Rose-Scented Falooda

ROSE-SCENTED FALOODA

This weekend kicked off the start of Eid Al Adha (or Feast of Sacrifice). For those that are unfamiliar, it's the second of the two Muslim holy holidays and is considered the most holy, the other being Eid Al-Fitr, celebrating the end of Ramadan.

Although this holiday is considered the "Salty Eid" with savoury dishes being the mainstay of the celebration, it made me think about a sweet drink I grew up having at the sweet shops when I travelled. Falooda is a rose-scented, sweet milk that is flecked with sweet basil seeds (tukmaria), a cornstarch vermicelli and ice cream. It's such a distinct taste memory, an Indo-Pakistani bubble milk tea of sorts for a reference point, and was always a treat.

I thought it would be fun to recreate and also do it a bit more naturally (to give to my little one!). I used a rice vermicelli because falooda sev, the traditional cornstarch noodle, was too hard to find. In lieu of a pre-fab, pre-sweeted rose syrup, I made my own to control for sweetness, but, by all means, it tastes great using either. Finally, I used a touch of kewra essence because that flavor is part of my childhood, but it's totally optional (and also not the easiest to find).

Basil seeds, by the way, are very similar to chia seeds. When you soak them, they swell and become gelatinous. Like chia, they are considered a superfood, but, theoretically, you could sub in chia if they are too tough to find.

Serves 4

2 teaspoons basil seeds

1/3 cup white or brown rice vermicelli, broken into 1- to 2-inch pieces

2 cups milk (whole, skim, almond, coconut)

3 tablespoons rose syrup*

1 1/2 tablespoons kewra essence (optional)

4 medium scoops ice cream (vanilla, honey, pistachio, or any flavor you think fits here)

In a small bowl, cover the basil seeds with water and let sit 5 to 10 minutes. They will swell up, so you may need to add a bit more water. Strain.

Cook the vermicelli per the package instructions - usually about 3 minutes in boiling (unsalted!) water. Strain and transfer to an ice bath (water and ice) to cool down immediately and stop cooking. Strain once cooled.

To the milk, stir in the rose syrup and kewra essence, if using.

Divide the basil seeds and vermicelli between 4 glasses. Top with the rose milk and finish with a scoop of ice cream. Serve immediately with a straw and a spoon!

*For the rose syrup, in a medium pot, bring 1 1/2 cups water, 1 cup dried rose petals and 1 cup white sugar (if using a natural brown sugar like palm or coconut, change this to 3/4 cup) up to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover, and let steep until it cools to room temperature. Strain, using the back of the spoon to press through as much of the liquid (and flavor) from the rose petals as possible. Add a few tablespoons of rose water to intensify the flavor if need be - it all depends on the strength of the rose petals you're using.

Labor Day Loungin'

LABOR DAY LOUNGIN'

I honestly can't believe I am already talking about Labor Day - literally, wasn't it just Memorial Day the other weekend?? The end of summer is always so nostalgic and filled with a sense of anticipation, and, somehow, each year, it speeds up the older (....umm, mature?) you get. Either way, another summer has come and gone, and now it's time to max out and celebrate the last weekend of summer!!

If you are planning on grilling, which I definitely am, you can look back at these essential grilling tips (not to mention this killer whole grilled chicken with jalapeño sauce recipe). My focus for this post is going to be on cocktails, because, quite frankly, I'm going to need a few to say goodbye to summer. Not that I don't absolutely love Fall and looking forward to all of the holidays.....Back to cocktails - remember that chili post from last week? Well, I took an open bottle of vodka and threw in a few jalapeños for a spicy cocktail this weekend. Here are a few more that made my list - enjoy!

COCONUT CHILI MOJITO

STRAWBERRY-PEACH BASIL SHRUB

Just add your favorite spirit - vodka, rum, pisco and tequila all work beautifully here.

