Smoked Salmon with Citrus Vinaigrette Salad

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Perfect for a light summer lunch, enjoy this delicious recipe that pairs savory Biltmore Smoked Salmon with fresh greens in a tangy citrus dressing. Try pairing it with a favorite white wine like our Biltmore Estate Sauvignon Blanc to make any meal a bit more special.

Smoked Salmon with Citrus Vinaigrette Salad

Serves 4

Citrus Vinaigrette

  • 3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon grated orange and lime zests
  • 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Salad

  • 6 ounces Biltmore Smoked Salmon
  • Arugula/spring lettuce mix or other lettuces of choice
  • Cucumber
  • Avocado
  • Bean sprouts
  • Grape tomatoes, halved
  • Carrot shavings

Instructions

For the vinaigrette: In a small saucepan, reduce (over high heat) the fresh orange juice, lime juice, and citrus zest to 1/4 cup. The mixture should be thick and syrupy. Pour mixture in medium bowl, add mustard, honey, and rice wine vinegar. Whisk to blend. Stir vigorously and slowly drizzle olive oil into the bowl as you whisk. Set vinaigrette aside as you prepare the salad.

Salad: Arrange 2 ounces of salmon on each of 4 chilled salad plates. In a large bowl combine lettuce, cucumber slices, avocado slices, bean sprouts, tomatoes, and carrots. Toss with vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Make sure all is well blended. Place salad over salmon. Serve immediately.

A Topping Fit for Our Crème Brûlée Cheesecake

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Our Crème Brûlée Cheesecake brings the delicious tastes of two classic desserts together in one elegant offering. Winery Manager Rick Deblasio suggests pairing it with our Pas de Deux Sparkling, because the refreshingly sweet bubbles will offer a pleasant match for the richness of both the cheesecake and the crème brulee.

Savor this cheesecake just as it is, or create the perfect finishing touch with our simple recipe for a strawberry preserve-style topping.

Strawberry Preserves Cheesecake Topping

Ingredients

  • 1 quart fresh strawberries, washed, capped, and sliced in half
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice, divided
  • 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch

Preparation Instructions

Place halved berries, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and sugar in a medium sauce pot. Stirring very carefully with a spatula or wooden spoon so berries aren’t mashed too much, heat berries over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and the berries are slightly soft. Heating the berries with sugar will draw out extra juice. Mix cornstarch and remaining lemon juice together in a small bowl. Stir this mixture into the berries and continue to heat, stirring carefully for about 2 minutes until the juices have all thickened and have become shiny and gel-like. Pour into a plastic container and let cool. When ready to serve, spoon a generous serving of Strawberry Preserves. Topping over each slice of Crème Brûlée Cheesecake.

Serving Tip

To cut cheesecake easily, chill well. Run a sharp knife under hot water, wipe dry, and cut a slice. Repeat for more slices.

Learn more about Biltmore cheesecakes and find a retailer near you.

Juggling is Part of Chef Hadenfeld’s Normal Workday

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Imagine preparing and serving breakfast, a breakfast buffet, banquets, lunch and afternoon tea to hundreds of guests each day and managing ten employees.  It’s sort of like juggling with many balls in the air, but Ryan Hadenfeld, Demi Chef at the Inn, says bring it on—he loves the challenge and the creativity.

“Creativity in the kitchen involves everyone and I try to foster that environment,” he says. “We like to create things our cooks want to cook, and they like the freedom. It never gets boring.”

Some of the recent creations offered by his cooking staff include a strawberry salad, flat bread made with naan and a red pepper coulee, and an asparagus and crab salad with truffle aioli. Yum!

Ryan is a fairly new Biltmore chef; he’s been here about six months. He started at the Bistro and recently transferred to the Inn. This is his first supervisory role.

“As a cook you work hard, make sure everything is prepped and keep your cool. Once you get into management, you do all that plus you must know human resources and organizational skills, and you have to look ahead. I love my job.”

Ryan occasionally works the omelet station in the mornings. He says everything is prepped and chopped each morning, and then guests pick their ingredients. About a third of the guests want a little bit of everything in their omelet, another substantial percentage only want ham and cheese. But he sees it all—one guest asked for smoked salmon, another for jalapenos, several request egg white omelets.

