Ashley Christensen Restaurants

The restaurant industry depends on the dedication and work of immigrants, and thrives through the contributions of this diverse group.

On March 26th, more than 20 chefs and beverage professionals from all over North Carolina are gathering together to cook a meal in the spirit of unity and stand in support of our immigrant team members, family members, and guests.

Join us for this very special multi-course dinner, which will benefit the ACLU of North Carolina's important work to protect the constitutional rights of immigrants and all North Carolinians. Purchase your tickets here; seats are very limited.

Participating chefs and groups include:

• Ashley Christensen, AC Restaurants, Raleigh
• Andrew Ullom, AC Restaurants, Raleigh
• Aaron Vandemark, Panciuto, Hillsborough
• Gray Brooks, Pizzeria Toro and Littler, Durham
• Bill Smith, Crook’s Corner, Chapel Hill
• Vansana Nolintha, Bida Manda and Brewery Bhavana, Raleigh
• Angela Salamanca, Centro and Gallo Pelon, Raleigh
• Steven Greene, Heron’s at the Umstead, Cary
• Beth Littlejohn, Player’s Retreat, Raleigh
• Phoebe Lawless, Scratch Bakery, Durham
• Scott Crawford, Crawford & Son, Raleigh
• Elliott Moss, Buxton Hall BBQ, Asheville
• Cheetie Kumar, Garland, Raleigh
• Matt Kelly, Mateo Tapas, Durham
• Daniel Benjamin, lucettegrace, Raleigh
• Vivian Howard, The Chef & The Farmer, Kinston
• Joe Kindred, Kindred, Davidson
• Caroline Morrison, Fiction Kitchen, Raleigh
• Miguel Torres, Lantern, Chapel Hill
• Jeff Seizer, Royale, Raleigh
• Les Stewart, Trophy Brewing, Raleigh
• Nick Johnson, Ponysaurus Brewing, Durham
• Sean Lilly Wilson, Fullsteam Brewery, Durham
• Cathead Distillery

This event will include a multi-course, family style seated dinner (with cocktail, beer and wine pairing), followed by dessert and a small auction.

Due to the nature of this event, individual dietary restrictions cannot be accommodated. We apologize for any inconvenience.

'Tis the season of cookie baking! So we asked our executive pastry chef, Andrew Ullom, to share his recipe for the holiday favorite, gingerbread cookies. He kindly obliged, and now we all get to reap the benefits!

Gingerbread Cookies with Royal Icing

Yield: 4 dozen cookies

For the cookies:

5½ cups all-purpose flour

1¼ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¾ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature

1¼ cups brown sugar, packed

1 cup sorghum (or molasses)

2 large eggs

For the royal icing:

2 large egg whites

2 pounds powdered sugar

1/3 cup whole milk

Make the cookies: In a large bowl, sift the flour, salt, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon.

In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar until nice and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition. Add the sorghum and mix thoroughly for another minute. Add the dry ingredients in thirds, beating between each addition to fully combine.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface and use a rolling pin to roll it out to a 1-inch-thick disc. Wrap well in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350°. When the oven is ready, roll the dough between two pieces of parchment paper until it’s ¼-inch thick and cut out into desired shapes (for an extra crispy cookie, roll to 1/8-inch thickness). Transfer to cookie sheets lined with silicone baking mats or parchment paper and bake for 12 to 14 minutes until just brown around the edges, but still soft in the middle. Let cool fully before decorating. The cookies will harden as they cool.

Make the icing: In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites, sugar and milk to combine. The mixture should thicken, but still able to be piped. If you'd like a thinner consistency to pipe and cover the cookies with icing, add a touch more milk until it's a bit runny. The icing will harden as it sits. Transfer the icing to a pastry bag fitted with the tip of your choice and decorate your cookies to your preference.

Join us on December 10th at Bridge Club, AC Restaurants' private events space, for a special Holiday Market featuring some of our favorite local vendors. Chef Ashley Christensen and our executive pastry chef, Andrew Ullom, will each be giving cooking demos, and we’ll be selling signed copies of the Poole’s cookbook, as well as gift certificates to all the AC Restaurants properties. Brunch drinks and snacks will be available for purchase. Come grab a mimosa and get your holiday shopping done! Participating vendors include:

-HAAND Ceramics

-Peppertrain Beads By Hand

-Farmer's Daughter

-Videri Chocolate

-o2 Fitness

-Short Stack Editions

(and more to come!)

Attendance is free, but requires RSVP here.

It’s hard to believe the summer’s over, and before we know it we’ll be deep in the holiday season.

As you begin to make your plans, we wanted to extend our services to you for your private party and catering needs as you head into the busy fall season. We’d love to welcome you for your next holiday party, board meeting or private dinner this year at Bridge Club.

Our 2^nd floor space is a perfect place for a cocktail party, business lunch, or intimate dinner, while our 3^rd floor space can comfortably seat 100 for a full dinner experience. (You can take a 3D tour of the spaces here.) Please reach out to events@ac-restaurants.com to book your event now!

The Poole’s Diner cookbook is right around the corner! So we’re throwing a little party to welcome it to the world, and we’re giving you first dibs. Join us on September 21^st for a launch party at Bridge Club—we’ll be serving snacks and cocktails from the book, and Ashley will be on hand to sign copies. We’ll also be joined by Andrea Weigl from the News & Observer, who will be leading a short Q & A with Ashley to discuss the book and the process behind writing it. Hope to see you there!

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