CRUSHED BLACKBERRY MOSCOW MULE

FROSÉ (FROZEN ROSÉ)

ST. LUCIAN RUM PUNCH (MY OLD STANDBY!)

POMEGRANATE FIG SMASH

Link Love: Step Up Your Easter Cooking

LINK LOVE: STEP UP YOUR EASTER COOKING

Easter is such a fun holiday to cook for! With the beginning of Spring, the meal just signifies all the good, fresh food to come! So, with this in mind, I wanted to share some of the recipes that have been inspiring me this year (because I'm honestly still on the fence for my menu)! Enjoy!

SLOW ROASTED LAMB PAPPARDELLE WITH GARDEN PEAS & MINT

GRILLED LAMB WITH HARICOT VERT AND COCONUT MILK BROTH

FRESH HAM WITH HONEY & CLOVES

CACIO E PEPE POTATOES

POTATO LEEK AU GRATIN

SIMPLY SAUTEED GARLICKY PEA SHOOTS

FARRO & ASPARAGUS SALAD WITH SESAME-MISO DRESSING

SKY HIGH LEMON MERINGUE PIE

MOLTEN HALVA LAVA CAKES

KOMBUCHA HOLIDAY PUNCH

The Art of Blending Your Own Tea

THE ART OF BLENDING YOUR OWN TEA

There’s nothing better than staying in on a cold winter day with a great book and a warming cup of tea, and, with the temps outside here in NYC reaching the negatives this past weekend, that’s exactly what I did! When I make tea, I tend to do a bit more than 1 bag and go. I have my own sachets and add a little of this and that until I get what I want. This weekend in the bitter cold was a bit of assam with a little earl grey with blue flowers and a star anise pod. Blending your own tea is so fun and personal (not to mention makes great, handmade hostess gifts) - thought I would share a few thoughts on how to do it!

CHOOSE A BASE

The first part of the tea blending process is choosing your base tea flavor. The most common are Black Tea (full-bodied, strong), green tea (mild, earthy almost grassy flavor), white Tea (mild and sweet), and oolong (floral and aromatic). I'm also a big fan of rooiboos tea, which is a red tea with a mild, sweet flavor that doesn't have any caffeine. Any of these bases can be bought online or in a specialty store and should makeup the majority of your tea mixture. Depending on which base you choose you can then start to add other ingredients (citrus, fruity, florals, spices). It may seem a little daunting at first, but just think of the tea combinations you see at the grocery store (like green tea peppermint, black tea cardamon) and then build from there!

HOW TO PAIR WITH OTHER FLAVORS

Now for the fun part! Creating different blends... Think of the flavor and strength of the base tea and blend from there. Black tea is a very bold tea and pairs well with other bold flavors: citrus, hibiscus, chocolate. A mild green tea can lean towards the typical Asian flavors: ginger, lemongrass; whereas, a bolder green tea can be paired with light fruity flavors: blackberry, pomegranate, lemon. White tea is a more delicate one to pair with, so I lean towards orange blossom or fresh mint with a little light spice. Rooibos I love to blend with a bit of vanilla bean powder and rose.

You can use other dried teas (chamomile, lemon balm, rose hips, hibiscus, rose), fresh herbs (mint, basil, sage) and fresh fruit rinds and aromatics (lemon, orange, apple peel, ginger, lemongrass). Start with a little, maybe a teaspoon, and add to your taste preference.

DON'T FORGET THE SPICE!

You know me, I can never resist a bit of spice. Cardamom and black tea are a match made in heaven. Star anise pods, cinnamon sticks, cloves and leftover vanilla beans are perfect and can go with both bold and milder teas.

HOW MUCH, HOW HOT & HOW LONG

Generally, my rule of thumb for teas is I use less tea when the leaves are smaller and a bit more when the leaves are bigger. Vague, I know! But for 8 ounces of water, if the tea is dense and tightly packed (think black tea or gunpowder green), I use 1 to 2 teaspoons. If it's very loose with big leaves (white tea or hibiscus), I use about 2 to 3 teaspoons.

