This delicious cocktail recipe from Rosalie in Wayne features whiskey, maple syrup and cardamon and Angostura bitters.
When the frosty weather strikes, there’s nothing like warming up by the fire, ideally with a delectable cocktail in hand. This Buon Amici recipe from Rosalie fits the bill, with a medley of whiskey and spices that will have you feeling warm and cozy in no time.
Photo by Ed Williams
Buon Amici Cocktail
Courtesy of Rosalie
Ingredients:
.5 oz. Bulleit Frontier Whiskey
.5 oz. maple syrup
2 dashes cardamom bitters
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Instructions:
Built, stirred and poured over a large rock and smoked tableside.
This delicious concoction from Two Fourteen boasts flavors of ginger and cranberry that will get you in the holiday spirit.
It’s that time of year when temperatures drop, holiday parties pop up on calendars and everyone leans into the festive season around the Main Line. Whether you’re hosting a get-together or just want something special to celebrate the upcoming holidays, look no further than this scrumptious cocktail recipe from Two Fourteen. It has only four ingredients and comes together in a flash, which means it’s an ideal option to impress guests without putting in too much effort.
Home for the Holidays Cocktail
Ingredients:
1.5 oz. Tito’s Handmade Vodka
.5 oz. blackberry rosemary simple syrup
.25 oz. ginger simple syrup
4 oz. cranberry juice
Instructions:
Served over ice, topped with Brut champagne, and garnished with frozen cranberries a rosemary sprig.
Chris Calhoun’s individual banana and pumpkin spice cream pies bring all the flavor this holiday season.
You love banana and you love pumpkin spice, so why not pair the two flavors together? This cream pie is the perfect sweet treat for the season and yields six tarts that are ideal for single-serve desserts after a mouthwatering holiday meal.
Banana and Pumpkin Spice Cream Pie
Ingredients:
⅔ cup pumpkin purée
2 tbsps. Honey
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice blend
1 tsp. salt
1 ½ cups heavy cream
3 egg yolks
½ tsp. salt
½ cup cornstarch
⅔ cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla bean paste
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup powdered sugar
3 ripe bananas
6 small graham cracker pie shells or plain pie shells
½ cup caramel sauce
graham cracker crumbs for garnish
Instructions:
In a blender, mix pumpkin purée, honey, salt and spice blend for 20 seconds or until smooth. Chill until it’s as firm as possible.
Bring cup of milk to a simmer and turn off heat. Combine heavy cream, egg yolks, cornstarch, sugar, salt and vanilla, whisking until smooth. Slowly add hot milk and whisk to combine. Return mixture to the pot and stir over medium-high heat 3–5 minutes or until visibly thickened. Chill 2–3 hours until firm.
Combine half the pumpkin mixture and half the pastry cream. Mix until smooth. You now have three options: pumpkin, pastry cream and pumpkin-pastry cream. Whip heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla to stiff peaks, then chill.
Using a tsp. of the pure pumpkin mixture as friction to hold the pie shells in place on the serving plate, fill each with your choice of the three fillings, reserving some for garnish. Top each tart with sliced bananas and whipped cream, drizzle with caramel sauce and sprinkle with additional graham crumbs.
Yields six tarts.
Photo by Ed Williams
Fork & Bottle, The Desmond Malvern, One Liberty Blvd., Malvern, (610) 296-9800, desmondgv.com.
Any Main Line area holiday dinner will be a hit with this mushroom side dish courtesy of Sweet Amelia’s in Kennett Square.
When you’re looking for a side dish that pairs well with a variety of mains without overwhelming the table, this recipe for sautéed mushrooms is the way to go. It’s easy to prepare, pretty on the plate and so tasty there may not be any leftovers.
Photo by Ed Williams
Sautéed Mushrooms With Walnut and Sage
Ingredients:
2 cups cremini mushrooms, washed and quartered
1 bunch sage
¼ cup toasted walnuts
1¼ tsps. salt
¼ cup butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh thyme
½ cup chicken stock
Instructions:
Using a spice grinder or food processor, blitz walnuts, sage and 1/4 tsp. salt until well-integrated but slightly chunky. Melt butter in a pan, sweat down garlic and thyme on low heat until the garlic softens.
Add mushrooms and cook until soft (about five minutes). Add chicken stock and reduce until thick and saucy. Salt to taste.
Toss with walnut-and-sage mixture, plate and garnish with fresh sage.
Sweet Amelia’s, 102 E. State St., Kennett Square, (484) 732-7943, sweetameliasksq.com.
Did someone say comfort food? Add Lewis Leiterman’s honeynut squash side dish to your holiday dinner to wow guests.
Want a side that your guests will adore? This honeynut squash dish gets a boost of flavor from sage, Italian chestnuts and a drizzle of local honey.