“It’s very cool to work the omelet station. We get immediate feedback and that’s great. Several guests have told me their omelets were the best they ever had,” he said.

Many of the eggs used for breakfast at the Inn come from heirloom chickens raised on the estate. Ryan says these chickens are raised in a natural setting and the eggs have deeper yokes, are richer and quite delicious.

A typical day for Ryan means he checks in with all his staff, making sure they have what they need. He creates special dishes and new menus depending on what’s fresh. He and his staff make their own sauces and pickles, cheese puffs, pate and butcher salmon and beef.

“My job is the sum of all the little parts—I make sure everyone does their job and I get whatever falls between the cracks,” says Ryan. “One day we were slammed at lunch and someone said they needed help checking on the tables, so I walked out and did that. It’s not what I normally do but we’re all a team here.”

The Never-Ending World of Turf Maintenance

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Left to right: Curtis Horn (Grounds Maintenance Manager), Michael Faulhaber (Groundskeeper), Justin Holmes (Groundskeeper), Dwayne Schmidt (Turf Crew Leader), Joel Cornes (Groundskeeper), Bob Brett (Groundskeeper), Tim Norton (Groundskeeper), Dwayne Schmidt (Crew Leader)

There’s a large part of Biltmore’s landscape that is often overlooked. You could say it gets walked all over. It’s the grass—and there’s a lot of it when you consider the lawns around Biltmore House, the gardens, along roadsides, and everywhere else.

Keeping all that grass mowed and trimmed is the responsibility of Dwayne Schmidt, Crew Leader, and his six-member Turf Management team.

“Our team mows 135–140 acres each week, and some areas are mowed twice a week,” Dwayne said. “We mow every month but January, using riding and push mowers, and we do hand edging in the Rose Garden.”

He compares his team to a NASCAR pit crew since they must work well together at a fast pace. Their day can start as early as 6:30 a.m. so they can mow and get out fast before guests arrive.

Turf management at Biltmore is a science similar to what world-class golf courses use. The team fertilizes, aerates in spring and fall, maintains irrigation systems, overseeds, blows leaves, trims, and removes snow quickly to keep everything immaculate.

Dwayne has worked three years with Biltmore, but his team has close to 100 years of experience. He is a certified turf grass professional and was recently appointed as one of 12 members to the Turf Grass Council of North Carolina. Several other crew members are in the process of earning the Turf Grass certification that includes classroom work and a challenging test. The team regularly participates in continuing education, and recently earned a Biltmore Environmental Excellence Award for rerouting their mowing operations to save gas and energy.

The Front Lawn is Dwayne’s favorite place; he knows that more than a million people see it each year and it is the frame for Biltmore House, carefully tended and mowed twice weekly. Except for four days prior to Easter—then they let the grass grow longer so it’s easier to hide eggs for the popular Easter Egg Hunts.

“Biltmore is an awesome place, and I am proud of the work we do here,” said Dwayne. “When you have people from all over the world admiring your work, how can you not be proud?”

This Cheesecake Topping Is Just Peachy

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Our Vanilla Bean Cheesecake is a rich, delicious dessert that makes any occasion more special. Winery Manager Rick Deblasio suggests pairing it with Biltmore Estate Riesling from our own vineyards. This refreshing white wine will provide some sweetness to complement the peach preserves and toasted pecans without overpowering the dish.

Enjoy the classic taste of our Vanilla Bean Cheesecake just as it is, or whip up this special summertime topping featuring peaches and pecans.

Peach Preserves with Toasted Pecans Topping

Ingredients

  • 1 pound of peaches, sliced (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 vanilla bean, halved and seeded
  • 1 cup toasted pecans, halves or pieces*

Preparation Instructions

Combine all of the ingredients except vanilla bean and pecans in a medium sauce pan. Using a small paring knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise, then scrape the contents of the pod into the pan with the rest of the ingredients.  Simmer for about 20 minutes over medium heat, stirring often. Peaches will become very soft and should start to shred apart slightly. Topping can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for several days. Spoon a generous serving over each slice of cheesecake to be served, then sprinkle with some of the toasted pecans.

