Evelyn's Blog - Taste of Gourmet

Indianola on Saturday....Art and Music at the Museum.....

Help us Celebrate the First Anniversary of Indianola'sB.B. King Museum on Saturday, September 12!  

Art at B.B.'s is going to be wonderful!   Over 30 Artists will be exhibiting in the Open Art Market at the B.B. King Museum!  There will be live music all day on three stages at the Museum, Face Painting, Food, lots of Fresh Produce, Plants, Jellies and Pickled Okra from our Market Vendors PLUS this talented array of painters, potters and photographers from 10 to 2:00! 

 

At 7:00 pm...there is a special showing in the Museum of B.B.'s performance in 1983 with Austin City Limits!  We're really excited about that too!  We're so proud of the Museum and want you to enjoy every part of the town and the the activities that day!

 

And just think of the great "one of a kind" gifts you can buy for Christmas...and listen to live music while you shop!  It doesn't get better than that!  Just look at this list of the Artists coming and make your plans to be in Indianola on Saturday....and of course I want you to come to The Crown for Lunch....We'll be serving our yummy Catfish Cakes.......See you there!

Eva Champion                 Kappy Russell

Charles Chapin                Kathy Davis Day

Daryl Simpson                 Brenda Yants

Beth Long                        Susan Gilbert

Anna Woods                    Barry McWilliams

Lee Washington                Paul Canonici

Sydney Parker                 Jack Catlette

Susan Sheridan                James Blumenburg'

Garden Park                     Charles Herring

Lei Ann Parker                 Shea Hitchcock

Claire Boyles                    Katrina Nesbit

Laurie Noble                     Grady Robinson

Susan Steen                    Mary Jo Ayres

Brenda Barnett                 Lucy May

Lizzie Oglesby                 Laurie Fisher

Memorie Dixon                 Amy McCullough

It's the Pickled Black-eyed Peas.....

That's the WINNING new product so far!  Lots of orders for our new "Southern Tradition"....our new chow-chow, our new old-fashioned picalilli, our new yummy Pickled Black-eyed Peas!  

I've been watching WHO is buying them In The Crown....just out of curiosity!  I've seen older ladies here for a reunion, taking the Peas back to Texas!  A man from Indianola, just buying them to enjoy with his supper.  A young couple planning to serve them at a tail-gating party this weekend.  It's one of those things that is NOT going to sit on the shelf waiting for a special ocassion!   Our Peas are going to get open and eaten!  I love that!  Have you ordered yours yet?

 

Check out the website for a list of all the New Products.....and come into The Crown for a Taste of our new favorite....Pickled Black-eyed Peas!

 

I hope you are all coming to Indianola on Saturday for the Open Air Market's Art at B.B.'s Art show at the B.B. King Museum!    It's Indianola's celebration of the First Anniversary of the opening of the Museum....live music ALL DAY long at The Museum and an Art Show you'll really enjoy!! 

Three Artists on Thursday Night...

Art After Hours is just my favorite "event" that we do!  Just a great time of visiting with interesting people and old friends.....nibbling on something yummy from Taste of Gourmet....meeting such talented people who are featured each month....AND a FREE mini concert from one of our musical friends!

Alan Jones is playing guitar this Thursday night...August 6th...you just want to get up and dance...or sit back and enjoy the rhythms!

Lee Washington will be showing his Cotton Picker Art - tiny table-top sculptures made of metal parts from old cotton pickers!  There's a man pushing a wheelbarrow...a cross...a man carrying a jug...just all sorts of whimsical people and things.  You'll love talking to Lee about his art and you might even inspire him to create something new...just for you!  Start thinking Christmas gifts.....You'll also see Lee's work at the new B.B. KIng Museum down the street!

Susan Love is a jewelry maker from Greenville..inspired by the Delta and using the Delta symbols in her earrings and necklaces....She is one of our newest artists and we're so glad to have her come over next Thursday night!

My contribution is always the food....Food IS an Art Form!   I'm so hungry for my Mama's Meatloaf wrapped in pastry!  Ummm..I think that will be on the menu...not exactly "party food" but it sure is good!  Michael Lovett told me the other day that my Meatloaf Mix makes the "PERFECT" meatloaf - moist but not all drippy with ketchup like some people make!  He's really glad that Jessica found our mix...

Haven't decided on the rest of the menu...but there will be plenty to sample and enjoy!  Art After Hours is a party for the community!  Come out and join us at The Crown from 5 until 7 on Thursday night.  I'll be looking for you!