Water temperature is important too. For black, dark oolong, herbal/fruity and rooiboos teas, use boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes. For white, green, and green oolong, stick to water that was boiled and has had some time to cool down - still hot but not scorching. These teas usually only need 2 to 3 minutes to brew.

Enjoy and happy blending!

5 Champagne Cocktails to Ring in the New Year

5 CHAMPAGNE COCKTAILS TO RING IN THE NEW YEAR

With Christmas out of the way it is now time to focus on New Year's! I usually head out of NYC for New Year's Eve, escape the madness, and have a quiet one with my family somewhere (preferably warm!). But, when I'm here, I love having a fun evening in with friends and family. The thought of going out and dealing with all the crowds just isn’t my thing. Besides, who doesn’t love a party with little finger bites to snack on along with some champagne cocktails!? Keeping it super simple is key, and I want to share some easy, champagne cocktails with you - the best way to end the holiday season!

FRENCH 75

The French 75 is a classic and super simple - gin, simple, lemon juice + champagne. You can't go wrong with this one.

SORREL CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL

This is hands-down one of my favorite champagne cocktails to make and is always a feature at my events. Sorrel is a sweetened, hibiscus drink scented with cloves and cinnamon that hails from the West Indies. I love to make a sorrel simple syrup and top with champagne for a gorgeous, sweet-tart, rose-colored cocktail. Take 1 cup dried hibiscus flowers + 1 cup sugar + 1 cup water and bring up to a boil - if you want to up the ante, throw in a cinnamon stick and 4 whole cloves. Remove from the heat and let steep 20 minutes. Strain and cool the syrup. Add 2 oz. of the cooled syrup to a champagne flute and top with the champagne of your choice!

GRAPEFRUIT AND GINGER SPARKLER

With only 3 ingredients, grapefruit juice + Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur + champagne, this drink is easy, elegant and tasty. Although I'm not a grapefruit eater myself, a touch of grapefruit in a cocktail (think: paloma) adds the perfect bitter note. The ginger liqueur adds just the right amount of sweetness, and the whole thing goes down really easy....a bit too easy if you know what I mean.

FEEL THIS COCKTAIL

The basis for this cocktail is again citrus because 'tis the season. Orange juice + lime juice form the base. Add a little vodka, brown simple syrup, and champagne and top with raspberries to keep it festive!

CHAMPAGNE SORBET FLOATERS

When in doubt, go to your grocery store (or local bodega...), pick up a pint or two of your favorite sorbet and throw it on top of champagne, prosecco, sparkline wine, cava or whatever you are serving. It will look gorgeous, and, as the sorbet melts, it will infuse your champagne with fruity sweetness!

Wishing everyone a very happy New Year's and all the best in 2016!!!

The (Non) Eggnog I'm Making For The Holidays

THE (NON) EGGNOG I'M MAKING FOR THE HOLIDAYS

In a few days, I'm having a (very) small group of friends over for a holiday get together. This year, after Thanksgiving fatigue, I'm taking it easy and going to enjoy my friend time. I'm doing some fun holiday drinks; there's going to be serious spades playing, and we are all going to eat my favorite delivery pizza (which in Brooklyn is nothing short of amazing)! Christmas eve will be my blowout cooking event with my family, so I'll get my cooking fix then.

One of my favorite things to do for holiday parties is serve little, sweet, liqueured up shots for dessert! And this year, I'm making this (non) eggnog for the occasion. I love how the Caribbean does eggnog and have put up the recipe for West Indian Ponche de Crème in the past - a sweet, creamy spiced eggnog with a touch of bitters. For this recipe, the inspiration is coquito, the Puerto Rican version which I like to think of as coconut eggnog!

