Recipe: Our Favorite Monkey Bread

When I was a young girl, my mother and I made frequent trips to Dallas for shopping and some girl time.  We always saved a day for lunch at The Zodiac Room, the venerable dining destination in the original Neiman Marcus downtown.   A basket of Monkey Bread, served with strawberry butter, was always a highlight.  Since then, my own version has become a staple on our table for holidays and special occasion meals.  -- Keeley DeSalvo

Our Favorite Monkey Bread (adapted from Little Rock Cooks)

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 pkgs. dry yeast
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup butter, used separately
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 5 cups flour

Serves 12 - Oven at 350

1. Stir yeast in warm water until dissolved. Heat milk and 1/2 cup butter in saucepan until melted. 
2. Measure sugar and salt in large mixing bowl; pour in milk mixture; stir until dissolved. 
3. When lukewarm, add eggs and yeast mixture. Add 2-1/2 cups flour; stir; add remaining flour and mix well. 
4. Turn out on a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). 
5. Place in greased bowl; cover with a damp cloth; let rise until double in bulk (about 2 hours). 
6. Punch down and let dough rest for 30 minutes. 
7. Roll dough very thin on lightly floured board. Cut dough in mold with edges overlapping; fill half full. Let rise until double (about 2 hours). 

Bake 20-30 minutes at 350.

DOWNLOAD FULL RECIPE PDF >

Store Update: Springtime in The Savory Pantry

Spring has finally arrived in Hot Springs after a long harsh winter, and we couldn't be more thrilled to thaw out!  At The Savory Pantry, we've updated our store with Mother's Day Gifts and Spring Entertaining Essentials to welcome the season.  

The Pancake Shop is right next door to our storefront on Central Avenue in downtown Hot Springs.  Often, while waiting for a table early in the morning, patrons can be seen lining up in front of our store.  Once we open at 8, anyone waiting for The Pancake Shop is invited in for a free cup of Pancake Shop house blend coffee while they wait!

Right now our front counter showcases Mother's Day and wedding gifts.  From picnic baskets, to cookbooks and mom's favorite - tea - we've got occasions covered!

New to The Savory Pantry are Produce Candles, scented with the various flavors of fresh produce.  Rhubarb has been a best-seller, but all of them are splendid.  A long-time staple at our store, Nesti Dante Luxury Italian Soaps also make a great gift and are themed with scents of various fruits and vegetables.  

Also new to The Savory Pantry are our cocktail offerings.  As displayed in our front window, we carry a variety of mixers and ingredients perfect for sipping in these milder temperatures.

Entertaining: Mother's Day Lunch

Mother's Day often conjures up ideas of "breakfast in bed"...but why not let Mom sleep in for once and serve her a proper lunch?  We've rounded up our favorite recipes for a casual, no-fuss Mother's Day lunch spread.  Click each image to get the recipe!

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From the Maker's Mouth: Owl's Brew Tea Cocktail Mixers

Two years ago, Maria Littlefield and Jennie Ripps left their jobs in marketing to start a company, and they began with a vision of making tea cocktails. The duo began a tea cocktail lab a floor above their marketing firm to get their idea got off the ground, and eventually, an idea for a tea cocktail mixer was born.

Today, the partners have a successful line devoted to that concept called Owl's Brew, good for crafting complex and inventive cocktails that happen to contain the benefits of tea, including vitamins and antioxidants.

What was the inspiration behind Owl's Brew?  On-premise cocktails have never been so sophisticated, and there's a huge disconnect between the fantastic and complex mixologist-style cocktails one can find at a bar or restaurant, and the ready-to-pour mixes one can find on the shelf.  At the same time, while the at-home-bar category is flourishing, those fantastic celery bitters that you bought to spruce up your home bar last year are still just sitting on it (who really knows what to do with celery bitters?)  We also own a tea company, Brew Lab Tea, so it didn’t take us long to think of an innovative and delicious (and tea-based) solution!

How do you develop the flavors? Have you tried some that haven't worked?  When we first started, we created lots of fresh-brewed specialty tea cocktails on-site at events. We developed the blends in our tea lab and added spices, fruits and herbs —  until we found a flavor profile that enhanced and complimented the liquor(s) we were pouring with. 

When creating the three Owl’s Brew blends, we made sure each of them would pair perfectly with spirits, and that they were super-versatile — all three flavors pair well with a wide variety of liquor, but also with beer, and Pink & Black is even great with a rose!  

What makes your product different than other cocktail mixers?  Owl's Brew is different than other mixers in that we’re the first tea-based mixer.  Owl’s Brew also offers a new way to think about cocktail mixers - our brews are ideal for mixing with various spirits, not just one. The flavor profile of the tea is light, fresh, and versatile and therefore can be mixed with anything from vodka, bourbon, to even beer.

How do you most often use your product?  Jennie's go-to Owl's Brew cocktail to make is The Classic with Bourbon while Maria's choice is always mixing Pink & Black with Tequila.

What was the most unexpected way of using Owl's Brew?  We were most surprised at how well Owl's Brew paired with beer. Beer cocktails have definitely been our drink of choice recently, they have a delicious and light flavor profile and we think they will definitely be a big trend this summer. We personally love mixing The Classic with a wheat beer to create a delicious shandy-style beverage.

What advise do you have for small business owners?  Jennie’s advice is don’t be afraid to seek out mentors and advisors — speaking to people with experience in your field can help accelerate your path to market, and your business’ growth.  Also - the advice of mentors may help you avoid expensive mistakes (whether in terms of money, or time).   Maria’s advice is “always be prepared to be prepared” — meaning that as a small business, how you respond to opportunities can be make it or break it.  If you’re well-organized, you have a much better chance of being able to assess and then participate in a good opportunity.

What’s next for your business?  We recently came out with gift-sets (8oz trio packs, for our three flavors).  Each mini bottle is about 4 cocktails and the set is a great introduction to the product line.  We’re also planning a big happy hour program this summer that we’re super-excited about — it will be local to NYC and Los Angeles.

What is your guilty pleasure? Our guilty pleasure is…the Herb Alpert at Mayahuel and sushi at 15 East 15th. YUM! 

Make this Sweet Tea Cocktail into a Gift

Nothing quite unwinds you like a cocktail...and nothing says appreciation like a gift. Serve our Sweet Tea Cocktails for Mother's Day and then give Mom all of the fixins to make them at home! (Find the links to each product below the image.)

1. The Cocktail Makers Kit includes all of the necessary bar utensils to get started  2. Fresh Mint can be used all week long in plain iced tea as well!  3. Owl's Brew "The Classic" Tea for Cocktails is great not only for this recipe, but countless others.  Give Owl's Brew and let the mixing and experimentation begin!  4. Stainless steel straws are so handy to keep on hand and they wash up in the dishwasher for use after use.  5. Fresh Lemons  6. Southern Cocktails Cookbook...the gift that keeps giving!  7. Hendricks Gin is always good for properly stocking any bar.  8. Ball Jar Wide Mouth Mason Jars are great for serving iced cocktails or even iced tea all year long!