and point,” she said. “You can’t go wrong.”

For an appetizer my husband chose the homemade Blue Crab Bisque, a house favorite with shallots, garlic, leeks, thyme, butter and cream, and finished with freshly shredded Parmesan. It was served with slices of a warm baguette and a stewed tomato and olive oil bruschetta for dipping that we shared.

For his entry he ordered one of the daily specials, or as the French would say, the plat de jour, - Pan Seared Scallops with baby bok choy served on a bed of coconut rice with a curry sauce.

I finally settled on French Pot Roast covered with a rich brown wine sauce with piped parsley potatoes served with lightly stir-fried, crisp seasonal vegetables on the side.

Notice the detail with the garnish of match stick carrots and the beautiful orchid that comes with every entrée.

If you want something lighter, they offer a long list of salads, including an Asian Chicken Salad, a house specialty with a homemade sesame dressing. At lunch they also serve a variety of classic sandwiches, all accompanied with homemade potato chips (their version of flat fries).

As we sat and enjoyed our lunch with light jazz playing in the background, we reminisced about our favorite bistros in Provence and lingered over an espresso. When it was time to go we inquired about the location of the restrooms. I was feeling very French and in my head I was saying, “Ou sont les toilettes?” when I heard the reply. “Oh, they’re in the Hot Spot next door.” D’accord, no problem.

As we walked through the curtain covered glass door from the restaurant into the gas station, we felt as if we had entered a whole other world. We looked head-on at the ice machine and the stark black walls in the convenience store complete with bright red stripe trim and neon lights. Dolly Parton was warbling “Jolene, Jolene, I’m begging of you, please don’t take my man” on the loud speakers. Couples seated in plastic booths overlooking the gas pumps were eating hotdogs purchased from the vending machine while other people were standing in line at the check out counter to pay for chips and soft drinks. Just when we thought we were in France, voila, in a split second we were back in small town American in a typical loud and busy convenience store.

It’s time to go home, but we’ll be back. Luckily for us, we only live an hour away. We always schedule our semi-annual visits to the Periodontist in Franklin around lunch at Caffé Rel. Located at 457 East Main Street, Franklin, North Carolina, 28734. (828) 369-9446, they’re open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and take no credit cards or reservations. But don’t worry, the 16 tables turn quickly and if you do have to wait for a minute or two, it’s well worth it. Where else can you eat a fine meal and fill your car with the best priced gas in town all in one stop?

A bientot Chef Long and Caffé Rel; see you again soon.

My first cooking success – Chicken Rosemary

When I met my husband Meakin I couldn’t cook. Oh, that’s not quite true. I could hard boil an egg (put egg in cold water, bring to a boil, cover, remove from heat, drain twelve minutes later, rinse in cold water and peel) and I could make a good crusty cheese toast in toaster oven (lightly toast bread, cover with good sharp Cheddar, broil until bubbly), but I couldn’t make the gourmet meals he was accustomed to. Meakin told me, “You can obviously read because you’ve worked on your masters, so buy a cookbook, pick a recipe and give it a try. If it doesn’t work, I’ll take you out to eat.” It sounded like a good deal to me, so I found a recipe for Chicken Rosemary. Not counting the salt and pepper, it contained five ingredients and I recognized each one.

We’ve been married forty years this November and I’ve only had to take him up on the offer to eat out a couple of times because of a recipe disaster. An awful version of Millionaire Chicken comes to mind, but now that I look back at the recipe, I don’t know what I could have done with it to make it taste that awful, but it did.

Here’s an updated version of my first culinary success – Chicken Rosemary. Instead of using a whole, cut up chicken, I’ve used boneless, skinless chicken breasts. We grow rosemary in our herb garden, so there’s no need to buy the dried kind. I’ve also added sautéed mushrooms to jazz it up a bit. As a side dish, toss some asparagus and grape tomatoes with little bit of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in a 400 degree oven about 8 minutes, or until the tomatoes just start to burst.