I made some key changes to a traditional coquito here. Instead of canned evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk, which are traditional, I infused heavy cream with sugar and the signature spices of the drink - cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise and cloves - making my own sweetened and spiced condensed cream! Because I use heavy cream, I omit the eggs which is great because it's creamy enough. Also, I have some friends that aren't so into the "egg-y" flavor and are a bit skeeved out about the whole raw eggs thing, so it works all around.

This drink is so rich and delicious - it's creamy and scented with coconut. I love that it has the traditional cinnamon and nutmeg, but the star anise, if you have it, is such an unusual touch. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields a little over 8 cups

4 cups heavy cream

3/4 - 1 cup coconut or white sugar

5 cinnamon sticks

6 star anise pods (optional)

6 whole cloves

pinch ground nutmeg

pinch of salt

zest of 1 lime

3 ½ cups fresh coconut milk or 2 cans coconut milk

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup light rum

½-1 cup gold rum

Optional: Amaretto or Coffee Liqueur

Garnish: Ground or whole cinnamon, more star anise pods

Procedure

In a medium saucepan, add the heavy cream, sugar, cinnamon sticks, star anise, cloves, nutmeg, salt and lime zest. I give a range on the sugar because I like mine a bit less sweet (3/4 cup), but a traditional one would be more sweet (1 cup) - do to your tastes and remember you can always taste and add more! Bring up to a boil and then remove from the heat.

To a blender, add the coconut milk, vanilla extract and rums (again, to your booziness level). Blend until it's uniform. In a pitcher, pot of whatever you are going to store this in, stir together the blended coconut mixture with the spiced heavy cream. Chill completely before serving. I prefer letting it sit in the fridge a day or two before serving so all the flavors come through, but it's pretty amazing after a few hours too.

If you want to put a twist on this, substitute 1/2 cup amaretto or coffee liqueur in lieu of the same amount of the gold rum. Just drop down the sugar to 1/2-3/4 cup to balance out the sweetness.

Strain out the whole spices and serve over ice with some ground cinnamon, a cinnamon stick or some star anise pods.

Enjoy!

Strawberry-Peach Basil Drinking Vinegar (Shrub)

STRAWBERRY-PEACH BASIL DRINKING VINEGAR

The summer has been ridiculously hot! and, for me, the perfect thirst quencher has a few things: (1) it has to be cold (obvi...). (2) it needs acid - think lemonade! some sort of tart bite to it. (3) and a hint of sweetness (4) sometimes, bubbles help!

In a lot of different cultures, instead of citrus fruits, vinegar is used to add that touch of sour. Whether it's Irani sekanjabin, a simple syrup infused with vinegar and mint, Greek posca made with vinegar, water and herbs, Asian drinking vinegars or simply the various cultural adages that drinking vinegar has health benefits, it's sort of been around for a long time, and, if you live in Brooklyn like me, some variation may just be in your corner bodega....

Shrub is the name given to the American colonial era version of the drink, and the modern versions of this drink often have fruits. Mine has strawberries and peaches, and, not just any strawberries and peaches - the most bruised and battered ones! Yes, this is an amazing way to utilize the fruits that are still good but may not make it to your fruit plate or win any beauty contests. Typically, you sort of mix everything together (i.e. cold brew it) and let the flavor develop over a week or two. For the impatient ones among us, myself included, I cook the fruit down with raw honey (in lieu of sugar) and herbs (here, a gorge, purple basil that has been growing like a weed in my garden). I finish it off with some raw apple cider vinegar, and once cooled and strained, it's ready to go!

There are a million different combinations you can make with this recipe - different fruits, different herbs, and even different vinegars. I take a few tablespoons of this over ice and top it off with some club soda (and sometimes vodka...) for the ultimate refreshing summer drink!

Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields approximately 2 1/2 cups

1 cup strawberries, hulled and quartered

1 cup peaches, pitted and diced

8-9 leaves basil (purple or green)

1/2 - 2/3 cup raw honey (adjust to your sweetness preference)

1 cup raw apple cider vinegar

Procedure

In a medium pot, bring strawberries, peaches, basil, honey, and 1 cup of water up to a boil. Lower to a simmer and simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes until the fruit breaks down. Remove from the heat, add the vinegar and let the mixture cool to room temperature.