Tips

To cut cheesecake easily, chill well. Run a sharp knife under hot water, wipe dry, and cut a slice. Repeat for more slices.

*If pre-toasted pecans aren’t available, it’s easy to do it yourself. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pecans in a single layer on a non-stick baking sheet and toast lightly for about 5 minutes, being careful not to scorch them.

Learn more about Biltmore cheesecakes and find a retailer near you.

International Rose Trial Winners Announced

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Our first International Rose Trials came to a close on Saturday and our jury selected winning roses in 12 categories.  Since 2011, Biltmore’s historic Rose Garden has been home to the Biltmore International Rose Trials. During this time, more than 75 varieties from growers and breeders worldwide have been planted and cared for by Biltmore’s horticulture team. Each trial lasts two years and a permanent jury judges the roses four times per year. During Saturday’s judging, the jury conducted the final round of judging for the first trial group of 25 roses.

This is the first international trials on the East Coast, and only one of two held in the U.S. Rose trials in Europe are a more common occurrence, with trials held in 20 different locations in 15 countries. ”The trials are a valuable way for the home gardener to learn what roses do well and what may be potential candidates for their own gardens,” said Paul Zimmerman, coordinator of the trials. “Trials of this type are usually open to all rose breeders around the world – from professional to beginner.”

Our own rosarian, Lucas Jack, had an integral part on the rose trials.  “Biltmore’s historic Rose Garden is the perfect setting for trials,” said Jack. “We’ve enjoyed introducing these new varieties to our guests as they stroll through the gardens. It has been an educational experience, and it complements the work we do to care for Biltmore’s collection of heirloom roses.”

New rose varieties will be planted for trials each May. They are evaluated for garden performance, fragrance, disease resistance and ability to be used in varying landscape situations. The next awards will be in 2014 for the trials planted in 2012 and will continue annually.  

The First Biltmore International Rose Trials Winners

 

George & Edith Vanderbilt Award for Most Outstanding Rose Of The Trials (Best in Show)
‘ATHYfalaa’ bred by Mike Athy of Mike Athy Roses, New Zealand

Award of Excellence For Best Established Rose
‘Belinda’s Dream’ bred by Dr. Robert E. Basye, United States (Wisconsin)

Award of excellence for International Jury Favorite
‘ATHYfalaa’ bred by Mike Athy of Mike Athy Roses, New Zealand

Frederick Law Olmsted Award for Best Groundcover
‘Roxy’ bred by Kordes Rosen, Germany

Edith Wharton Award for Best Floribunda
‘Milwaukee Calatrava’ bred by William Radler of Conard-Pyle/Star Roses, United States

The Honorable John Cecil Award for Open Group
‘Sunshine Daydream’ Grandiflora rose bred by Michèle Meilland Richardier, France

Gilded Age Award for Best Climber
‘ATHYfalaa’ bred by Mike Athy of Mike Athy Roses, New Zealand

Pauline Merrell Award for Best Hybrid Tea
‘Beverly’ bred by Kordes Rosen, Germany

Chauncey Beadle Award for Best Shrub
‘Darcey Bussell’ bred by David Austin of David Austin Roses, United Kingdom

Cornelia Vanderbilt Cecil Award for Most Fragrant Rose
‘Beverly’ bred by Kordes Rosen, Germany

William Cecil Award for Best Growth Habit
‘ATHYfalaa’ bred by Mike Athy of Mike Athy Roses, New Zealand

Lord Burleigh Award for Most Disease Resistant
‘ATHYfalaa’ bred by Mike Athy of Mike Athy Roses, New Zealand

Make Mother’s Day Morning Special

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Our experts at the Inn have come up with some easy ideas for creating a simple yet elegant breakfast to honor Mom first thing in the morning on her day this Sunday – Mother’s Day. She’ll be delighted that you took the time to make a meal for her – and even more thrilled that she can stay in bed and wait for you to deliver it to her.

Keep the Meal Simple
You don’t have to be a professional cook to make Mom feel like royalty. So don’t shy away from making it easy for yourself as well. Think of it in three parts:  Main Dish, Side Dish and Drink.

