Posted by:Dan on October 26th, 2011
This ROOT recipe was recently posted by I Can Cook That, and it’s so good we just had to share it!
Ingredients: (serves 2)
(adapted from Ash & Ashley’s Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bread Pudding)
3 eggs
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 brioche knots, cut into cubes (I got 9 cubes per knot)
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 oz ROOT liqueur
1 banana, sliced
Begin by whisking together the eggs and honey vigorously until combined and fluffy.
In a pot, add 1 cup heavy cream over medium heat until it begins to bubble lightly. Reduce the heat to low. Add a little bit of the warm cream to the egg/honey mixture, whisking vigorously so that the eggs don’t curdle. (This is called tempering). Add the egg mixture to the pot with the remaining cream, whisking constantly until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Prepare the brioche rolls, cutting into cubes. I bought the rolls at Trader Joe’s, they are the perfect size for individual servings of bread pudding.
Add the bread cubes and the custard to a large bowl, stirring lightly to coat. Add the chocolate chips. Allow to sit for at least a half hour at room temperature. If planning ahead, you can do up to this step the night ahead of time and allow the bread to soak overnight.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Add the bread mixture to a loaf pan. Place the loaf pan into a cookie sheet with sizes. Add hot water into the cookie sheet so that the entire bottom is covered.
Cook for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
While the pudding is cooking, make the sauce. Add 1/2 cup cream and the condensed milk to a pot over medium heat.
When it bubbles, reduce to low and whisk in the peanut butter, ROOT, and vanilla extract.
Whisk until smooth. If you want it a bit thinner, add more cream.
Spoon the sauce over the bread pudding while still warm. Top with banana slices.
What an absolutely delicious ROOT bread pudding!
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Posted by:
admin on October 11th, 2011
Since we first tried it last fall, 0ne of our favorite seasonal mixers with Art in the Age SNAP is apple cider! The sweet cider is the perfect compliment to SNAP’s warm spices, and is delicious served both hot and cold.
This year we’ve decided to kick up our SNAP + apple combo to the next level, with a batch of our own homemade hard cider!
We picked a few bushels of apples at Linvilla Orchards, just a short drive from Center City Philadelphia, and can’t wait to press them with help from our friends at Bartram’s Garden! John Bartram was not only America’s foremost 18th century botanist, but he was also a talented stone carver. His apple press, which dates to 1731, is carved into the bedrock next to the river, that a visitor in 1787 termed “singular.”
The press consists of a carved circular groove, about 25 feet in circumference where the apples were placed. In the center of the massive rock is a hole for a post or mast. A large stone wheel (or two wheels) would attach to the post and ride in the circular track crushing the apples. Either horse or manpower would turn the wheel. There is an escape hole in the bottom of the track that enables the juice to drain into a basin carved into the stone. Although the original press is no longer functioning, Bartram’s Garden now owns a modern press, which they often use to educational lectures and workshops.
We thought before we began the process of pressing our cider, it would be appropriate to give a brief history of cider consumption in America.
History of Cider in America
Early English settlers introduced cider to America by bringing with them seeds for cultivating cider apples. During the colonial period, grains did not thrive well and were costly to import. On the other hand, apple orchards were plentiful, making apples cheap and easily obtainable. Making hard cider was a way to preserve the apple crop, and was even used as currency. As a result, hard cider quickly became one of America’s most popular beverages.
The Founding Fathers were even known to enjoy a glass or two of hard cider. Even John Adams began each day with a draft of hard cider!
Consumption of cider increased steadily during the eighteenth century, due in part to the efforts of the legendary Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), who planted many apple trees throughout the Midwest.
However, a series of events led to cider’s fall in popularity. The introduction of German beer with its faster fermentation process quickly made beer popular. German immigrants were able to set up large breweries for producing great quantities of beer, while the production of apple cider was still limited to small farms. The religiously based Temperance movement then caused many church-going farmers to give up cider. Some even went as far as to chop down their apple trees. When Prohibition became law, the market for apple cider was pretty much destroyed.
Today the tide has turned, with traditional cider making experiencing a major resurgence, both commercial and home-brewed.
Stay tuned for the next exciting steps in our homemade cider experiment!
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Posted by:
admin on October 4th, 2011
This Friday, Oct. 7th from 2-5 PM we will be at the Kennett Square Fermentation Festival to celebrate the changing seasons with all things fermented. If you haven’t had the chance to try our latest spirit RHUBY – now’s your chance! We’ll also be serving samples of ROOT and SNAP, and there will be plenty of fermented beverages and food throughout the day.
To wrap up the event, join us across the street at Talulah’s Table from 5-6 PM for a local cheese and spirit happy hour. We’ll be pairing our craft spirits with the best in local, artisanal cheeses. Oh, and did we mention there will be RHUBY Fondue?!
Kennett Square Farmers Market Fermentation Fest
Friday, October 7th
2-5 PM
State and Union Streets Kennett Square, PA 19348
Talula’s Table + AITA – Cheese & Spirit Tasting
5-6 PM
102 West State Street; Kennett Square, PA 19348
Hope to see you there!
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Posted by:
admin on September 20th, 2011
Punch may not have originated in America, but like pizza and military dominance, we’ve embraced it as our own. The original punch recipes came from India, went to Britain, and eventually came up through the Caribbean on its way to the land of the free.
