In A Nutshell

  Attention bargain shoppers: I found this  Nordic Ware autumn cakelet pan at T.J. Maxx for $15! I have found many a Nordic Ware pan at our local T.J. Maxx/Homegoods and have an impressive collection by now. And I’m pretty sure that ‘cakelet’ is an actual word….hear that, autocorrect? Adapted from a recipe in BH&G, I swapped out vegetable oil for olive oil because the resulting earthy moistness pairs well with pumpkin and I scaled it way down to make just 8 little precious cakelets. Now that we are empty-nesters, I find myself doing a lot of mathematics to scale down recipes, but feel free to do a little math yourself and scale back up if you like. Enjoy these with a nice afternoon cup of coffee! For the cakelets:   1/2 cup of flour 3/8 cup of sugar 1/2 t baking powder 1/4 t baking soda 1/8 t salt 1/2 t pumpkin pie spice mix 4 oz. pumpkin purée 1 egg 1/4 cup olive oil (not extra-virgin) Spray your cakelet pan with Baker’s Joy (properly or else your cakes will stick) a...

I tinkered significantly with a recipe that I saw online and came up with this version. So so delicious and quite festive looking as well. This is a batch recipe; you can scale down or up. A note on the type of grapefruit juice: I usually use Matt's grapefruit but because I was feeling a little flinty, I bought Simply Pure and I'm sad to say the cocktail was noticeably NOT AS GOOD! So please use Matt's- it's worth the extra money and makes a big difference. We made several different batches of drinks the week before Christmas to have on hand and it was quite delightful:   12 oz. tequila, any kind 4 oz. triple sec 12 oz. Matt's grapefruit juice (I am very specific about that) 4 oz.  spicy hibiscus syrup 4 oz. lime juice Mix everything up in a pitcher; you have the option of shaking it in an ice-filled shaker first (nicer result but more work) or simply pouring it into a salt-rimmed glass of ice directly from the pitcher. Garnish with a lime and enjoy!  

Most of my life I found the idea of eggnog to be disgusting until I tried real homemade eggnog. (Awkward sentence coming...) My daughter's friend Audrey's mom, Lee used to host this super fancy holiday dinner party every year- by far the fanciest sort of thing we had ever attended. She looked glamorous like a film star and the first thing she put in your hand upon entering was a glass of delicious, and as we subsequently found out, strong!!! eggnog. It's nothing like that stuff that comes out of a carton.   I now make it every year in homage to Lee; this year it took me two tries: the first was Scrambled Egg Nog which nobody likes. I, of course, am blameless in this debacle; Saveur said to whisk the custard until "very thick" which is not possible and ends in a combination of sorrow and scrambled eggs. Now I ignore that prompt and simply adhere to the time direction. I like to serve additional bourbon on the side because.... well, because I like bourbon. You can a...

 I found the inspiration for this recipe in an old edition of Food & Wine magazine; it took some tweaking but its final incarnation is delicious and festive. I added an egg white to mine but that's optional; if you choose to add it, dry shake it first in the shaker and then add the ice and other ingredients. For the salted rim, I like to add Tajin or chili powder to the salt for a little extra pep! Also, this is a great recipe for the holidays because you can batch mix it before you need it and if you have a lot of guests, skip the shaker part and serve on the rocks. 1 1/2 cups silver tequila 3/4 cup triple sec 3/4 cup lime juice 3/4 cup pomegranate syrup (recipe follows) 24 dashes of orange bitters salt for rim  Mix all the ingredients in a pitcher; you can chill this if you are not using it immediately. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add some of the mix from the pitcher- how much mix is up to you: how large of a drink do you want? Shake and strain into a pretty cock...

This is the whiskey version of the  Gin Tin Tin . I can't help but notice that the blog is becoming very drink-heavy.... it must be the pandemic.... 2 oz. whiskey 1 oz. fresh lemon juice* 1 oz. red wine syrup l Luxardo cherry orange peel or lemon peel or both- rub on the rim of the glass first Shake with ice and pour over ice or serve straight up. *always fresh- never the bottled stuff Red Wine Syrup: equal parts red wine and sugar, stirred over low heat just until sugar is dissolved; cooled

Do you have any misfit bottles of red wine? Or one you didn’t finish in a timely fashion (admittedly a rare occurrence during a pandemic). This is the perfect way to use up unwanted red wine. I adapted the recipe for this drink from Food & Wine (and by “adapted”, I mean I changed the proportions to make it stronger). Super-delish! Red Wine Syrup: Equal proportions red wine and sugar stirred over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Since bar math can be quite difficult (at least for me), what this means is if you use 1 cup of red wine, use 1 cup sugar etc. You can store this in the fridge for some time. For the Cocktail: 2 oz. gin 1 oz. fresh lemon juice 1 oz. red wine syrup Rub the rim of an ice-filled glass with a nice fat lemon rind. Add the drink ingredients to a shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously for about 20 seconds (or until your arm gives out) and pour into the cocktail glass. Serve with the aforementioned generous lemon twist. A delicious variation is...

