Image invites you to our third annual Advent Art Salon

Every Breath a Birth

Bobby Gross, Advent Meditation

Festive Food & Beverage Recipes

What’s an art salon without something to sip and nibble?
We’ve assembled a list of festive recipes that you might like to savor while we gather online. At the start of our time, Image board chair Mark Sprinkle will whip up a teasty beverage from his home.

The Advent Aviation

Advent Mocktail: Pomp-le-Moose

Because before we get to Christmas we need to go through Advent, and the color of advent is purple, it only makes sense that we should have a purple drink. The original (and purist version) Aviator gets its purple color from the Creme de Violèt liqueur, but since that’s hard to find and not used in much of anything at all, most versions go with a purple gin like Empress or Aviator gin.

In this case, I’m going to use my own house brand Advent Gin, which is just my normal stuff with the magic of Butterfly Pea Flower powder added. Spoiler Alert: All purple gin, and almost assuredly even the Creme de Violet, gets its intense purple color from pea flower pigment, not violet or any other natural colorant. Why? Because the powder has got crazy blue color AND is stable AND is sensitive to changes in pH. In other words, if it’s in an alkaline environment it’s blue to purple, but in an acid one it goes pink—hence the magic of an empress gin G&T, which is the perfect Easter cocktail, more than Advent, because the addition of the lime and soda water makes it go very pink.

The good news is that you can order your own lifetime supply (4 oz) of the powder for under $20 from Amazon, use ¾ to 1 tsp per 750ml bottle of gin, and have your own purple cocktails. So order a bag, share with 10 or 12 friends and enjoy Advent purple drinks, and maybe some Lenten ones, too, right on into those Easter G&Ts. This does also require the Maraschino cherry liqueur, Luxardo if possible.

Aviation:
2 ounces purple gin
3/4 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce maraschino liqueur
1/2 ounce simple syrup
For garnish: brandied cherry

Add all ingredients to a shaker or mixing glass and add a handful of largish ice cubes. Stir or shake for 15-20 seconds then strain into a coupe glass, garnished with a Luxardo cherry.

This drink calls for a little more advance work to come up with the ingredients, though they are perhaps more immediately available than the pea flower powder required for the purple gin. It’s got a balance of sweet, bitter, and a little spicy kick, and can be served up and a little thicker, or on a large ice cube and topped with a dash of seltzer for a little lighter fizz. Here’s the recipe, followed by how to make some of the ingredients.

Pomp-le-Moose
2.0 oz Bitter Grapefruit syrup (recipe below)
1.5oz. Pomegranate juice
1 tsp. Ginger syrup (recipe below)
1 tsp lemon juice

Stir with ice to chill
Pour into a couple glass straight up, OR a rocks glass with one large cube, topped with the seltzer.
Orange zest expressed over glass

Optional: Top with 1 oz. seltzer water
Garnish with Cherry and/or Candied Orange Peel

Bitter grapefruit syrup:
Skin and pith of on grapefruit, plus ⅓ of the fruit
3 cups water
½ cup raw sugar
1 bay leaf
2 allspice
2 cloves
1 star anise
Pinch of salt

Peel the grapefruit and chop up the whole peel, white part and zest together into small pieces. Take ⅓ to ½ of the actual fruit and chopped it and add to the peel. Add the water, sugar and spices, bring to a boil and the reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Allow to cool for several hours or overnight, the strain the liquid through a sieve. Refrigerate syrup until needed.

*For extra credit, add a cup of sugar and another ½ cup water to the boiled peel and cook down until you have a nice grapefruit marmalade.

Ginger syrup
150ml (⅔ cup) fresh or bottled ginger juice
225g (8 oz.) raw or white sugar (or 1.5x the weight of the ginger juice)
Stir and blend until fully dissolved

You can find various recipes for a ginger syrup that call for chopping ginger and then simmering in a simple syrup, but those usually lack the spicy ginger kick that using ginger juice as the liquid provides. This version is much more potent and fun. If you have a juicer you can use fresh ginger, or I have had good luck with Ginger People brand ginger juice from Wegmans and Whole Foods.

Rosemary Hot Chocolate

Now the amount of chocolate here may seem excessive to some but my ideal hot chocolate is nearly thick enough to eat with a spoon, in fact, I’ve done that. I will slowly sip on a small quantity of intensely rich hot chocolate, capped with a generous amount of cold, loosely whipped heavy cream and be the happiest I can be. And with the touch of earthy rosemary mingling with the chocolate—well, I’ve found my new favorite way of getting cozy in winter.