Pan-Roasted Honeynut Squash With Candied Chestnuts, Double-Smoked Bacon Lardons and Local Honey
Ingredients:
2 medium honeynut squash, peeled and seeded
½ lb. bacon, from whole slab (if possible)
5 sage leaves
2 tbsps. extra-virgin olive oil
⅛ cup local honey
Salt and pepper
¼ cup Italian chestnuts, chopped and blanched
⅛ cup sugar
1 tbsp. water
1 bunch chives
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Preheat sauté pan to medium heat.
Cut bacon into ¼-inch thick pieces and add to pan, stirring frequently so pieces don’t burn. Cut honeynut squash into ½-inch diced cubes. Drizzle with oil, salt and pepper.
Saving the bacon fat, add squash to pan and sauté until brown on the edges. Slice or tear sage leaves and add to pan. Put pan into preheated oven 8–10 minutes. Squash is done when it’s fork-tender but doesn’t fall apart.
Roughly chop peeled chestnuts and toss them into water, then sugar. Cook in a nonstick sauté pan until sugar hardens. Remove from pan and set aside. (Store-bought candied nuts also work.)
Transfer squash into serving dish and top with candied nuts, chives and a drizzle of honey.
Blue Elephant Wayne’s Signature Cocktail is a refreshing sip with flavors of lemon and ginger blended perfectly with vodka.
Looking for a libation that’s pretty to look at and light on the palate? Consider the Signature Cocktail from Blue Elephant Wayne. Not only is the restaurant’s go-to drink easy to prepare, but it will be sure to wow all of your dinner party guests.
Signature Cocktail
Recipe courtesy Blue Elephant Wayne
Ingredients:
.5 oz. butterfly pea syrup
1 oz. vodka
.5 oz. lemon juice
.5 oz. ginger syrup
.5 oz. simple syrup
sparkling water
Instructions:
Lemon juice, ginger syrup and vodka shaken with ice and poured into a Collins glass filled with ice. Sparkling water is added, and drink is gently topped with butterfly pea syrup, forming a floating blue-purple layer. Garnished with a lemon wheel.
.75 oz. Boulard Calvados
.75 oz. Boardroom Ginger-Flavored Vodka
1 oz. pear nectar
.75 oz. lemon juice
.5 oz. honey-cinnamon simple syrup
1 dash saline solution
Instructions:
Shaken, strained over ice, topped with ginger beer and garnished with a cinnamon stick.
You can pour your own at Rivertown Taps in Phoenixville—just don’t skip the food, which will most certainly make your mouth water.
Rivertown Taps’ wall of 36 taps, with six outside during nice weather.
Taking over the former Franco Ristorante location on Phoenixville’s Bridge Street barely a year ago, Rivertown Taps has already found a fanbase in a big way. Our readers made it clear that it’s more than just a beer joint. It was the overwhelming winner for Best Appetizers and Best New Restaurant in our 2023 Best of the Main Line & Western Suburbs Awards.
Chipotle shrimp over greens
But it’s also a pretty cool beer joint, with a wall of self-serve taps—36 inside, with six outside in nice weather. The wall also features wine, cider and mead, plus a nonalcoholic selection of kombucha from nearby Baba’s Brew. A card swipe allows guests to pour the desired amount, and each tap has a display screen with the beverage name, description, alcohol content and brewery or winery. “The self-pour revolution began on the West Coast,” says owner and chef Lewis Leiterman, a winner on the Food Network show Guy’s Grocery Games. “I liked the idea of combining the social aspect of beer lovers sharing conversation at the wall while also having access to my locally procured menu.”
Phoenixville Hot Chicken & Waffles topped with syrup.
Leiterman partnered with fiancée Tess Strayer and her parents to bring the interactive concept to downtown Phoenixville. While gutting the 19th-century building, they discovered and repurposed much of the original timber on the tap wall. They also exposed two beautiful brick walls and constructed a rustic 15-seat bar with a seating area perfect for viewing the goings-on in the kitchen.
Local art and the original brick wall add to the rustic-chic ambiance
Rivertown Taps’ menu is seasonal and focused, with innovative presentations that go above and beyond what you’d expect. The list of preferred regional purveyors includes Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative and Indian Ridge Provisions in Telford and the local Valerio Coffee Roasters. And frankly, it’s refreshing to find a menu in a brew-centric eatery that shies away from pizza and flatbreads.
Chef Lewis Leiterman.
For starters, we tried the Delaware clingstone peach with fresh burrata and the grilled royal trumpet mushrooms glazed in a house-made sweet-and-sour barbecue sauce—two small plates that would certainly go over well with our vegetarian friends. We were also impressed with the “super colossal” chipotle shrimp and the surprisingly light beer-battered cheddar-cheese Mexican street curds, the latter served over charred sweet corn and thin slices of jalapeño.
Grilled hanger steak
Among the three handhelds on the menu, we tackled the deliciously sloppy Peachy Porker—slow-roasted pulled pork, bacon and sharp cheddar with bourbon-and-peach jam and Carolina slaw on a brioche bun. They also offer a popular stacked burger—but don’t bother asking for tomato if it isn’t in season. “We don’t have freezer storage here,” says Leiterman “I’m that serious about being seasonal.”
