Yosemite and Harris Ranch

Yesterday, Tim and I left Mammoth Lakes to head back to L.A. From there I will stop over for a couple of days and then head home.

The plan is to go through Yosemite and from there to Harris Ranch.  There we will stay over before heading back to L.A.

The drive through Yosemite was beautiful.   There were some damages from fires last year but mostly it was pure natural beauty. 

Of course there were many delays on the way across due to tree removals from fires.

We decided to have lunch at the hotel formerly known as the Ahwahnee now called the Majestic 

Yosemite Hotel

The inside of the hotel was the same as before including the dining room.

I ordered the Caesar Salad.  The waitress asked if I wanted egg and bacon added.  

I opted for the addition.  It came with 2 slices of hard cooked egg and a few crumbles of bacon.  I thought of it now that it should be called the Cobb Caesar.  

Over all, service was good and food wa adequate but nothing like it had been before the hotel was sold and Chef de Cuisine,  Bob Anderson was in charge of an imaginative, upscale kitchen staff.  The menu is more like a coffee shop now whereas formerly it was always extraordinary,

We moved on down the road toward the park exit and on toward Harris Ranch.  My friend, Edie Long introduced me to Harris Ranch many years ago when we were on our way to Sacramento.  She said we should stop at Harris Ranch for dinner.  I said, "What if we are not there at dinner time?"  She said, "Any time you are at Harris Ranch it is dinner time."

We checked into Harris Ranch and unloaded the car.  Then we headed toward the restaurants.  There are 3 restaurants:- the Coffee Shop, the Steak Restaurnt, and the Bar- Restaurant which is child free.  We chose the last one.  Tim ordered Chicken-fried steak and I ordeerd the Caprese burger.  

Tim's meal looked fabulous.

My Caprese burger was outstanding.  It was made on foccacia and topped with cheese, onion, yellow tomato, and came with an imaginative watermelon salad.  YUM is all I can say.  

Fondue for Supper

This afternoon Tim and I drove up to Twin Lakes...

...Lake George

And beyond.  On the way back we stopped at the Art Gallery- a small cabin furnished typically with local color and memorabilia including a large bear rug in the main bedroom and art work of course.

The tourists are still here even though Labor Day is over to our surprise.  But the lakes are always beautiful and the gallery was friendly and fun.  We were invited to come back for dinner (bring-your-own) either tonight or tomorrow night.  We had planned fondue for tonight so maybe tomorrow night?

  

We used to have this years ago when the boys were in school and we lived in Glendale but it sill remains a favorite.  I have a fondue pot for cheese and one for meat.  Tonight we will have Beef Fondue with 3 sauces.  One is a cheese sauce, one a tomato sauce and one  a mushroom sauce.  Tim made Cheese Bread made with Clearman's Spread.  It is an easy dinner and so much fun to make and eat.  

Whether we will return tomorrow for the Gallery pot luck I am not sure.  But today was a beautiful day and we had a nostalgic and fun dinner.  

Mini Macadamia Nut Muffins

One of my favorite muffin recipes is Banana Macadamia Nut Muffins.  I have made it for years.  Tim has a macadamia nut tree.  This years harvest so far produced 2 macadamia nuts which he brought up to Mammoth for us to share.  I decided to make the muffins anyway.

 

We were here for 3 days when the nut shells broke.  I thought "Will this even make one muffin?  I will have to cut the recipe drastically.  So I decided to make mini muffins instead of the usual full sized ones.  It was a good decision in two ways:  I only had the two macadamia nuts and I only had mini muffin paper liners.  

Tim Cracked the two nuts with a pair of pliars and extracted the nut meats.  

I cut my recipe by one third and miraculously it produced 24 mini muffins,

It wasn't such a goofy idea after all.  I'm not recommending making recommending making the recipe with only two nuts but it did work for us.  

Toomies Best

Last evening Tim and I went to Toomies in the Village at Mammoth Lakes.  I have eaten here many times but tonight I tried something new.  It has been on the menu for some time but I had foolishly not given it a chance- the Lobster Quesadillas listed as an appetizer.   For me it was a light dinner.  

It is served with a Mango Salsa over greeens..  The chef is well known in the area.  His choice of decor is baseball memorabilia and posters- a fitting choice for a popular sports resort.  Prices are moderate .  The dress code is casual but if you come, don't miss the Lobster Quesadillas.  

Summer into Fall

I enjoyed a great summer in Carlsbad walking on the beach and working in the back yard.  

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Now I drove to LA last week and then Tim and I came up to Mammoth Lakes for the fall colors.  To my disappointment the leaves have not yet turned.  So my thoughts turned to cooking and walking about town.  Yesterday I walked up past the golf course near my condo.

Some wildflowers linger on and some are going to seed.

Tim brought along 2 walnuts from his tree at home. On the second day after we arrived they are starting to open.  Looks like I will be making Banana Macadamia Muffins soon.

I tried a new recipe from Elle Decor- Daniels Dish.  It was a Baked mushroom dish with a "lid" of puff pastry.  It was based in a coffee cup.

 

It's a keeper.