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“Throwback Thursday” for Buckhorn Inn 80th Anniversary

In 2018 Buckhorn Inn is celebrating our 80th anniversary with Throwback Thursday!  Each Thursday in August our talented chef, Matthew Poole, will incorporate into the menu his modern take on some historical recipes.  Innkeeper Lee Mellor is in possession of the original hand-written recipes used by our cooks in the 1930’s!  

These handwritten recipes served the Buckhorn Inn kitchen well in 1938!

Desserts figured prominently in these early recipes.  We found recipes for Fluffy Banana Cake, Texas Pecan Pralines, and Heavenly “Goo” topping for shortcake.  

Savory recipes from 1938 include stuffed pork chops, roasted turkey and porcupine meatballs.  Don’t worry– there is no porcupine meat in these meatballs!  The name comes from the way rice grains poke out of the meatballs when they are done.  The rice resembles the quills of these little animals, common in Israel.  In Hebrew these meatballs are called Ktzizot Kipod.

Throwback Thursday Honors Long Culinary Tradition

The Buckhorn Inn opened its doors for business in August 1938.  Many Knoxville residents visited this new Inn for lunch.  Yes–in those days the Inn served three meals a day.  Leisurely, plentiful lunches were a hallmark of the times.  Douglas Bebb was passionate about the meals served at the Inn.  He raised his own chickens to provide the very freshest eggs and his garden produced an abundance of fresh vegetables.  He was an excellent cook and prepared all the meat dishes served at the Inn.  

The ladies pictured here are Buckhorn Inn staff members Ella Huskey and Grace Price Branam (on the right). Mrs. Branam was the original cook for Buckhorn Inn.

The guests especially looked forward to the Sunday luncheon buffet.  It was Mrs. Branam’s  (the cook) day off, so Mr. Bebb cooked the meal in its entirety.  He was rightfully famous for his corn pudding.  In fact, his recipe was featured in the book Ford Times published by the Ford Motor Company to encourage driving vacations.

In those early days, a staff of four served the three meals a day.  Tennessee was dry in those days, yet the pre-dinner cocktail hour was an honored tradition.  The guests would simply bring their wine and spirits with them.  Ellen Bebb, daughter of Douglas, reports that some of the guests would take turns hosting cocktail hours in the cottages.  But the greatest honor was bestowed when guests were invited to Bebb House to share cocktails with their hosts.

Join us for a taste of history during dinners this August.  Visit our website https://www.buckhorninn.com/dining/weekly-dining-menu to review our upcoming menus.