Ingredients:
3 cups whole milk
1 - 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves (a little goes a long way and we want the rosemary to be subtle not overwhelming)
3/4 cup/ 5 ounces / 140 grams roughly chopped bittersweet chocolate
1/4 cup / 30 grams cocoa powder
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Pinch salt

Add the milk to a saucepan and drop the rosemary leaves in. Slowly bring the milk to a simmer allowing the rosemary to steep the milk.

Turn off the heat and whisk in the chocolate, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar. Add a pinch of salt and taste to make sure everything is to your liking. If the chocolate hasn’t fully melted or you’d like it hotter, rewarm gently over low heat.

Strain the mixture and serve or place in a lidded container and refrigerate for up to one week. It’s really a lovely thing to have in the fridge when the mood strikes.

Sourdough Biscuits with Kale Gravy

Serves 8

In the winter my sourdough starter is most active. It pains me to throw away the discard before each feeding so I started playing around with how I could use the excess starter rather than just feeding my compost pile. I’ve made sourdough crackers and sourdough tortillas, but these biscuits are my favorite way to use the starter that doesn’t turn into a loaf of bread. There’s a subtle tang that I love, and they are flaky and tender and the perfect base for a gravy laced with frilly kale.

For the Biscuits
2 cups / 240g all-purpose flour
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 stick / 115 grams unsalted butter, cold
1 cup / 225g sourdough starter
1/3 cup / 80ml heavy cream, plus more for topping

For the Gravy
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, finely diced (½ cup / 80g)
1 teaspoon dried sage or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1/4 teaspoon chili flake
1 bunch kale, washed and sliced into 1/4-inch thick ribbons
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups / 960ml whole milk
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
A few dashes of hot sauce
1 ½ ounces finely grated Parmesan (1/2 cup / 40g)

Make the Biscuits: In the bowl of a food processor add the flour, baking powder, sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Pulse a couple times to combine. Add the butter then pulse several times to break up the butter and cut it into small pieces. It will look crumbly and a bit sandy.

Add the sourdough starter and milk. Pulse until well combined and the dough looks moistened but still quite shaggy.
Dump the dough from the processor onto a clean work surface (cover the surface with parchment paper for easy clean up) and attempt to form the mass into a rectangle. Fold the right third into the middle then fold the left side on top of that. Turn the dough 90 degrees. You’ve just completed your first “turn.”

Press the dough, using the palms of your hands, to form a rough rectangle. Repeat this process two more times. After the final “turn”, form the dough into a rough square or rectangle about a 1-inch or 1 ½-inch thick. Precision is not needed.

Typically, biscuits are cut into circles and then the scraps smooshed together for a couple of tilted and misshapen scrap-biscuits. But, I say, why must they be round when we could cut them in squares and have no waste? Cut the biscuits into whatever shape and size you’d like. I made about 8 2-inch square biscuits.

Brush the tops of the biscuits with a bit more milk.

Set the biscuits on a parchment lined sheet tray in two rows of four leaving a good bit of space for growth in between each one.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. This time allows the sourdough flavor to strengthen and for the butter to chill.

Preheat your oven to 400°F.

Bake the biscuits for 15 to 20 minutes or until the edges are deeply golden and they feel set in the middle when gently pressed. If, while baking, they start to brown too quickly but still feel soft in the middle, turn the heat to 350*F. They should feel firm when squeezed gently.
While the biscuits bake, make the Kale Gravy.

Make the Kale Gravy: Heat a large skillet set over medium high heat. Add the olive oil then sauté the shallot until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the sage and chili flake. Next, add the kale and ½ teaspoon salt, cooking together for about 5 minutes until wilted. Add the soy sauce to the pan and, using a wooden spoon, scrape up any bits from the bottom. Simmer until the soy sauce has nearly completely reduced, a small amount of moisture is fine but the pan should be nearly dry before adding in the butter. Allow the butter to melt and stir to coat the kale.

Stir in the flour and continue to cook for 1 to 2 minutes more, stirring often and scraping the bottom of the pan. A little flour sticking to the bottom of the skillet is fine, just try to evenly coat the kale and toast the flour slightly.

Using a whisk, stir in the milk about 1 cup/ 240ml at a time. Scrap up any lingering flour from the bottom of the skillet. Whisk vigorously to remove any lumps. Once all the milk has been added and the sauce is lump-free, you can switch back to stirring with a spatula or wooden spoon.

Bring the gravy to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon or spatula. Stir in the final teaspoon of salt, nutmeg, pepper, hot sauce, and grated Parmesan.

Use right away or cover and refrigerate for up to one week. Rewarm gently before serving.