Chicken Rosemary

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of all visible fat

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces thickly sliced white button mushrooms

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried

1/3 cup dry Marsala wine

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and set aside. In a non-stick skillet add two tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the mushrooms over medium high heat until they are brown and have given up their liquid. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.

To the same skillet add the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the chicken over medium-high heat until nicely browned on both sides. Sprinkle the chicken with the chopped rosemary and slowly add the Marsala. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and reaches 160 degrees on a meat thermometer. If necessary, add more Marsala to prevent burning. Serve very hot. Also good served over rice.

Yield: 2 servings

It’s my (blog) birthday party and I’ll go where I want to

It’s my party and I’ll go where I want to, go where I want to, go where I want to. You would go too when it happens to you.

Welcome to My Carolina Kitchen’s first birthday. My other blog, Island Time in Abaco, is also one year old. I’ve decided to celebrate by taking you on a virtual trip down memory lane to a pink birthday party at one of my all time favorite places in the world - Wally’s Restaurant in Marsh Harbour, Abaco. Located in a pink and white Nassau-style Colonial villa overlooking the harbour, its grounds are dotted with pink hibiscus and bright rosy pink bougainvillea. It’s a balmy 75 degrees there today and I have friends waiting, so grab your passports, throw your sunglasses and flip-flops in straw bag, and hop on board. You take the window seat so you can so enjoy the view. Isn’t that a gorgeous private beach?

We’ll land at the Marsh Harbour International Airport in the northern Bahamas where we’ll take a taxi to Wally’s.

Hi ladies, it’s great to see you. How have you been? We’re meeting friends, so we’ll just go on in.

Hi Pattie, Penny, Barometer Bob. Hope we haven’t kept you waiting too long. I’ve brought along a few friends. Notice the Haitian art work on the pink walls. Even the tablecloth and napkins are pink. Wally's is one of the most upscale restaurants in the islands.

Every time we come to Wally’s the first thing my husband does is to give Wally's daughter Maureen, the owner, a great big hug. Hi Mo. Maureen attended the Cordon Bleu and returns to Paris each fall for a visit.

Hi Angie, our usual, please.

Here’s why we came – to share a bite of Wally’s special birthday brownie. One of their specialties, it’s a huge, sinfully rich brownie, smothered with vanilla ice cream, and covered in a dark chocolate sauce, rich whipped cream, and topped with a birthday candle. It comes with extra spoons, so dig in. The brownie is a little hard to see in this picture, but it's in front of me with the candle on it.

Before we leave let’s slip in the boutique and say hello to Angie’s daughter. Maybe I’ll pick up a cute swimsuit and one of those colorful pareos to match. Look around, I’m sure you’ll see something you can’t live without.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our trip to Marsh Harbour. Thank you Beverly of How Sweet the Sound for hosting this fun pink Saturday party. I’ve met so many fabulous people this year blogging that I now call friends. Thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart. Happy Pink Saturday.

These pictures were taken several years ago and reflect how the author remembers Wally’s and her friends.

Shrimp with Creamy Orange-Chipotle Sauce

Shrimp with Creamy Orange-Chipotle Sauce is another easy and quick recipe from Cooking Light’s latest cookbook, Fresh Food Fast, 5 ingredients, 15 minute recipes. I love shrimp and always try to use wild shrimp. The cookbook says that the half-and-half and grated orange rind will create a citrusy cream sauce that tames the spiciness of the chipotle chili. While I agree to an extent, it was still a bit spicy for our taste, so I decreased the amount of cumin called for on the shrimp. Cooking Light uses very little salt, but I used salt on my raw shrimp along with the cumin.

I’m also not a big fan of cooking sprays, so I used a tiny bit of canola in the pan in lieu of the spray. My recipe is for two servings instead of four, but I used the entire sauce recipe because I tossed the sauce with the spaghetti and the shrimp, rather than just with the shrimp (as the original recipe suggested). They used regular half-and-half, which surprised (and pleased) me, since it was Cooking Light. I'm not fond of non-fat half-and-half because it contains corn syrup and an artificial color. I got a little carried away with the cilantro garnish, but here’s my adapted version.