Strain, pressing all of the juice out of the fruits as you do, and refrigerate. It should keep for about a month (or even longer, though I never have any after that point!).

I take about 4 tablespoons of the shrub over ice and top with a 1/2 cup of club soda or even fresh coconut water for a great drink.

Blueberry-Hibiscus Smash

BLUEBERRY-HIBISCUS SMASH

It feels like the long wait is over and the warmth has finally arrived! I've been doing fam brunches for the past couple weeks - inviting friends to come by when they can on a Sunday, cooking up a storm, and letting the day linger as we all eat and chat and have a few cocktails. One of my favorite things to do is make a huge pitcher of (unsweetened) hibiscus tea ahead of time; it's the perfect mixer. I love combining it with freshly squeezed juice from the market or from whatever I have on hand for an arnold palmer of sorts. With a great, infused simple syrup (ginger, mint, rose, clove), I have endless variations for both mocktails and cocktails.

For this cocktail, I keep it super simple - muddling together mint, fresh blueberries, and lemon. Honey sweetens it up a bit, and, of course, the hibiscus tea adds tartness. The smash was created as a simpler version of the mint julep - it only requires a bit of muddling rather than making a mint simple syrup or extract. It was originally made with whiskey, but there are tons of versions with vodka, rum and gin. For this one I flip flop between using rum and vodka (I can't decide which I like better!), so pick your own poison and enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields one cocktail

6 or 7 mint leaves

8 or 9 blueberries, divided

2 lemon slices

2 teaspoons honey

4 ounces unsweetened, hibiscus tea*

2 ounces vodka or rum

Procedure

In a cocktail shaker, muddle together the mint leaves with the 4 or 5 blueberries and the lemon slices to release the juices and oils. Add the honey, hibiscus tea, and spirit and shake well to combine.

Transfer to a rocks glass filled halfway with ice and garnish with the remaining blueberries and a mint sprig.

*For loose hibiscus tea, my ratio is 1 cup dried hibiscus leaves per 10 cups water. I generally let mine sit overnight before straining,

Pomegranate-Mint Arnold Palmers

Now that the weather has officially turned here in NYC and the heat is on, I’ve been craving iced non-alcholic drinks on the regular to cool me down. Specifically, I’ve been nursing an addiction to Arnold Palmers, that half iced tea, half lemonade concoction that’s also referred to as Half and Half. They are ridiculously thirst quenching and have just enough caffeine that I don’t miss my coffee.

In the summer, I love to make a different pitcher of something every few days and leave it in the fridge. That way, when friends stop by I have the perfect, impromptu, non-alcoholic drink to serve that also works as a base for a cocktail (splash of vodka, anyone?) if the mood permits…

Of course, such a basic drink deserves a little twist, and I dressed mine up with pomegranate (2 ways!) and a touch of mint. I added a bit of pomegranate juice, but I also used pomegranate molasses to sweeten the drink. I’ve mentioned pomegranate, and other fruit, molasses in the past, and though the term molasses may call to mind a super sweet sugar byproduct, fruit molasses are actually quite healthy. They are just the cooked down version of the fresh juice, and I prefer using this as a natural sweetener here than anything else. You may want it to be a bit sweeter, so feel free to toss in a bit of agave or simple syrup if you need and enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 1 big pitcher

4 English Breakfast tea bags

½ cup lemon juice

1 cup pomegranate juice

7-8 tbsps pomegranate molasses

additional simple syrup or agave, to taste

mint, for garnish

Procedure

Bring 8 cups of water up to a boil. Add tea bags and let steep 4 to 6 minutes. Remove tea bags and cool completely in the fridge.

