If you love the look and feel of Europe but you don’t want to travel internationally or leave the United States, then you MUST plan a trip to visit The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina! This 8,000 acre estate will take you back in time to experience the 1920’s way of life, the Vanderbilt family story and expose you to a world of history!

Guys, I LOVE to travel…I mean LOVE! And poor Mr. Mason…he travels for a living and his ideal vacation is to chill at home. Too bad for him. He married a gal who has a PASSION to explore this big beautiful world! As you all know, I like to travel internationally. Mr. Mason doesn’t want to travel internationally…so we have a dilemma. So what do we do? Well…we figure it out and make it work! And guys… that’s exactly what we did!

For our 10 year wedding anniversary, I wanted to go to Europe. He didn’t. So what did we do? We went to Europe in the United States. What?!? I know…it sounds crazy, right?! We experienced a little bit of Europe here in the United States! Let me tell you how…

Oh, but first…let’s stop just a minute and say happy 10 year wedding anniversary to us!! Wow – has it really been 10 years! Do you guys know Mr. Mason? Let me introduce my better half! He’s my funny guy who’s always trying to make me laugh…

He’s my best friend who loves his superheroes. He stands about a full foot taller than me! And ya’ll…he’s the backbone of Recipes Worth Repeating! He supports me in everything I do with Recipes Worth Repeating. While I’m writing new posts, he’s sharing them all over social media. While I’m creating new recipes, he’s washing my PILE of dishes. When I’m doing a photo shoot, he’s holding my reflectors. After a photo shoot, he’s helping me select and edit photos. He’s amazing…I’m a lucky gal!

So cheers to us! And cheers to 10 years of blissful marriage! And cheers to us taking the time to stop long enough to celebrate US!  Ok, now back to the Biltmore Estate and this AMAZING experience…

This whole thing actually started a long time ago…about 24 years to be exact. So…when I was in the 8th grade, my parents took my sister and me to Ashville, NC to visit The Biltmore Estate. As a middle school kid, I wasn’t overly excited about this trip. But let me tell you, it made a lasting impression. Fast-forward about 24 years. For our 10th, we wanted to celebrate in a BIG way, so I started researching trips we could take to celebrate within the United States that would give me a little taste of Eurpoe.

Then I remembered my Biltmore vacation from when I was a kid. Because we live in the desert in Arizona, we don’t get to see the fall colors of the trees and it’s still 100 degrees here in the fall. I thought it would be the perfect time to head back to the east coast to experience the fall season. Plus, I love history so that piece factored into my decision.

I started planning this trip almost a year in advance. We decided the best time to travel would be in October when the kids were on Fall break so they could have their own vacation with my sister. The plan was to drop the kiddos off with my sister, spend a day in Gatlinburg, TN and then spend 3 days in Ashville, NC at The Biltmore Estate. And that’s exactly what we did. My husband travels a lot for work and has been to 46 out of the 50 states…but he has never spent time in the Appalachian or Blue Ridge Mountains. He’s never been in this area when the green is starting to turn to those beautiful golden and red colors. This trip was going to be perfect! I was so excited!

So, we packed up our stuff, jumped on a plane, dropped the kiddos off with my sister and headed to Gatlinburg, TN! We decided to drive Cades Cove. Oh my goodness…it was absolutely beautiful. Here is a picture of us in Cades Cove.

Cades Cove is an 11-mile one-way drive. This area is full of history and we thoroughly enjoyed our day. You get to take the drive at your own leisure and stop and take pictures. You can read about the settlers who used to live here and what their lifestyle was all about. You can also bike ride, hike and camp. As you can see, the mountains were still very green, but the leaves were starting to turn a bit yellow. It was beautiful and I highly recommend this drive. I learned a lot about the history on Cades Cove here: Cades Cove Experience

After Gatlinburg, we took the Blue Ridge Parkway drive and headed to Ashville, NC to stay at the Inn on Biltmore Estate. Ok, let me just tell you that this place was absolutely amazing and full of beauty. This Inn absolutely has the finest amenities and we felt like royalty from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. This is the view of the Inn as we drove up.