B.B. King Weekend was fabulous.....

Yes....The King of the Blues, B.B. King, was LIVE in Indianola Friday night for his 20th Homecoming Festival!  He played on the stage at Fletcher Park, talked to the kids at the B.B. King Museum that afternoon, visited with his family and close friends at lunch, took the stage at Club Ebony after midnight and played and talked till early morning..... knowing B.B. was in town made us all smile...just because he was back at home in Indianola!

We had a great Art at B.B. King's event at the Open Air Market at the Museum....lots of people buying from our artists and potters and craftsmen!  Alan Jones filled the air with music and it was a wonderful morning of fun at the Market.  I brought home fresh yellow squash, green beans and some fresh baked bread!  That made me really happy too! 

A painting of B.B. was given away by the artist, Charles Chapin from Greenwood as his gift to B.B.'s fans in town for the festival  Brenda Yant from Inverness, MS was the lucky winner! Charles has several others of B.B. for sale in The Crown!  If you want to see any of them, Jen can send you a picture by email..just let us know!

I really loved visiting with our new friends from Notodden, Norway, who presented B.B. with a handmade throne that they shipped to Indianola from Norway!  The artist who designed and created the throne was here too and Inge was delightful...the whole group was!  Mississippi's own young group, Homemade Jamz will be playing in their festival in August!  Tony and I have a new trip at the top of our "Want to Go" list - we want to visit the Notodden Blues Festival next year!  We thank the mayor and her delegation for choosing to honor B.B. and the Museum with this gorgeous throne...you really need to come see it in the Museum!

I would love for you ALL to put Indianola and the B.B. King Museum on the top of YOUR "Go" list for the summer!  And please include a visit to The Crown...for lunch if you can...and definitely for shopping and a cup of coffee!  Ya'll come see us now...you hear?

Cupids were flying around The Crown...

I had so much fun on Valentine's Day at The Crown.........We had a part in a number of special "Valentine Lunches" and that is just the sort of "special attention" we love to give!

Curt Owen brought his grandmother Beth to lunch...such a handsome young escort - they come together often...but Valentine's was really sweet of him.

Elizabeth Thacker and little 4 year old Eliza had lunch and then finished the meal with dessert AND a pot of tea...a Valentine's Tea Party!  Elizabeth brings the triplets often but how precious for just "the girls" to share their pot of tea - one of the English Cottage Pots!   Eliza loved the pot, even if it does drip!

Lena and her husband drove three hours or so from Aliceville, Alabama for lunch and the surprise of a dozen roses on their table when Lena sat down!  What a sweet husband....they even walked the town shopping when they left The Crown!  Then came back to buy Charles Chapin's painting of the Bayou that Lena loved. 

Alan Jones brought three gifted Italian musicians for lunch on Saturday too!  (Not a Valentine's thing of course!)  The three had been playing at several local places during the week!  And of course they had been to the B.B. King Museum!

I loved visiting with the wonderful family from Jackson, MS and Naples, FL who had come to visit the Museum and made reservations for The Crown!  The kids were just delightful and loved our food (and I loved hearing their sweet compliments!)

Ruth Cole, Hostess at the Old Capital Museum, and a friend spent so long in the B.B. King Museum they were afraid they would miss lunch. They were going back to the Museum to finish their visit...and reminded us to send visitors to them in Jackson. (www.oldcapitolmuseum.com)  There's a LOT to see in Mississippi and Southern Hospitality really is alive and well!

I've said it a million times (not a million on this blog though).....We have the nicest guests at The Crown! 

More Home-made gifts.....

Do your Holiday baking for your own family using Taste of Gourmet mixes of course - and cook up extras for your friends and family gifts!

Make the All-American Apple Cake using the pumpkin recipe and bake it in small loaf pans!  Add pecans or walnuts if you want to - but a loaf of yummy pumpkin bread is a wonderful gift for anyone!  One mix will give you 4 or 5 loaves - all depends on the size of your pans.

Go ahead and BAKE the Sweet Potato Muffins - in mini pans or the medium size pans.  Put 5 or 6 medium muffins on a Christmas Plate, wrap with a bow and you'll have a happy friend who receives that! A Christmas bowl with the mini muffins will pop right into the microwave for breakfast or a snack!

I love to give my friends a whole baked pie tied with a ribbon!  They can enjoy it immediately or just pop it into the freezer to bring out on a dreary day when they need a "pick me up!"  I do the same with a loaf of Bayou Beer Bread and sometimes add a tiny crock of Garlic Herb Butter! 