 

Main Dish
For the main dish, think eggs. They’re versatile and can be as dressed up or as low-maintenance as you wish. Scramble them with seasonings; poach them and serve with toast and jam; or create an omelet –just fill it with cheese, or go elaborate and add crab, asparagus and brie.

Side Dish
Pastries. There’s nothing wrong with dressing up bakery-bought pastries, especially if you warm them in the oven and arrange them on a pretty plate. Add a little butter pat on the side.  Ready-to-bake cinnamon rolls are also easy to manage, and they fill the house with aromas of cinnamon and sugar.  When Mom wakes up to that scent, she can’t help but smile. 

Parfait or Fruit. Or both. Parfaits are easy to make and pretty. Layer a fancy bowl or glass with Mom’s favorite cereal or granola, and alternate with yogurt and fruit.  Plain yogurt mixed with honey is a nice touch, or any of the flavored varieties will work.

A plate of fresh fruit with honey yogurt dipping sauce is a light choice and ready in minutes. Arrange slices of fruit in different colors on a plate. Consider using banana, berries, cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, papaya and pineapple. For the dipping sauce, just mix honey into plain yogurt until it tastes sweet.  

Drink
Offer a glass of fresh orange juice (or her favorite), and a cup of coffee with cream and sugar.

 

The Presentation
For presentation, line a bed tray with a cloth napkin. Use the nicest dishware and glassware in the house. Don’t forget to add either the morning newspaper or her favorite magazine. The finishing touch is her favorite flower in a vase.

The Lovely Azaleas

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Strolling through our 15-acre Azalea Garden in May is a rite of spring, with thousands of bright blossoms lining the stone stairs and masses of vivid flowers cascading throughout the area. In fact, we expect peak azalea color this week.

We have Chauncey Beadle to thank for all of that gorgeous color. Chauncey, a Canadian horticulturalist hired in 1890 by Frederick Law Olmsted for his encyclopedic knowledge of plants, served as estate superintendent from 1909 until his death in 1950.

“Beadle loved all plants, but he had a special fondness for native deciduous azaleas,” said Bill Alexander, Landscape & Forest Historian. “He and two close friends became known as ‘the azalea hunters’ collecting virtually every form and color variation.”

Beadle and his colleagues kept detailed notes about their forays, writing down when and where they collected plants on travels throughout the Southeast. Native azaleas were Beadle’s passion, and he called them the finest American shrubs.

In 1940, he gave his entire collection of azaleas (which he fondly referred to as “his children”) to Biltmore, planting them in the valley below the Conservatory known as the Glen. Edith Vanderbilt changed the garden’s name to the Azalea Garden to honor Beadle and his lifelong work on his 50th anniversary with Biltmore.

Today, gardeners Bob Smart and Charles Harris, members of the estate’s Historic Gardens landscaping crew, are responsible for maintaining Beadle’s legacy and the never-ending upkeep of the Azalea Garden.

“Chauncey Beadle planted several thousand azaleas originally,” said Bob. “We try to keep as many old plants as possible, replacing them when needed with old types and species, but we also bring in new ones to keep the garden thriving.”

Last year, they replanted several hundred azaleas—mostly evergreens—lining the stone stairs at the Azalea Garden’s entrance and added nearly 400 more in the rest of the garden. Charles explains that the eye-catching evergreen varieties have heavier, more prolific blooms and some even re-bloom. They also planted many native deciduous azaleas that display delicate orange, yellow and pink flowers in late spring.

Not all their time is spent planting; they devote hours researching and collecting additional azaleas to keep the garden beautiful. They find plants at trade shows, through the North Carolina Nursery Notes bi-monthly magazine, nurseries, and growers who visit here.

“Sometimes growers we know will visit the garden and suggest a particular addition,” said Charles. “They recognize that it’s an honor to have plants here.”

 

Learn more about our gardens and grounds.

A Perfect Arrangement

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For Your Home, From Our Gardens

The Biltmore Floral Team created a pair of stunning floral arrangements to brighten up our For Your Home  booth at a recent wedding show. The talented team members crafted the arrangements to feature greenery from Biltmore’s historic gardens as well as gorgeous flowers.

