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Zach has outdone himself again with this latest round of culinary cocktails! We invite you to try the “Boobie Trap” in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. We named it as such because this chocolate martini sneaks up on you with some heat!  Don’t limit yourself to just one – try 3 or 4 with a micro-cocktail flight!

Allegro Winery photo by The Susquehanna Photographic

We are excited to be serving Allegro wine again this year during our 2011 Farm to Table Dinner. Each course of our six-course dinner will be paired with delicious Allegro wine! The winery is based out of Brogue, PA and open Sunday-Friday from 1pm-5pm and Saturday from 10am-5pm.

A little bit about their history:

“Wine and music are one,” wrote Emerson.  It’s not a perfect metaphor, but for the founders of Allegro Vineyards in Brogue, Pennsylvania, it certainly rang true that a person captivated by one might be at once captivated by the other, and in similar ways.  Bachelor brothers John and Tim Crouch took a two-decade interlude from their musical lives to grow and make wine here.  John, an oboist but most devotedly a composer, had a year and a half after selling the winery to return to his compositions before his death at 55 in 2003; Tim, a violinist, died in 2000 at the age of sixty.

Allegro: The winery, established in 1980, was musically named.  The primary meaning of the word is “lively,” and I like the word’s versatility: it can be a noun, adverb, or adjective; it’s a way of doing something, or being something, with some spirit.  A great term for John’s winemaking (or “wine-sitting,” as he occasionally called it), which was never heavy-handed and was always respectful of the spirit of the grape. Read more at allegrowines.com

image by The Susquehanna Photographic

 Carl Helrich, head winemaker, and his wife Kris now own Allegro and have continued this tradition of melding music and wine. Carl writes a blog that details his life as a winemaker. He keeps his readers up-to-date on the latest happenings at the winery as well as his musings about grapes, wine and life. Spending time on Carl’s blog will truly allow you to feel like part of the process.

image by The Susquehanna Photographic

Come to the Farm to Table Dinner on September 10th to meet the faces behind Allegro Vineyards & Winery and, of course, celebrate in the fruit of their labor!

Cheers!

I wanted to share these photo from one of our recent weddings! Accomac catered the event as well as had a hand in the event design. The wedding was held in Gettysburg at a private residence. We are so thrilled to have been a part of Elena and Josh’s big day!

Todd Spitler Photography took these incredible photos! View more on his blog here.

Photos by Todd Spitler Photography

Photos by Todd Spitler Photography

Photo by Todd Spitler Photography

We are excited to start a new chapter at Accomac Events with the introduction of our new Executive Catering Chef, Ed Dodds!

Chef Ed started his culinary career over twenty years ago right here at the Accomac Inn. Learning and progressing in the industry, he has spent time with caterers, hotels and restaurants. As Sous Chef of the Circular Dining Room at the Hotel Hershey, Chef was responsible for the award winning Sunday Brunch as well as the Grand Holiday Buffets. Before returning to his roots, Ed spent several years working with the Culinary Arts and Pastry Arts students at the Pennsylvania School of Culinary Arts. He has been a Board Member of the Lancaster Restaurant Association, a member of the American Culinary Federation and The Chaine de Rotisseurs.

Having grown up in Lancaster and being an avid gardener, he feels a special connection to fresh local ingredients. “There is nothing better than cooking at home and being able to walk out to the garden for fresh herbs or vegetables.”  He wants to bring that passion to The Accomac Team.

Last night Chef Ty Paup met us out at the garden. We pruned all of the tomatoes and planted more of his heirloom beets and Swiss Chard. Thank you to Chef Ty! Without him, we wouldn’t have our fantastic produce! We are thrilled so far with this year’s yield. We are harvesting dozens and dozens of zucchini including this giant we picked last week!!

This zucchini is 19 inches long!

The Accomac Garden is coming along beautifully and we’re seeing a lot of growth. This year’s garden is twice as big as last year, which is exciting and challenging at the same time! Here are some photos taken from this past weekend. Also, mark your calendars for Sept. 10th. This is the date of our second Farm to Table Dinner at Codorun Farms in York (the site of our garden)!! More info to come on that soon…

Catering Chef Ty's son helping out in the garden! How cute is he??

Spring is here! Enjoy one of our new specialty cocktails at Accomac Inn.

Planning a wedding can be wonderful and stressful all at the same time. Today’s Wedding Wednesday post is a tip for organization! If you are about to loose your mind with all the details you’re trying to keep track of,  try MindNode for Mac.  It’s probably the most exciting way to organize your thoughts on a project. The program takes on the look of a subway route as it connects notes or lists and suggestions via a network of colored lines called a “mind map”.  Once you’re acclimated to it, this program is easier than you can imagine and makes a world of difference in terms of organizing!

Read more about MindNode Here.

Example "mind map" via mindnode.com

Have a happy *organized* Wedding Wednesday!

We were thrilled to develop a theme around Peter Cetera for the York Symphony Orchestra’s Donor’s dinner at the Strand Capitol Performing Arts Center last month. Peter Cetera performed with the York Symphony and everyone had a great time.

Here is a video of Charlene explaining the theme, its tie-in to the event, the mobile kitchen and many of the dishes. Enjoy!

It’s the weekend! Happy Friday to all.

This weekend, treat yourself to some breakfast pizza! This works especially great if you are entertaining house guests.

Pick up a thin whole wheat pizza crust from your local grocer (or make on if you have the time!) Top it with organic scrambled eggs, Fresh Sausage from Twin Pines Farm in York, PA and shaved white cheddar cheese.

If you feel like a not-so-healthy-but-absolutely-delicious breakfast, try the whole wheat crust lathered up with melted butter and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. Serve with Blueberry jam and fresh cured Maple Bacon.

Have a great weekend!