Shrimp with Creamy Orange-Chipotle Sauce

Adapted from Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast, 5 ingredients, 15 minute recipes

¾ pound peeled and deveined large shrimp, preferably wild

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

Kosher salt

Canola oil

½ cup half-and-half

1 large chipotle chili, canned in adobo sauce

1 teaspoon grated orange rind

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, plus more if you want to use it as garnish

Hot cooked thin spaghetti or linguine

Toss shrimp with ground cumin and salt. Add about 2 teaspoons of canola oil in a medium-sized nonstick skillet, turn heat to medium-high, and sauté the shrimp 4 minutes or until shrimp are done, stirring frequently. Transfer shrimp to a serving plate and keep warm. In the meantime place the half-and-half, chili and orange rind in a blender and process until smooth.

To make the sauce, reduce heat to medium in the skillet, add half-and-half mixture to pan and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add shrimp to sauce, then remove mixture from heat and toss with the hot cooked spaghetti. Serves 2.

Chicken with Tomatoes, Basil, and Feta served over Orzo

This recipe for chicken with tomatoes, basil and feta comes from a Cooking Light special edition publication, Cooking Light 5 ingredient 15 minute cookbook with 136 recipes. It was on the news stands this past spring. I made a few changes of my own to the chicken, served it over orzo substituting almonds for the pine nuts and it was an instant hit in our family. Not only did it taste wonderful, it looked as good as it tasted, which is often not the case.

The 5 ingredient 15 minute idea must have been a success because they have expanded the idea and have a new cookbook – Cooking Light’s Fresh Food Fast with over 280 recipes.

When I first looked through Cooking Light’s Fresh Food Fast I thought it was a cross between Rachael Ray and Sandra Lee. Rachael because of the fast. Sandra Lee’s semi-homemade idea because the book suggests using, as an example, pre-chopped peppers, frozen rice, and bottled dressings, none of which I would normally use. However, because the chicken with tomatoes recipe was a hit, I decided to give the book a try, but with one exception. If a recipe called for bottled dressing as an example, I would simply make my own. Or with frozen rice, I would use my normal brown rice even though it takes 35 minutes to cook instead of ten.

I recommend the book if you are looking for dishes that require a minimum amount of time and effort and that are full of fresh flavors. In fact I like it so much that I will feature another recipe from the book in my next post.

Chicken with Tomatoes, Basil, and Feta

Adapted from Cooking Light’s Fresh Food Fast

2 6-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Extra virgin olive oil for sautéing

¾ cup grape tomatoes, halved

10 pitted Kalamata olives, halved

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

1 tablespoon small basil leaves, torn

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Heat about 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil in a 10” non-stick pan over medium high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and keep warm.

Remove the pan from the stove and let it cool a little. Meanwhile combine the tomatoes, olives, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar in a medium bowl. Add the tomato mixture to the pan and heat over medium heat and cook 1 to 2 minutes or until tomatoes soften. Spoon over chicken. Top evenly with cheese and basil. Serve over Orzo with Slivered Almonds. Yield: 2 servings

Printable recipe including orzo with slivered almonds

Serve with Orzo with Slivered Almonds

Adapted from Cooking Light’s Fresh Food Fast

½ cup uncooked orzo

½ cup spring greens mix, coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons slivered almonds, toasted

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cook orzo according to package directions. I salted the water, which they didn’t suggest but I do not like pasta cooked without salt. Drain pasta when done. Toss the spring greens mix with 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, add the rosemary, season to taste with salt and pepper, and toss with orzo and toasted almonds.

Several bloggers participate in a Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club. Among them include two of my favorite blogs, Val of More Than Burnt Toast and Helene of La Cuisine d’Helen. If you enjoy Cooking Light’s recipes as I do, you’ll want to check out their Supper Club by clicking to either of the above blogs. Val says they will also be featured on the Cooking Light blog site, Test Kitchen Secrets.