Tunnel Creek Lodge, Incline Village, NV with Pear Blue Cheese Salad

Tunnel Creek Lodge, Incline Village, NV  we enjoyed a delicious weekend of gorgeous views, fabulous cooking, and this Pear Blue Cheese Salad!

My past weekend in Tahoe was mixed with sunshine and rain, but was so much fun with my blogging friends! Recipe Girl organized the retreat, and we stayed at the Tunnel Creek Lodge, on the old Ponderosa Ranch.

Not sure if you remember the show, Bonanza, on television, but this was where it was filmed … many years ago.

The house was magnificent in all its ranch-style glory!

It truly reminded me of The Pioneer Woman’s lodge, with beds for everyone and a rustic feel, except we were nestled in a secret corner of Incline Village, Nevada in a 4200 square foot, three-story log home, with panoramic views of Lake Tahoe.

And the back of the house.

The view to enjoy – every morning, every night.

Each day, a gift, was truly magnificant!

Our residence was gated, but I still got a little freaked out about the bears! I’m not used to bear country where we live, and they say, if you leave a candy wrapper in your car, the bears will break in. Yikes! {Below: Shawn, Andi, Megan, Lori, Cheryl, Lauren, Dara, me, Elise, Dorothy, and Cathy}

We cooked together every evening, one night with Anderson Seafood’s smoked scallops, salmon, and halibut, the last night, we made delicious steak, potatoes, and a fresh Pear Blue Cheese Salad {recipe below}.

Tahoe Dinner Menu:

Pear Blue Cheese Salad {recipe below}

Steak {Simply Recipes} cooked this way, filet mignon served with butter, instead of dry mustard

Mushrooms {Cookin’ Canuck}

Perfect Baked Potatoes {Country Cleaver}

Now this is true cowboy food!

Snacks during the day from Shawn (and Noble Pig wine at night).

We hiked with a view of gorgeous Lake Tahoe. (Thanks for the photo, Megan!)

Did a little dancing in the kitchen. (Above, because this is what bloggers do!) A little blogging and learning from one another.

Set the table.

Had fun setting the table (this is where “use what you have” comes into practice) with pomegrantes and pinecones!

Lauren and I went hunting for the “greens” outside, to do something fun with the table.

But mostly we enjoyed our time together, a few lunches in the resort area and down by the marina, and then nestled back together in our cozy cabin … in the woods … and we never saw a bear! Whew!

Thanks to Lori for organizing this retreat! (RecipeGirl, the hostess with the mostess!)

We worked hard, learned and shared a lot, and as always with these kind of events, I always walk away feeling more blessed in life, with deeper friendships and love from the amazing blogging community that I’m a part of.

Pear Blue Cheese Salad.

We got to enjoy Harry & David pears!

The last night, I whipped up this Pear Blue Cheese Salad. I love the dressing, made with walnut oil. Walnut oil is one of those ingredients that unless you have a specific recipe for it, it can sit and get old. But I don’t let my bottle get old, because I’m always making this dressing with shallots.

Enjoy, and I hope you’re enjoying the last week and a half! of October!

Have you been to Lake Tahoe? What are some of your memories there?

5 stars (1 review)

Leave a Review

Get the Recipe:

Pear Blue Cheese Salad

Get the Sweet and Spicy Pecan recipe, here.

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 10 minutes mins

Yield: 10 -12

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save RecipeSaved!

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• 2 large heads Romaine lettuce, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup of coarsely chopped Napa cabbage
• 2 pears, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 8-oz. tub of crumbled blue cheese
• 1/2 cup walnut oil
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. minced shallots
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. real maple syrup
• Sweet and Spicy Pecans, recipe on RE Blog – Sweet and Spicy Pecans, or you can buy them at Trader Joe’s
•  
•  
•  

Instructions

 

• Combine lettuce, cabbage, pear, and blue cheese in a large bowl.
• Whisk together walnut oil and vinegar; add shallot, lemon juice, and maple syrup.
• Pour over salad and toss to combine. Top with pecans.

Author: Sandy / Reluctant Entertainer

Did you make this recipe?Tag @reluctantentertainer on Instagram and hashtag it #reluctantentertainer!

We enjoyed amazing food from Kroger, Anderson Seafood, Holland House Cooking Wine, Sabra, and OXO.

I paid for my own travel for this trip. As always, all opinions are my own!