In A Nutshell

Oh yes... you will be stung! And it will feel oh so good..... 2 oz. bourbon 3/4 oz. lemon 3/4 oz. honey syrup (recipe follows) Combine in a cocktail shaker filled with ice; shake for a good 15-20 seconds and serve over ice with a lemon slice or straight up. Makes one small but mighty drink. Honey Syrup: Combine equal parts honey and water in a small pan; heat until honey is dissolved. 

Dainty and pretty but oh so mighty! A beautiful drink for the holidays; I bought some hibiscus flowers in syrup and used that for the garnish. The recipe comes from Martha Stewart magazine- I swapped out the habanero for a fresno pepper because I think the habanero has an overpowering flavor. I love the very light, almost indistinguishable heat and balance that the fresno pepper brings to the cocktail. Fresno-Hibiscus Syrup: 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 oz. dried hibiscus flowers 1 fresno pepper, sliced down the middle and seeded Combine all the above ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil; lower heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Let steep for 10 minutes and then strain into a jar. Chill in the refrigerator until cold. Syrup keeps for a month in the fridge. Pisco Hibiscus Sour: 6 oz. pisco 2 oz. fresno-hibiscus syrup 2 oz. fresh lime juice 1 egg white Cranberry bitters Put all the ingredients except the bitters into a shaker with NO ice; dry sh

Remember the  apple and pear galettes  from the previous post? This is a way to use those cores for a gorgeously infused bourbon cocktail. I made sours but you can do an old-fashioned or on the rocks. Infused bourbon : Peel from half a grapefruit Peel from 1 lemon 1 pear core 1 apple core 375 ml of bourbon or whiskey Combine all ingredients in a jar and let steep for one to two days. Strain through a cheesecloth-lined sieve into a clean jar. For the cocktail:  2 oz. infused bourbon 3/4 oz. lemon juice 1/2 oz. simple syrup Shake in an ice-filled cocktail shaker and strain into an ice-filled glass. Garnish with a grapefruit peel.

Adapted from Food & Wine; you could add a bit of ginger, cardamom or some dried cherries to the filling if you wanted to jazz it up a bit but I loved it with just a touch of cinnamon. It makes one smallish galette or 4 mini galettes. I served these with a bit of  bourbon buttered pecan ice cream  and a cup of coffee. Perfect for autumn! I make the filling only right before I’m ready to form the galettes.  Crust : 1 cup flour 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes 1/4 t salt 2-4 T cold water Process butter, flour and salt in food processor until butter is in small pieces; empty mixture into a large bowl and toss 2 T water with a fork into the crumbs- check to see if it holds together, if not, add more water and dump out dough onto the counter. Divide into 4 pieces and form into disks; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Streusel : (this makes more than you need- just seal it up and stick it in the freezer for when you need it; it freezes wel

My nephew Liam made this for our family reunion “tapas” night; I don’t think he had ever made a galette before but he dazzled us with his skills—it was absolutely delicious. The recipe originates from Taste of Home but he subbed in Gruyere cheese for the Pecorino. I have tried numerous different tomato tart recipes this summer but this one and the previously published  tomato tart  are my two favorites. This one in particular because of the simplicity and ease. 1 cup flour 1 t baking powder 1/2 t salt 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed 1/2 cup sour cream 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved 3 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated In a food processor, pulse the flour, baking powder and salt a couple times to mix. Add the cubes of butter and pulse until this resembles coarse meal. Remove the mixture to a bowl and stir in the sour cream with a fork; gather into a disc and refrigerate for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 425º; if you have a pizza stone, all the better! Place

As in the country of Georgia...Saveur magazine did a spread on the cuisine of Georgia, which all looked delicious, btw! I’m intrigued to try more of the recipes. The bread is supposed to have an egg on top but I’m not a fan of baked eggs so I left it off. If you want to add an egg, take out the bread at 14 minutes, crack the egg on top and bake an additional 4 minutes. 1 t instant yeast 1 T olive oil 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 t kosher salt 2 cups shredded Muenster cheese (I used Fontina- you can use any flavorful cheese) 1 cup crumbled feta cheese Combine yeast and flour in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add 1/2- 2/3 cup warm water along with the oil and mix with the dough hook until combined. Add the salt and knead on medium speed for about 4 or 5 minutes. Put the dough into a greased bowl and let rise until doubled and poofy. Meanwhile heat the oven to 500º (preferably with a pizza stone in there) for about an hour before baking. Divide the dough in half and roll ou

