Cushaws at Carver's Orchard just scream fall!
I interviewed famous sportscaster Lindsey Nelson once. He had traveled the globe in his career, so I asked him his favorite place. “There is no prettier place on Earth than East Tennessee in October,” he responded. I agree with him. We celebrate that fact every October by going to Carver’s Orchard.
Carver’s Orchard is in Cosby, Tennessee. It is the destination of the annual overnight trip we call “Apple Day.” Actually, the trip to the orchard is just the excuse we and our friends Dawn and Richard Ford use for a Saturday/Sunday that includes breakfast at our condo, a visit to the orchard, card playing and football watching at the Fords’ cabin in Gatlinburg, and a day of shopping and golfing. (Now, if it were my orchard, I would correctly punctuate it and call it Carvers’ Orchard. But it is not mine. So I am going to punctuate it the way the family does. Click here to see the official website.)
Apple Day generally starts at 9 a.m. at our condo in downtown Knoxville. I was a little flustered this year because I had lost my contact lens IN MY EYE, so I forgot to take a picture of the breakfast. But it was very good and it’s one of those recipes that I found on Pinterest. So I wanted to brag on it. Here’s the link from Pinterest and, I can tell you, it looked almost exactly like the photo on his link. We recommend.
Here is a link to the recipe: http://www.mykitchenaddiction.com/2012/02/ham-and-asparagus-strata/
As my friend Madge Cleveland says: Entertaining 101 teaches to set the table the night before! These linens are decorated with, of all things, cicadas! Cicadas are the official insect of Provence, where we bought them several years ago at an open air market. (I'm only including this info so I can use it in a trivia question!)
OK. On to Carver’s!
Carver's big barn
Here they are!
There are more than a dozen varieties from which to choose.
I thought this cart was cute so, of course, I made my poor husband, Alan Carmichael, pose beside it.
Richard considering a Fuji apple. That bag of apples he's holding only costs $4.
It was only after Dawn had chomped into an apple that we saw the signs that said, "Please ask for assistance if you'd like to try an apple." Oh, well.
My favorite thing at Carver's is the wide array of decorative fall produce like these gourds.
Dawn buys mini-pumpkins like this and then hollows out a little space to put a tea light in each one. Those are decorations for her Thanksgiving table.
More minis
These are called "snow pumpkins." I love them.
Indian corn, of course.
I think turban squash look cool!
More turbans
I wouldn't be fall without mums.
A highlight of a visit to Carver's is the scrumptious fried apple pies. Richard likes his with just a touch of ice cream!
We bade farewell to Carver's and saw this cute little scarecrow as we were leaving.
We soon moved on to the cabin, which is called Almost Heaven. It is located just off the Gatlinburg Spur.
It's true!
We watched Richard’s team, Kentucky, get killed by Mississippi State. And my team, Georgia, get killed by South Carolina. Then Dawn served a fabulous Apple Day dinner and things started looking up!
Poached pear salad was wonderful.
Beef stew was a perfect fall dish.
Sauteed spiced apples from Carver's served over ice cream was a most appropriate dessert.
We settled in for a long night of cards. I lost at both Phase 10 and Hearts. But I still had fun.
The next morning, Dawn decorated the cabin for fall before the guys headed to Gatlinburg Country Club for golf and we headed to Tanger Oulet Mall.
One thing we did not lose at was shopping!
These guys are crazy.
So, get up to Carver’s as quickly as possible. Maybe you will make it an annual tradition, too.
Click here for a link to rental info on Almost Heaven.
Click here for a story about Apple Day 2011 and click here for a story about Apple Day 2009. Both these posts have better pictures of the cabin and the view. This year, unfortunately, the rain had us so socked in that we couldn’t get good photos of the mountains.
The photos are fun. Dawn has a mischievous look eating that apple, and she is grinning like she is holding four colors and four in a row at the Phase 10 card table.
Actually, I think she was beating us at Hearts in that photo!
This reminded me of how much fun we always have celebrating Fall. Many thanks for the plug for Almost Heaven!
I always love reading about Apple Day. Those snow pumpkins are beautiful. Had not heard of those before.
Thanks, Gay. I had never heard of them, either. But they are beautiful. Would love to figure out something to do with them next year.
Dawn: i just hope you don’t get so booked up that we can’t get the cabin for Apple Day!
I think everyone should create their own “holiday”. Can you imagine the fun we could spread around!! Dawn and Richard, you rock.
Mickey: Agree! And you rock, as well!
It was SO nice to meet you tonight, Cynthia! Thank you so much for sharing your insights! Carver’s looks like SO much fun–I’m a sucker for fall orchards!
I have to find a recipe for that poached pear salad! It sounds phenomenal! Thanks again for your time tonight!
Sloane: I had such a good time meeting you and the others tonight in the University of Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists. Thanks for having me. I checked out your blog, Strength in Freedom, and was so impressed by its honesty and courage. Keep up the good work. I definitely think you have a unique voice. You need to keep sharing it. I admire you for putting your own experiences out there and, I’m sure, helping others going through the same thing. Please keep on being you.
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