Delaware cling peaches, toasted sourdough and fresh burrata
Barbecued royal trumpet mushrooms
Grilled and thinly sliced, our hanger steak was a perfect medium rare—but the real showstopper was the Phoenixville Hot Chicken & Waffles. Topped with maple-apple slaw, it’s a heap of heaven.
Creative cocktails
Taps aside, don’t overlook the creative craft cocktail program curated by Jeff Perez. Memorable names include the Bruce Wayne, In the Weeds and It’s a Big Dill. We opted for the Piaf (a refreshing summer sour with Manatawny Still Works gin, rose water, grapefruit and frothy egg white) and the Dirty Chai Martini (with Ceylon chai and cardamom).
An impressive wall of beer.
Cost: $10–$27 Atmosphere: An interactive experience that’s different and fun. Hours: 4–10 p.m. Wednesday–Thursday, 2–10 p.m. Friday, noon–10 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.–8 p.m. Sunday. Attire: Casual.
Spend an ideal fall getaway at Loews Regency New York to enjoy all that New York City has to offer in the autumn.
Drive Time: About two hours.
Conquer New York City in style at this esteemed luxury hotel along Park Avenue in Manhattan’s ritzy Upper East Side, where it’s an easy walk to Central Park, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Madison Avenue and more. The Regency recently refreshed its 321 guestrooms 58 suites with a sleek, classic look that accentuates the knockout views of the city. Amenities include Stan Herman bathrobes, Julien Farel anti-aging hair care and body products, complimentary shoeshines and daily newspaper delivery.
Though The Regency Bar & Grill is likely to be buzzing just about any time of day, don’t miss the power breakfast. Most mornings, the black town cars are lined up three-deep outside for this 40-year tradition. Inside, you can rub elbows with big names in finance, entertainment, media and politics. At night, don’t be surprised to find some of those same movers-and-shakers hanging out at the bar. For breakfast on the go, grab a cup of Milanese coffee and a delicious European-style breakfast sandwich at the Sant Ambroeus Coffee Bar.
Courtesy of Loews Hotels
Inspired by the power breakfast, French power couple Julien and Suelyn Farel have created their own “power hour” at the hotel spa, where guests can enjoy up to four simultaneous services in 60 minutes. The state-of-the-art, 10,000-square-foot Julien Farel Restore Salon & Spa combines traditional European services with cutting-edge aesthetic technology.
Prime Parking: Fall is the perfect time to experience Central Park, and you’re just two blocks away at the Regency. You can easily eat up an entire day exploring the Great Lawn, the Reservoir, Sheep Meadow and the rest of its 843 acres. Running in Central Park is an experience in itself. Book a 5K Fun Run online and join the crowd for an hour-long morning primer that takes you past Bethesda Fountain, the Mall, Strawberry Fields and other iconic spots. Part of an integrated system of four zoos and an aquarium managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society, Central Park Zoo is also must, especially for families.
Adobe Stock
October Rates: Starting at $735.
540 Park Ave., New York, New York, (212) 759-4100, loewshotels.com.
Mike Weilbacher is an author and naturalist who recently released a book on how to explore and appreciate nature around the Main Line.
Merion Station’s Mike Weilbacher has spent the past 40 years finding creative ways to teach us about nature, most recently as the executive director of the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education in Roxborough. Also known as the “All-Natural Science Guy” on WXPN-FM’s Kid’s Corner, Weilbacher has authored his first book, Wild Philly: Explore the Amazing Nature in and Around Philadelphia (Timber Press, 368 pages). It offers 25 field trips to parks, preserves and natural areas, organized by season and accompanied by cool illustrated maps.
MLT: You had an eight-member “Naturalist Advisory Team” providing input for your book. Did anything come up that surprised you?
MW: Tons. The chapter on the Lenape, for example, was based on new scholarship that shows that they actively managed the land. They were burning parts of the landscape to keep certain plants, like nut trees, around. Another surprise for me was learning that the beaver was the first animal that became locally extinct. The demand for beaver pelts in Europe for making hats was so strong that beavers were essentially trapped out in here by the 1600s.
Photo courtesy Tessa Marie Images
MLT: What do you hope readers will take away from the book?
MW: I’m hoping they realize just how much interesting nature there is in this area. In the center of Manayunk, you can see peregrine falcons nesting in a church steeple or walk along the Manayunk Canal and see trees that have been chewed on by beaver. That’s one nice surprise—that beavers have decided to reintroduce themselves to the region. I’m also hoping more people will introduce themselves to nature because climate change is emerging as such an important issue—which the book talks about.
MLT: Does the book offer any suggestions for how to help?
I have a chapter on how people can become citizen scientists. Armed with a cell phone, you can now contribute meaningful data to ongoing scientific studies and be a data point in an ongoing understanding of Wild Philly. That’s one great thing you can do.