Indescribably good! I had this flavor at an ice cream shop called La Michoacana; they have the most amazing ice cream and paletas. It’s really a sight to see! I have tried to duplicate their Three Marias and Rice Pudding ice cream flavors with varying success but I think I nailed this one. I like to use the Jenny’s ice cream recipe (with a few changes) as my base and then tinker with it for flavors such as this. 2 cups whole milk 1 1/4 cups heavy cream 1 T plus 1 t cornstarch 3 T cream cheese (room temp.- 1 1/2 oz.) 6 1/2 oz. (half the 13 oz. container) Nutella 1/2 c sugar 2 T light corn syrup 1 t vanilla paste 5 chopped Ferrer-Rocher 1 1/2 T vodka Mix around 2 T of the milk with the cornstarch in a separate bowl and set aside. Whisk the cream cheese with the Nutella in a metal bowl and fill a larger metal bowl with ice and water.  Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup and vanilla in a heavy saucepan; bring to a rolling boil, watch

If you are looking for reasons to buy unusual liqueurs to add to your collection, I can help. Sure, it’s true that six months down the line when you’ve moved on to other cocktails requiring different unusual liqueurs, you’ll be saying to yourself, “hmmmm.... Cocchi Americano Rosa...what do I do with that???” But still— what a collection you’ll have! 2 Luxardo cherries Mint leaves 1 oz. Cocchi Americano Rosa 1 oz. Pisco 1 oz. hibiscus liqueur 1/2 oz. lime juice Crushed ice Muddle the cherries with a mint leaf in a cocktail shaker; add the liquors and lime juice along with regular ice and shake for 30 seconds. Strain into a Collins glass filled with crushed ice and garnish with a mint leaf —and if you’re feeling generous an additional Luxardo cherry. Makes one drink.

Tomato season is glorious! I can’t get enough of the luscious garden tomatoes; like the rays of the summer sun, I just want to soak them up, revel in them and try to store away the joy they bring in order to conjure the memory during the darkest, gloomiest part of winter. I have 12 tomato plants this year and it has been fun growing some unusual varieties: Peach, Big Rainbow, German Green, Pink Brandywine as well as the standards. For this tart, I used the classic Beefsteak tomato. The reddest red with a pure tomato flavor. The recipe originates (with some adjustments) from Midwest Living magazine (June 2005); it is a classic to love and cherish. A note about the piecrust: I have tried so many different recipes, methods and techniques but in the end I love my own (very easy) recipe the most. I have been making this pretty successfully since high school and I’ve found that I only run into trouble when I try to deviate. Having said this, you can use your own recipe, one from  Smi

This recipe is adapted from Saveur magazine; it makes great use of summer fruit. I won’t give amounts for the salad ingredients— just make however much you need or want. Peaches, sliced Plums, sliced Arugula Sliced red onion (you can marinate these in a small amount of dressing if you want to take out the bite) Feta or Goat cheese crumbles Anything else you fancy: almonds, beets, dried cherries etc. Dressing : 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 1/2 t salt freshly ground pepper 1 t honey 1 t Dijon mustard chopped cilantro (optional) 1/2 cup EVOO Whisk together and drizzle a bit over the salad. 

I got this idea from my friend Julie who was telling me about a blueberry, basil and black pepper pie one of her co-workers made. I thought it would be delicious to make a syrup with those flavors and use it in a margarita. I made this drink once using Grand Marnier and once using a blueberry liqueur which is a little more difficult to find but worth having if you love cocktails like I do. The syrup can be used for any type of drink- the possibilities are endless. If you really want to jazz it up, mix a little chili powder or Tajin in with the salt. Blueberry, Basil & Black Pepper Syrup: 1 cup water 1 cup sugar 1 1/2 cups blueberries 2 or 3 leaves of basil 1 t black peppercorns, lightly crushed Put all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for about 4 or 5 minutes until thick and syrupy looking. Let steep for 1 hour and then strain into a jar.  For the cocktail: 2 oz. tequila (I used blanco but nothing fancy) 1/2 oz.