Because we were celebrating our 10-year wedding anniversary, we purchased the Romantic Getaway Package. With this package, there were a lot of extra perks…like a bottle of champagne brought to our room and opened and poured by the concierge service. What an amazing way to be greeted upon arrival! And that room and view….oh my goodness. Too good for words.

And the food…ok let me be honest a minute. When I planned our trip, I had food in mind. I always have food on my mind! I don’t plan trips around food, but I absolutely considered the eating and dining experience when I planned this trip. After we arrived and had our champagne in our room, we went to have lunch at the Library Lounge. I did my research on the Biltmore restaurants before I booked our trip and was so excited to eat at these restaurants! And I can tell you that our expectations were blown out of the water with every dining experience we had while on the Biltmore property. As we were being taken to our seats at the Library Lounge, we were led out to dine on the balcony. This was our view for lunch. Are you kidding me?!?! It was so beautiful and relaxing. I could easily picture myself sitting on this balcony all day with a book and being perfectly content for 3 days! But my husband would not have enjoyed that!   I had the most amazing Grilled Salmon Salad made with Kale, Apple, Caramelized Cauliflower, Sunflower Granola, Grilled Orange-Sorghum Vinaigrette.

After our lunch, it was time to hit the Biltmore Estate. We hopped on the estate bus, driven by Dean, and headed down to the “little cottage on the hill”. George Vanderbilt built the Biltmore Estate back in 1895. The Vanderbilt family and their history is rich and full of amazing stories. Edith married George Vanderbilt before she knew his true net worth. After their honeymoon, he decided it was time to take her to their home. She had never laid eyes on her new home and George kept referring to it as “a little cottage on the hill”. Can you imagine the look on her face as she entered the gates to view the “little cottage”? WOW!

By the way…if you ever take this trip, make sure to ask for Dean. He was such an amazing tour guide and is so knowledgeable about the history of the Vanderbilt family and the land. His Legacy of the Land tour is the BEST! He is so personable and funny!

I could literally write a novel about our 3-day vacation on the estate, but I want to get to the dining experience. Like I said, I planned our trip with the intent of focusing on food. I really wanted to share our experience on my site, but I also wanted to feature a recipe from one of the restaurants on the property. I was working with Stephanie at the Inn and I asked her months ago while I was still planning our trip if I could meet with a chef to get a recipe and feature it on my site. She gladly arranged that for me. Here’s what happened. So, the Biltmore is known for so many things, including their dining experiences. We ate every single meal on property, but our dining experience at The Dining Room left a lasting impression. This is the entrance to The Dining Room. You head down these stairs and you are in The Dining Room. It’s beautiful and inviting.

As we were being seated, we were greeted by the nicest server, Laura L. She was amazing and so knowledgeable of the food and wine. She really made our experience memorable. She helped Greg and I with our 5 course meal, which included Frisée and Endive, Garlic Roasted Shrimp, King Salmon, Truffled Cauliflower soup and Joyce Farms “Naked Chicken”. The meal and experience was out of this world and it was really hard to decide what recipe I wanted to talk to the chef about, but I finally decided upon the Truffled Cauliflower soup. I love soup and this one was so different! It was rich, full of flavor and creamy. I’ve never tasted anything like it before! I could tell it was cream based with cauliflower and tarragon, but that’s all I could decipher. So, Laura went to get the chef for me so I could talk to him about featuring this recipe. Chef Jake came out and talked to me about the recipe. He was so nice to describe what was in the soup and then said, hang on…let me write down the recipe and bring it to you so you can take it home and feature it on your site. He came out with the recipe rolled up and tied with a bow. What a beautiful presentation! Thanks, chef Jake!

When we got back to our room, I opened the rolled up recipe to view all the ingredients. Let me tell you, I was SO excited to get home to make this one!

