Friday Fences - Hotel Roanoke

This painting hangs inside the Hotel Roanoke. When I snapped a picture, I missed the artist's name unfortunately and didn't find anything on Google. I love this painting though and look there, right along the bottom is a little stone wall that I can use for Friday Fences!

While Googling info on the artist, I did come across a couple of the hotel's famous recipes.

"Wanting to serve a “signature” dish that would stick in people’s minds, restaurant chef Fred Brown was asked to come up with something memorable. The result was peanut soup served with spoon bread."


“We are known for our peanut soup and spoon bread,” said Michael Quonce, marketing manager for the hotel in Roanoke, Virginia. A tasty combination, the peanut soup and spoon bread is a favorite memory with many hotel guests.

“It is always on the menu. I don’t think people would let them take it off,” said Catherine Fox, director of tourism and communications for the Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau. “I can remember coming here as a child with my parents and eating it … The soup is very rich and good.”

We did try the Peanut Soup with our dinner. It was pretty tasty! And I missed the Spoon Bread which they served at brunch the next day but my husband tried it and liked it.

So, here you go:


HOTEL ROANOKE PEANUT SOUP

2 quarts chicken broth

1 pint peanut butter

1 small onion diced

½ cup ground peanuts

¼ pound butter

1/3 teaspoon celery salt

2 branches celery diced

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Melt butter in cooking vessel and add onion and celery. Sauté for five minutes but not brown. Add flour and mix well. Add hot chicken broth and cook for a half hour. Remove from stove, strain and add peanut butter, celery salt, salt and lemon juice. Sprinkle ground peanuts on soup just before serving. Serves 10.

HOTEL ROANOKE SPOONBREAD

1 ½ cups corn meal

5 eggs

1/8 pound butter

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon sugar

1 ½ cups boiling water

1 1/3 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

Mix corn meal, salt and sugar together and scald with boiling water. Add melted butter. Beat eggs and add milk to eggs. Combine two mixtures and add baking powder. Pour into baking pan and bake 30 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Serves 10.


The floor we stayed on had a room that served appetizers and drinks. They had the most incredible chicken salad out. I swear I could have eaten the whole bowl if I was sitting there alone with no one to witness. I contacted the hotel for the recipe and they said they would talk with the chefs. Hoping I get it!

Also linking with SkyWatch Friday ...a painted sky works right?!