I don't have any idea what Old Bay is made from but I'm in love with the stuff- it's magical. I'm not usually a huge fan of chicken wings but these are crazy good! The baking time can vary and I don't really have any explanation of why this happens-- you will have to keep an eye on them and if they don't look good and brown, simply bake them longer before tossing them with the sauce. Adapted from Food and Wine. 2 lbs chicken wings 2 T flour 1 T Old Bay seasoning 1 t salt 3 T Frank's Red Hot sauce 2 T unsalted butter 2 T Worcestershire sauce Preheat the oven to 500º and line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, preferably the non-stick foil but if you are using regular foil, spray it with cooking spray. Combine the flour, Old Bay and salt and toss the chicken wings with the spice mixture. Spread out on the baking sheet and spray the wings with Pam (canola cooking spray). Bake for a total of 45-50 minutes or so turning them wings over at the

This recipe is adapted from  Claudia Roden’s Arabesque ; it’s so scrumptious! The cookbook has beautiful photos and a great deal of information about Middle Eastern cuisine. 4 bell peppers (I like to use different colors if possible; red, yellow and orange) 14 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 4 T EVOO juice of 1 large lemon salt and pepper 2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped chopped parsley goat cheese crumbles Roast the peppers on the grill or over a flame on the stovetop; put them in a covered bowl to sweat the skin until cool. Peel the peppers and cut into strips. While peppers are cooling, soak the garlic in a very small amount of the lemon juice to take out the sting. Once the peppers are cooled and cut into strips, combine them with the garlic, parsley and chickpeas. Whisk the oil, lemon juice and salt/pepper; you don’t need to use all the dressing. Start with half and see if you want more. Add the goat cheese crumbles before serving.

 This is adapted slightly from  Leite’s Culinaria ; I had made a strawberry-infused gin a couple of weeks ago and thought that this could only be a positive change to the recipe. The strawberry gin is gorgeous in a gin and tonic as well; it keeps forever so no need to worry about finishing it quickly (although I don’t think you’ll have it hanging around for too long). I also use less of the rhubarb syrup because I don’t like an overly sweet drink. You can start with less and always add more if you like it sweeter. I made this drink both with  strawberry-rhubarb syrup  and the rhubarb syrup recipe that follows. Either is delicious. Any unused syrup can be frozen. Strawberry-infused gin: 1.5 L gin (I actually used the Kirkland gin) 500 grams strawberries, sliced Combine in a container with a tight fitting lid and let steep for 1 week; strain out the gin. Rhubarb Syrup: 1 lb rhubarb, sliced 1 cup sugar 2 cups water Optional flavorings: vanilla bean, citrus zest, cardamom pod

This recipe comes from King Arthur Flour; it is absolutely the best rum cake I have ever had! I only changed it a bit by scattering one cup of chopped pecans on the bottom of the bundt pan. BTW, isn’t that shape awesome? I love my new Williams-Sonoma bundt pan!!! I don’t buy jewelry or purses; I buy bundt pans!  But back to the cake: strong, moist, delicious! I am going to try this with bourbon and walnuts next time. You will have the best success with this cake if you weigh the flour; if you don’t already have a kitchen scale with grams and ounces, I strongly urge you to get one. They are inexpensive and help a great deal with baked goods. Cake: 2 cups unbleached flour (I do use King Arthur) 8 1/2 ounces 1 1/2 cups sugar 3.4 oz box instant vanilla pudding 2 t baking powder  1 t salt 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 1/2 cup veg oil 1/2 cup milk, room temp 4 large eggs, room temp 1/2 cup rum 2 t vanilla 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans Syrup:  8 T unsalt

I came across this recipe in an old issue of Food & Wine magazine in a section entitled “How To Not Gorge On Sweets”; it is designed for a person with little to no self-control such as myself. Delicious, easy and oh so satisfying without the option of reaching for a second cookie. A toaster oven is essential- no one wants to turn on the oven for just one cookie.  1 T unsalted butter 1 T light brown sugar, packed 1 t granulated sugar a couple drops of vanilla 2 T flour 1 1/2 T dark chocolate chunks or chips Maldon sea salt Preheat the toaster oven to 350º. Soften the butter in the microwave and using a fork, blend in both the sugars and the vanilla. Blend in the flour and then work in the chocolate chunks (I had to use my fingers). Scoop the dough onto a parchment lined toaster oven tray and flatten slightly. Sprinkle with Maldon salt and bake for around 13-15 minutes until lightly browned and crisp around the edges. Let cool for 5 minutes or so.