After our 3-day trip, it was time to pack up and head home. We ended our 10-year anniversary celebration with breakfast delivered to our room. A single red rose was delivered with our breakfast trays and I thought…what a perfect way to represent the ending to our trip. It was the most relaxed and romantic vacation my husband and I have ever taken. It was perfect and we were treated like royalty, so THANK YOU to the staff at the Inn on Biltmore Estate!  We plan to come back one year for Christmas! If you want to look at what The Biltmore offers vacation wise, check out their site here: The Biltmore Estate

Now…onto this recipe I’ve been talking about…

Featured Recipe

Truffled Cauliflower Soup

This soup is amazing. I have never tasted anything like it. It’s so flavorful and the taste of cauliflower, tarragon and shallots make this dish. This one is so worth repeating that I asked the chef to come out and share the recipe with me…now that’s a big deal. Who does that?!?!

When I got home, I opened up my scrolled recipe and started making this one. Chef Jake didn’t write down how to make this recipe, but I like that because I wanted to see if I could make it taste as good as he did. And, I did! At least, that’s what my husband says!

As I sit here writing out this recipe, I’m eating this soup. I just pray I don’t drop any on my macbook pro. It’s just so fantastic! Ok, so don’t let the long list of ingredients intimidate you. The mixture of every single one of these ingredients makes this soup. For the truffle oil, I would recommend using white truffle oil. White truffle oil is a bit more toned down taste wise than black truffle oil. If you’re looking for more recipes using truffle oil, I found this amazing blog that focuses solely on truffles!! Check out this article for 15 Truffle oil sauce recipe guides: When you want to go gourmet.

This recipe is Gluten Free and easy to make. Enjoy this treat! Just like chef Jake Crcich wrote to me on the recipe, Happy Cooking!

Ingredients

• 1/2 head cauliflower
• 2 large shallots
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1/2 Bulb fennel
• 1/2 Tablespoon tarragon
• 1 QT Heavy Cream
• 1 QT Whole Milk
• 1 Tablespoon Sherry
• 2 Tablespoons truffle oil
• 2 dashes Tabasco
• Lemon juice to taste (about 2 teaspoons)
• Salt to taste (about 2 teaspoons)

Directions

Chop the cauliflower into pieces and steam until soft. You want your cauliflower to still have a little bit of firmness to it, so don’t over steam it. Once the cauliflower is done, set aside.

Finely chop the shallots, garlic and fennel. In a large saucepan, heat 1 Tablespoon of truffle oil. Add the chopped shallots, garlic and fennel and sauté until soft.

In a large pot, add the steamed cauliflower, the sautéed vegetables and remaining ingredients. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil for about 5 to 7 minutes. You do not want to over boil your soup. Ensure your soup is at a slow, rolling boil. After 5 to 7 minutes, remove your bay leaves and discard. Move the mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth. Add the pureed soup mixture back to the large pot and continue cooking for about 10 more minutes. You want the soup to be at a low boil as it finishes up cooking. Serve hot and top with fresh ground pepper and a sprinkle of fresh thyme.

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Truffled Cauliflower Soup - The Biltmore Experience

Author: Amanda Mason

Ingredients

• 1/2 head cauliflower
• 2 large shallots
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 2 leaves Bay
• 1/2 Bulb fennel
• 1/2 Tablespoon tarragon
• 1 QT Heavy Cream
• 1 QT Whole Milk
• 1 Tablespoon Sherry
• 2 Tablespoons truffle oil
• 2 dashes Tabasco
• teaspoons Lemon juice to taste about 2
• teaspoons Salt to taste about 2

Instructions

1. Chop the cauliflower into pieces and steam until soft. You want your cauliflower to still have a little bit of firmness to it, so don’t over steam it. Once the cauliflower is done, set aside.
2. Finely chop the shallots, garlic and fennel. In a large saucepan, heat 1 Tablespoon of truffle oil. Add the chopped shallots, garlic and fennel and sauté until soft.
3. In a large pot, add the steamed cauliflower, the sautéed vegetables and remaining ingredients. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil for about 5 to 7 minutes. You do not want to over boil your soup. Ensure your soup is at a slow, rolling boil. After 5 to 7 minutes, remove your bay leaves and discard. Move the mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth. Add the pureed soup mixture back to the large pot and continue cooking for about 10 more minutes. You want the soup to be at a low boil as it finishes up cooking. Serve hot and top with fresh ground pepper and a sprinkle of fresh thyme.