Grandson Nathaniel raised the mirror, indicating that he is now with us for a few days. It’s a bit less grand than the flag flying over the palace when the queen is in residence, but we Americans are not as formal with our rites and rituals.
We drove by Sunburst Falls, my favorite of the close ones. It seemed to be accepting of the ice and snow.
In Brevard, we ate lunch and divided this key lime cheesecake at Square Root restaurant. I asked if this was a plated dessert. Nathaniel explained that it had five elements – dessert, crunchy crust, drizzled sauce, whipped cream, and sugar sculpture. Yes, by definition it was a plated dessert. Fancy!
Day two began with custom-made pancakes by chef Nathaniel. He mixed the batter and personalized them for each of us. I couldn’t resist dark chocolate chips in mine, and John chose banana. Rose was imaginative. She thought of a coconut-walnut duo, which Nate easily produced. The pancakes were huge and as light as could be. My frying pan was surprised at such perfection, because it usually sees measly, flat little pucks.
The highlight of Nate’s day was hiking with Rose and son John $pencer. They scrambled along snowy trails near the Blue Ridge Parkway. Some of the trails had not been used for a while, and they had to climb over fallen trees. Rose brought me a special photo of Nathaniel with a giant icicle. I loved the pose and was struck by how much he looks like Cousin Lars here.
Mehrling Muse 
It’s good to have the chef in residence even without to Flag Flying but where’s David ? I had a pancake on Shrove Tuesday as well, a traditional sugar and lemon one that was a delight.
Massive Hugs
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David was working and not with us for lunch in Brevard or hiking with Rose and $. He has Wednesday off, so we’ll all be together then. Thanks for asking about him.
xxx Brotherly Hugs xxx
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I didn’t know a traditional Shrove Tuesday pancake would a sugar and lemon one.
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Some of us Americans are not even that formal with desserts. Some of mine don’t even make it to a plate. LOL. Made to order pancakes – what a treat! 🙂
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I laughed that some of your desserts don’t make it to a plate. That’s probably true everywhere.
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Fun times. You live in a beautiful part of the country, regardless of season.
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We are blessed to be surrounded by beauty.
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Beautiful plate! The sugar sculpture was amazing. They grow icicles huge up there. It was a great photo posing as the Unicorn. Glad that everyone had a good time, and the pictures are super.
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How wonderful to have a chef living with you. His pancakes look fabulous. Enjoy the term break.
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Nathaniel would rather cook than eat!!!
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I love the mirror routine. The queen would be proud!
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Looks like a culinary feast! He’s a good one to have around..:)
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We’ll take Nathaniel any time we can.
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It really is amazing how much he looks like Lars. Wow!!!
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The cousins are truly related.
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Enjoy the break with the grandkids Anne. Nate is really such a good chef. Lovely!
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Doesn’t that look like a giant jellyfish adorning that dessert? I love the mirror ceremony!
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I think Nathaniel is having way too much fun in his studies! He makes those creations look easy doesn’t he? In fact, I’m guessing that he might be sad to leave the “creating part” of his studies to go to the book work aspect and business side of culinary arts? I know I would be.
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Nathaniel enjoyed the labs. I’m sure he wishes the academics will be just as much fun.
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Yes, academics/bookwork won’t be half the fun as the creating part.
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I’m sure yall will be spoiled the whole time Nathaniel there visiting!
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We love everything Nathaniel prepares. He had a rest from cooking today, but you should have seen him in the supermarket. John said he looked like a boy in a toy shop or like John in a train store.
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I bet, like a kid in a candy store!
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Exactly!!
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OMG soooo jealous! That key lime cheesecake! Those pancakes!!!! Drooling on keyboard now!
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We went to Nathaniel’s choice of restaurant in Tennessee today — marvelous Italian food.
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Oh gosh! If you’re on Facebook, you can see a photo of my honey’s baked spaghetti. Are you on it.?
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I look at Facebook occasionally.
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Ok I sent you a Friend Request on there.
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Great. Thanks for letting me know. I never friend anyone now, since most of the requests I get are from hackers. I’ll look next time I’m on Facebook.
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I love reading about the rituals you and your grandsons have. Reading about them gives me hope that our grandsons will still want to spend time with Bill and me when they are teenagers (good Lord willin’)! 🙂 You are fortunate to have a professional chef visiting.
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I was sure our grandsons would outgrow us. We had fun together when our grandsons were young, and they continued to visit us and to travel with us. Surely teen friendships and girlfriends would lure them away. No, they always had special times with us. After we moved to NC, they spent summers with us and got jobs near our town. We have been so fortunate to have had them this long.
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Anne,
Each of those grandsons is a blessing. I love to hear of the fun you have with them. I loved the pancakes and the sugar formation on them- I have watched them on TV and it is difficult to create.
I loved the picture of Nathaniel with the bayonet- it looked like that to me.
Susie
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We took Nathaniel back to college this afternoon. There will still be fun times here with David, John $pencer, and Rose.
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