The results were so beautiful that we asked Biltmore Floral Design Manager Cathy Barnhardt to share her expert “how-to” tips and suggestions for bringing the outdoors indoors with a similar arrangement for your own home.

Bring the outdoors in

“First of all,” Cathy said, “these arrangements showcase a great mix of ‘florist flowers’ as well as greens cut straight from our gardens.”

To highlight the feeling and the fragrance of spring, Cathy and her team chose blue delphinium, deliciously-scented white stock, some lovely cream ‘Virginia’ roses, and a handful of tulips. The greenery was all gathered from the gardens at Biltmore.

“If you have access to a garden or wooded area, this is a great way to bring the outdoors into your arrangements and your home, and it makes it even more personal that you provided the greenery yourself rather than choosing it from a flower shop.”

“To really highlight the outdoor feeling,” said Cathy, “we used long tendrils of ivy, snips of rosemary from the herb garden, a few fern fronds, and even some pieces of red twig dogwood. This mix of textures helps us create an arrangement that is both elegant and richly textured, much like the feel of a cottage garden.”

Ready to try it at home?

“The most helpful trick in this kind of arrangement is to remember how things grow naturally in the garden,” Cathy explained. “Place your flowers in groups or clusters rather than scattering them throughout the arrangement. That will give it style, but it will still feel organic and natural.”

Behind the scenes

“One of the most fun ‘perks’ my team enjoys,” Cathy told us, “is having cutting privileges in the historic gardens and natural areas around Biltmore. Any time of year, we can find something interesting to include in our arrangements that comes directly from the estate and reflects both the current season and elements of the original landscape design.”

George Vanderbilt: Book Lover

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Please enjoy this archived content.

book from George Vanderbilt’s time that he readCurrently on display, now through May, in the exhibit case in the lobby of the Inn on Biltmore Estate is a collection of books from George Vanderbilt, his time, and a look at his reading habits.

George collected many fine things, including a personal library of 22,784 books that he selected with care, and treasured throughout his life. From the age of 12 until his untimely death at 51, George was an ardent reader and appreciator of literature. We know so much about his reading habits today because he kept meticulous records of all the books he read in a series of journals called “Books I Have Read.” In addition, he kept an index in a separate journal, with an alphabetical listing of titles by author and the dates that he read them.

We can’t answer who George’s favorite author was, but his journals give us a few clues. George seems to have enjoyed Charles Dickens’ work. Included in the 30 listed titles by Dickens are two mentions of “The Pickwick Papers,” which George read at age 13, and again when he was 25. We also know that he must have been a fan of Sir Walter Scott, given the 273 books by Scott in his collection. George read many of these books two or three times.  For example, he read “Waverly,” a groundbreaking historical novel, in 1875, 1897 and again in 1910.

One feature in George’s record-keeping that we find particularly touching is that, tucked in among the list of authors and titles, are mentions of precious life events. In 1900, for example, he noted the birth of his daughter, Cornelia, within a list of French and English novels he had been reading.

George was also very interested in France. There are 4,326 French titles in his book collection, and the “Books I Have Read” journals show that he read many of them. Honoré de Balzac must have been another favorite author, because he noted having read more than 80 Balzac titles, the majority of which were in French. There are a total of 218 books by Balzac in George’s collection.

When George was a young man of 14, he read James Fenimore Cooper’s novel “The Last of the Mohicans.” Interestingly, much of the 1992 film version of that novel was shot on location here at Biltmore.

The year before his death, George read “The Life of Samuel Johnson” by James Boswell. Samuel Johnson was an English poet, essayist and literary critic, and many scholars have claimed that Boswell’s work is the greatest biography ever written in English. George’s interest in quality literature was a lifelong pursuit, and we are very thankful to have such a detailed guide to his reading life.

About the photos

Top: Portrait of George Vanderbilt by painter John Singer Sargent, 1890.

Inset: George’s “Books I Have Read” journal opened to the 1,817th entry: “Richard Carvel” by Winston Churchill. Right above it is George’s note about daughter Cornelia’s birth on Aug. 22, 1900.