Divine! 4 oz. bourbon 1.5 oz. lemon juice 1.5 oz. Créme de Pêche liqueur 1 oz. simple syrup (1:1 ratio) Add to a shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously for about 20 seconds; pour over ice and add peach slice for garnish. Makes two drinks.

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.

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.

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 ...

 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...

Divine.... what more can I say? Lavender Infusion : 2 T dried lavender buds 1 cup boiling water Steep for 30 minutes; strain and chill. Cocktail : 1 oz. gin 1 oz. lime juice 2 oz. tonic water (preferably Q or Fever Tree) 1/2 oz. simple syrup or agave syrup 1/2 oz. lavender infusion Mix everything in a rocks glass, add ice and stir. Garnish with a fresh lime wedge.

I had this drink at The Bier Garden in Encinitas during the tail end of the flu. Normally I don't have a taste for alcohol when I'm sick but with honey, lemon and bourbon this drink sounded like the best flavored Ricola cough drop you could ever imagine.  I'm not really sure how to get the honey to totally dissolve but in the spirit of scientific quest, I will continue to experiment. 5 or 6 blackberries 1 1/2 oz. bourbon of your choice 3/4 oz. lemon 3/4 oz. créme de muir* 1 teaspoon honey Try as best you can to dissolve the honey in the lemon juice in a glass and then add the blackberries and muddle. Add the remaining ingredients and fill the glass with ice. At this point you can either just stir it up or pour the whole drink in a cocktail shaker and shake it up well; strain it over fresh ice or dump the whole concoction right back in the glass--- your choice. I personally find this additional step isn't necessary. Garnish with a mint leaf and a blackberry....

A gorgeous drink! This is ever so slightly adapted from Food & Wine; it is originally from a restaurant in San Francisco called Tres Agaves which I hope to try next time I visit there. 1 1/2 oz. blanco tequila 1/2 oz. blackberry liqueur (créme de mûre) 3/4 oz. chilled, strong-brewed hibiscus tea 1/2 oz. lime juice 3/4-1 tsp agave nectar Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice and strain into a pretty cocktail glass. Makes one drink.

This is a lovely and refreshing cocktail adapted from Bon Appétit magazine. It is made up of a grapefruit base and topped off with sparkling wine; you can determine what ratio of each you like-- I did about 1/4 base to 3/4 sparkling wine. 2 cups fresh pink grapefruit juice (I don't typically like to make extra work for myself, but it is worth using fresh grapefruits- trust me on this) 1/2 cup St. Germain liqueur 1/4 cup Campari sparkling wine Combine the juice, St. Germain and Campari and chill until cold. Pour a bit into a pretty glass and top off with sparkling wine. Enjoy!

A festive, refreshing and delicious drink; I have a lot of cranberries in the fridge and thought they would be a nice addition to a cocktail that I already love. 10 cranberries, chopped (you can use a mini-food processor) 1 lime, cut into quarters 1 T superfine sugar 2-3 oz. vodka (depending upon how strong you want it- I poured just slightly over 2) In a glass, muddle the cranberries and lime with the sugar until juicy and mushy. Add the vodka and stir well; top with ice and stir again. Yum yum!

We had this drink in Washington D.C. at the recommendation of my niece Maggie-- it was the best drink EVER and I have humbly tried to duplicate it as best I can. Thank you Maggie-- my quality of life is greatly improved! 2 oz. Stoli blueberry vodka 1 1/4 oz. créme de cassis (buy a fancy French one in the liquor store) 1 oz. passion fruit pureé (you can find this in the freezer section of any worthwhile grocery store or Hispanic market) 1/2 oz. lemon juice 1/2 oz. simple syrup Shake vigorously in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and serve in the prettiest glass you have. 

In my opinion the margarita forms the foundation of the hedonist food pyramid; it's nature's supreme offering to us-- take a moment here to fully appreciate that.... you're welcome!!! 2 strawberries 2 oz. tequila 1/2 oz. triple sec 1 oz. lime juice 1/4 oz. simple syrup (adjust according to the sweetness of the strawberries) Muddle the strawberries in your glass (preferably salt-rimmed). Add ice. In a shaker with a bit of ice, add the remaining ingredients and shake vigorously (try to think of this as your muscle toning exercise for the day). Pour over the strawberries and enjoy!