As I sat on the front porch last week of our beautiful log cabin high on top of a mountain overlooking the Smoky Mountains, I couldn’t help but take it all in. Each morning we went out to sit in the line of rocking chairs that awaited us. Some of us had coffee, while others read a book.
Me? Well, I had my vanilla chai hot tea even though it was hotter than molasses down there. The view was breathtaking. Two trees above us leaned just enough that it looked like the mountains were framed into this gorgeous scenery. A small pine tree stood tall as if it was as high as the framed trees. I thought, “How cute would that tree look with Christmas lights!?”
This was the morning after we visited one of the coolest Christmas stores I had ever been to. The mountains rolled for days. The peaks were so high. Pennsylvania mountains are gorgeous, but in the Smokies, they go for miles and miles and stand so much taller.
The afternoon we got there, we passed a mountain with tons of little log cabins that all looked the same. Each was sitting next to the other as if they were going to fall off the edge of this mountain because there were so many. It was so neat to see. A few days later, we all rode a mountain coaster at night and passed this far away mountain again. All the houses glowed like a scene from a Christmas village. We all oohed and ahhed because it was like something in a movie. Kenzy said, “Momma! It’s like the scene in the new Grinch movie with all their little houses on the mountain.” She was right. It was exactly like that. I could have sat in a chair right alongside this country road with a mug of hot tea and stared at it all night. It was truly magical.
Our week was wonderful. We shared this home with all of our best friends. It was a perfect home for all of us to spend a week together, and we did and saw so much. The sights and sounds of a new town are exciting. Spending a week with your besties to share it with makes it that much better. It just so happened to be my husband and my seventeenth wedding Anniversary. We had been in Gatlinburg and Nashville for our ten-year anniversary, and here we were seven years later with our kids and best friends to live it all over again.
They kept our kids so we could go enjoy dinner together one night that week. I had looked and reviewed lots of places to eat weeks prior. The one that really got me was a restaurant called Ristorante DellaSantina. It was nestled in the little town of Sevierville, about five miles from our cabin. When I searched online, the outside didn’t strike me at first, so I kept looking. I would look at menus, environment, and reviews. I found beautiful places, but their menu was not Chris and mine. We aren’t people to go spend $60 on one plate and not be full. These small portions and high price places don’t do much for us. We are bar food and Italian people, but going to a bar for our anniversary in a brand new town for us wasn’t something we wanted either.
Ristorante DellaSantina’s menu looked amazing, and the inside looked gorgeous. I told Chris as we drove there for our dinner date that the outside didn’t look the best, but I promised the menu, and the inside looked amazing. We were going to sit by the river that night, but it was so hot that we chose to sit inside. The tables were covered in white cotton tablecloths, and on top of the tables were a candle, a real rose in a vase, and a gorgeous place setting. Above our table was a stained-glass window. It was perfect.
Everything in this restaurant except for the cannoli were all imported from Italy, and the pasta was made from scratch. Chris and I ordered the same thing. Caesar salad, chicken alfredo, and an appetizer that was focaccia. It’s an oven-baked flatbread with some insanely delicious seasonings on it for those of you not familiar.
Everything was heaven. The chicken was perfectly grilled. The pasta was unlike any pasta I had ever tasted. The salad and bread were incredible too. We were so happy with our meals and left with leftovers. I couldn’t leave without trying an imported Italian dessert.
When we left, Chris and I said that it shows you that you can’t judge a book by its cover. Google it. You will see the outside is just a regular building. Each section is a different color — blue, yellow, pink, and red. The end was where the restaurant was, which was a cream color. You wouldn’t think it was some lavishing place, but it was. The best Italian food we ever had. It is a must-try if you are ever in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area. The service was awesome, the environment was soft and elegant, and the food was to die for. It just goes to show that you can’t judge a restaurant for how the outside looks. We can’t wait to go back!
Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut in small chunks & seasoned (I use chicken seasoning)
• 1 head of romaine lettuce, washed and chopped
• 1/4 of a red pepper
• 3/4 cup (uncooked) of any pasta (I used Radiatori)
• Croutons
• Parmesan Cheese
Caesar Dressing —-> Now, I’m not gonna lie. I had every intention of making a homemade Caesar with this, but I just couldn’t get past the anchovy paste in order to get that Caesar taste. I prefer not to officially know there is smashed fish in my dressing. I’d rather think they just don’t put it in it when you just buy it. Haha!
But, I used a very delicious brand called Marzetti that you can find in the cooler aisle at your local grocery store.
Cook chicken in a pan with a little olive oil until golden brown. While your chicken is cooking start cooking your ¾ cup of pasta. Rinse with cool water, set aside.
Get a large bowl and dump your romaine lettuce in. Add chicken, pasta, and red pepper. Top with as much dressing as you would like and mix well.
This will make 2 large salad servings for a meal or 4 small side dish servings.
Garnish with parm cheese and croutons.
SERVE Immediately. (Or wait to add dressing until ready to serve.)