The word “punch” has debatable origins, but our favorite comes from the Hindustani word “panch,” meaning “five.” Therefore, all proper punches must have five ingredients: one sour, two sweet, three strong, four weak, and finally some spices to round out the mixture.
The first punch recipes were nothing like the mixture of cheap liquor and Kool-Aid you got at your high school reunion. Punch was created as a complex cocktail, favored in the 18th century by Europe’s elite. Punch parties are something of legend, with some accounts telling of punch bowls large enough for boats to paddle about in. The ingredients included 80 casks of brandy, 20,000 limes, and 1,300 pounds of sugar!
Check out this AITA favorite, SNAP Haymaker’s Punch, prepared in the video below by the Reverend Michael Allen.
Art in The Age SNAP: Recipe – Haymakers Punch from Art In The Age on Vimeo.
In the spirit of national punch day, call together an impromptu party of your closest friends, pick up some SNAP, and celebrate with Haymaker’s Punch!
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Posted by:
admin on September 19th, 2011
The United States has a rich history in the production of alcoholic beverages, a practice which dates back to the earliest days of our nation. The pilgrims that landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts actually carried more beer with them than water, since beer spoiled less easily, and would last throughout their long voyage across the Atlantic.
Some of our country’s most influential leaders have either produced or enjoyed their fair share of spirits, including many U.S. Presidents. Below we’ve listed a few of the preferred beverages of some of our most notable commanders in chief.
George Washington (1789-1797) was regarded as the most successful whiskey producer in the country after his tenure of President was over. His Mount Vernon distillery produced 11,000 gallons of Rye Whiskey per year, but within a decade of his death, it fell into disrepair. Washington was also known to have dined and drank whiskey at Charleston, South Carolina’s famous McCrady’s Tavern in 1791, during his Southern Tour.
Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) is regarded today as one of the healthiest early American presidents, and also the foremost wine connoisseur to have ever held office. According to a letter to an inquiring doctor in 1819, he would drink 3 to 4 glasses of wine at dinner, but never a drop otherwise. Jefferson wrote that he did not drink ardent wines or spirits, and he would also water down his wine so as to weaken its effect on him.
Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) was born into a bourbon family; His father was a distillery hand at the site that Knob Creek bourbon is named after today (in a distillery that was owned by one of Daniel Boone‘s relatives!). As an adult, Lincoln applied for and received a license to sell alcohol in Illinois, and went on to operate numerous taverns. Despite his taverns and a grocery store that sold primarily whiskey, his personal stance on alcohol was one of educated, responsible drinking in moderation. As for his personal tastes, it’s hard to determine as he spent a good portion of his political career appeasing the Temperance group, which eventually evolved into the Prohibition group.
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) was the president to end Prohibition, and also an amateur bartender. When entertaining at the White House, Roosevelt would often personally mix drinks for his guests. His cocktail of choice was a Plymouth gin martini with an olive and a twist.
John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) practically created a culture himself, when he put his presidential stamp of approval on the famed Cuban daiquiri. After it became known that the daiquiri was JFK’s favorite beverage, the drink’s popularity grew to rival that of the martini. Accentuating his ironic tastes, JFK was also a smoker of Cuban cigars.
Richard Nixon (1969-1974) followed in JFK’s footsteps and opted for a drink that could possibly be considered controversial by some conservative elements at the time, the Cuba Libre, better known in the United States as the rum and coke.
Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) is hailed by many as the greatest conservative president of the 20th century, and is credited with being partially responsible for the fall of the Soviet Union. Reagan wasn’t a big drinker, but his cocktail of choice was a weakened Orange Blossom (2 parts gin, 1 part orange juice, 1tsp fine sugar, garnished with an orange slice).
Bill Clinton (1993-2001) has had the misfortune of being photographed at parties drinking light beer. However, according to several reports, Clinton’s drink of choice is a Snakebite. The original Snakebite recipe called for a shot of tequila with a shot of Tabasco hot sauce. However, it is believed that the president preferred a different version, made up of stout beer and hard apple cider. The basis of this theory is that Clinton adopted this cocktail in England, where he spent a good deal of time as a student.
Barack Obama (2009-present) is often seen as a beer drinker, but favors the margarita as his cocktail of choice. This drink seemed to be Obama’s standard order at one of his favorite Chicago restaurants, Topolobampo, where he frequently dined at as a Senator.
It’s very interesting to see the evolution of popular spirits in America, beginning with rye whiskey, progressing to wine and bourbon, all the way through the widespread popularization of the specialty cocktail.
At Art in the Age, we hope that one day our family of heritage craft spirits might even find their way into the oval office!
Via COS
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Posted by:Dan on August 30th, 2011
This Saturday, Sept. 3rd we’ll be serving up free samples of ROOT and SNAP at Terrain’s first annual Honey and Cheese Festival. Stop by for a full afternoon of activities centered around sweet honey and Chester County cheeses. Hope to see you there!
RSVP: Tickets are FREE, although space is limited.
September 3, 2011 | 11AM-3PM
Terrain at Styer’s
914 Baltimore Pike
Glen Mills, PA 19342
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