Tony and I loved receiving Deanna's biscotti each Christmas so much, we begged for her to help us make a mix out of her recipe - Auntie Dee Dee's Cranberry Biscotti!  Now I make up the mix, divide the cooked biscotti into plastic bags and have wonderful gift for friends!  My only trouble is keeping Tony out of the kitchen during the baking!  He LOVES D's biscotti!

Like a friend said at dinner the other night..."It isn't WHAT the gift is that matters...it's giving something that you love too!"  Being "Home-made" is also giving a little bit of YOURSELF and that's even better!"   

Thanksgiving Friday Gift for YOU...

Today is said to be the biggest shopping day of the year!  One of our Taste of Gourmet Consultants is having a Tasting today in South Carolina and she's calling it "Shop in your Seat and Not on your Feet!"  What a great slogan!  Stay comfortable while you shop for great food gifts (and get to sample too!)

So if you are thinking of going shopping this weekend...I have a 10% Discount code for YOU to use.  Use it on our website to order gifts or goodies for yourself.. Or use it in The Crown in Indianola, to get 10% off any Taste of Gourmet items you pick up to carry away yourself!

The 10% Discount Code is GBWEN and is valid through December First.  You'll find a box to enter the Code online - You can order for yourself or order a dozen or more individual gifts that we will ship out for you with a hand written gift card!  We make Christmas gifts easy!

When you are in The Crown, just tell us you saw the Discount Code on my Blog and you'll get the 10% off! We'll even gift wrap your presents for you!  Food from Taste of Gourmet is a Gift of Love....Always the "right size" and never has to "find" a place on the bookshelf!  Make this Christmas Delicious!   (I forgot to tell you...Jennifer is selling Toys and Books at 25% off on Friday and Saturday...Ya'll come see us at The Crown this weekend!

Visitors coming from everywhere......

At long last - the B.B. King Museum is open in Indianola and we have been entertaining guests from all over the world all week at The Crown! And we are loving it! 

Today at The Crown we had guests from Scotland, Germany, Los Angeles, Atlanta,  two groups from Pennsylvania, Clarksdale, Jackson, Greenville, Greenwood and those were just the ones I talked to!  And somehow I always manage to ask, "Where are ya'll from?"  Our guests from Indianola are excited about the visitors too and stopping for chats!  We have our own brand of Southern Hospitality in Indianola!

I think the favorite luncheon dish this week has been our Creole Catfish Cakes   We've decided to keep them on the menu EVERY day now! AND our hot Tomato Basil Beer Bread has been a huge hit this week - with LOTS of boxes of our mix being packed away by our visitors!  It just smells so good when we walk by the tables with the steaming hot bread and the little whiff of basil and onion.....I can't resist it either!

I always say that leftover bread is scrumptious when you cover the slices with cheese and broil it so that the cheese toasts - almost like a pizza and a great appetizer!  Try it! 

AND come to Indianola to Visit the King and Eat at The Crown!

The B.B. King Museum is OPEN!

On Friday Night, B.B. King sang his signature song, "The Thrill is Gone" at the Gala before the Opening Day and the whole town danced! 

The "Thrill" has definitely come to Indianola!  The new B.B. King Museum we've been working on since 2000 has opened its doors and it is fabulous!  We are all so proud and B.B. loved it!  What a thrill to have him here to walk through with his family.  What a tribute to him and to the strength and determination of our little town of Indianola.

You will be "thrilled" when you come to see it!  And we want you to come soon!   Visit the King and Eat at The Crown!  What a way to spend a day!

B.B. is definitely King in Indianola

I've said it before...We have the greatest guests at The Crown!  Yes, all the guests are customers, but everyone becomes a friend too!  Kay Mills, a free-lance writer from California, has visited with us several times now and the Los Angeles Times has just published an article she wrote on Indianola, the Mississippi Delta, the blues...and...she included The Crown as the perfect place for lunch! 

September 13th is the date of the Ribbon Cutting for the 14 million dollar B.B. King Museum and yes B.B. will be here for the ceremony - and playing that evening at Club Ebony!  The people of Indianola are gearing up for the Community Celebration that day - music on the streets, great fun for the kids, local arts and crafts and food to make all our visitors happy!  Follow Kay's advice and come to Indianola next week or next month!  Just come experience our Southern Hospitality! I'll be looking for you! 

The link to the L.A. times article is

 http://travel.latimes.com/articles/la-tr-mississippi31-2008aug31