Don't let construction come between you and good food!

Tonight I was given a rare opportunity to join six other blogging ladies here in the KC metro to dine at Renee Kelly's Harvest. It is this BEAUTIFUL diner that is built inside a castle. She has a wine cellar in the basement that holds a party of 30, a main floor, and then an upstairs party area that holds 22. The place is all lit up on the outside with Christmas lights, but it is nothing compared to the inside. You feel like you are walking into a little bed & breakfast almost in the snowcapped mountains of Colorado. I honestly could have sat by the fire and drank hot cocoa and been perfectly happy. However ... what DID transpire is an experience that I want to share with you. This is a restaurant that NEEDS to be on your list to visit ... ESPECIALLY if you have "weird" food allergies and want to trust that the food on your plate is something you can eat!

*note - I was given a complimentary tasting dinner in exchange for this blog post ... ALL opinions are my own!*

Let's first start with this adorable place called Renee Kelly's Harvest.

outside lights

cozy waiting area

decorated steps

        This restaurant is located just past Johnson Dr & Quivera in Shawnee, KS and is within walking distance of Old Shawnee Town. There has been NASTY construction going on at Johnson near 435 & I-35 but it is passable! You can take a bazillion different routes to Kelly's Harvest so if you're like me and abhor I-35 rush hour traffic ... email me! I'll help ya out.

They are open Wednesday, Thursday, Friday for lunch and Wednesday through Saturday for dinner. They only serve brunch on Sundays. What's even better about Renee's is ALL of their food is local! All of the meat comes from KS and MO farmers and then you can visit her Facebook page to see that she purchases produce from other local farmers.

Renee Kelly is just an awesome person as a whole. I met and fell in love with her when she was collecting food donations to help with the Joplin tornado recovery efforts. She is such a beautiful person, but her story behind Renee Kelly's is to die for. I know that I have MANY readers who will just totally GET her.

Renee suffered from migraines for YEARS and extremely bad vertigo. Despite a couple trips to the Mayo Clinic, they couldn't figure out what was triggering them. Finally, she decided to seek help from someone who worked with homeopathic remedies. Her doctor put her on a clean diet and she was 50% better in a process of 2 weeks. TWO WEEKS, y'all. In two months, she was 80% better. Her doctor said the key was to know your food, know the farmers, rotate food with the seasons, and watch your triggers. This life and healthy living has lead to Renee Kelly's Harvest being one of the few places in KC where you can list allergies that no one would think of, and be able to get a dish you can eat.

Well ... enough about the background. Let's get onto the food porn shall we?

We started off with appetizers. We were given a full tasting but I am not going to bombard you with that many photos. I am however going to give you a sampling and then tell you to GO EAT THERE. Seriously.

• Duck wings in Guinness Honey Sauce (note - this sauce is super sticky, finger-licking good)
• Pork Belly with a pear ginger glaze & quinoa (this is to die for comfort food)
• Rabbit Loin wrapped in prosciutto and served with saffron risotto and elderberry syrup (possibly my favorite starter

Next, we were given four salads and two soups to sample.

• Sweet & Simple Salad
• Salt roasted beet with caramelized pumpkin pecan, warm pear vinaigrette, and feta (LOVED this one)
• Apples with candied walnuts, petite greens, St. Rose Cheese, with a balsamic vinaigrette (skipped the cheese ... loved the rest!)
• Micrograin salad with bacon - didn't get a chance to sample that before it was gobbled up .. gotta fight for the bacon.
• Sweet potato & carrot bisque (another hearty comfort food)
• Chicken consomme with duck confit

Next came our main entrees. We were in HEAVEN with this meal.

cause really?!

• Rabbit saddle with white bean ragout braising greens pancetta
• Pork chop with winter squash, golden raisins, and bacon
• Short ribs with parsnip apple puree, roasted and raw and braising greens
• Crispy bass with red rice, kale, saffron cream, and ancho glaze
• Scotch filet  with sweet potato gnocchi, butter braised turnips, petite argula salad, and demi
• Duck breast with quinoa, arugula, poached apple, garnished with beet and huckleberry
• Swiss Chard Dumplings with squash, apple, pecan, and braising greens

So ... let's quickly talk about my favorite entrees.

Short ribs - these literally melt in your mouth. They are braised down with Sarsaparilla and Root Beer giving them a nice sweet taste to go with the greens and parsnip apple puree.

Scotch filet - this filet is basically the meat inside the prime ribs you see at buffets. It is seared hard to lock it into place for serving. It is also the ONLY place you can get a Scotch Filet in the KC Metro! *note - I could have eaten the sweet potato gnocchi all night long.

Finally, we got to the desserts. Holy yum, peeps!

• Homemade Smore's - FAVORITE
• Deconstructed Apple Pie
• Chocolate Cake
• Lemon ???? - will update this after I find if someone else got the name. Can't find the menu for desserts.

The Lemon SOMETHING

Chocolate Cake

Deconstructed Apple Pie

Homemade Smore's