Transfer cooled tea to a pitcher and add the lemon and pomegranate juices along with the pomegranate molasses. Taste and add simple syrup or agave to taste, if desired.

To serve, muddle a bit of mint in the glass before adding ice and pour the Arnold Palmer right over.

Peruvian Purple Corn

The other day I stumbled across some Peruvian purple corn in a local, ethnic market and had to share it with you guys. I nabbed a big stash of it, since it’s dried and will last for a minute in my pantry. Peruvian purple corn is a variety grown in the Andes and is used to make a popular drink called chicha morada and a dessert called mazamorra morada, both of which I had in Peru a few years back.

I’ll start with the fact that there are a bunch of studies that show that purple corn has incredible health benefits. Rich in antioxidants and with anti-inflammatory properties, it’s thought to treat everything from high blood pressure to obesity. Doesn’t it always seem like foods some cultures have been consuming for years for its health properties we are just discovering?

Now, mazamorra morada is a sweet corn pudding, thickened with potato or cornstarch and scented with spices like cinnamon and clove. But my favorite way to use this is chicha morada, which is a great warm or cold weather drink. It’s extremely easy to make, and you really don’t need much of a recipe. You basically want to steep the dried corn in water with a few sticks of cinnamon, some allspice berries, a few cloves, a bit of apple or quince, maybe some dried cherries, and pineapple rind. Let that simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, sweeten with sugar or honey, add a bit of (key) lime juice and that’s it!

It’s served cold, and in many places, chopped fruit is added at the end, much like sangria. A big secret is to let it stand in the fridge for a few days. That fermented taste is signature to a great chicha morada. Enjoy!

Happy Memorial Day + Strawberry-Chia Aqua Fresca

First off, Happy Memorial Day to everyone! It’s the unofficial start of summer, and I am hanging out with friends and enjoying it – I hope you are too. I wanted to start off the summer with something very simple, something you could even make today if you wanted. It’s refreshing and is all about easy summer cooking and entertaining. – an aqua fresca.

I love when something in another language makes it sound so much more interesting or complex! The reality is aqua fresca, or “fresh waters”, are traditional Latin American beverages that blend seasonal fruits and sometimes even grains or seeds with water and a touch of sugar or natural sweetener. The succulent strawberries that have been staring at me in the market seemed a natural base for a refreshing drink, and I decided to include another popular aqua fresca ingredient: chia.

If you didn’t read my diatribe last week on chia seeds, you should if you are interested in all of the amazing health benefits of this superfood. If not, they add a nice gelatinous texture to the drink and at the very least increase hydration on a hot day. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields approximately 4 cups / Serves 4 to 6

1 lb fresh strawberries, washed and hulled

1-2 tbsps honey

2 cups cold water

Juice of 1 lime

4-6 tsps chia seeds

Procedure

In a blender, puree the strawberries with honey, water and lime juice. Pass through a strainer. Chill further if desired or pour into glasses.

I like to add the chia seeds, 1 teaspoon per serving, directly to the glasses and let sit in the aqua fresca for about 10 minutes to bloom. The chia seeds will absorb some of the liquid and become gelatinous. Serve with or without ice.

The Tea I Grew Up Drinking

This past weekend I headed back home to Florida to visit my parents. I love how easily you can just slide into old habits (well, food-related anyway!) – warm apple cake with vanilla ice cream upon arrival, fresh crèpes for breakfast, and other assorted dishes from food requests I made of my mom weeks ago in advance of the trip. One thing that requires no request when I head down is a tea that was a staple in my household growing up – creamy, spiced, a touch sweet, and pure comfort.

You have no idea how hard it was to document this (seemingly simple) recipe! The mere idea that I was going to record measurements and photograph spun the kitchen (my mom and myself included) completely out of order! What normally happens by instinct, adding the tea leaves, sugar or milk for example (yes, all of the ingredients in the recipe…), became a tall task, and it somehow took us multiple takes to get this right.

Just look at what happened when we turned our back to confer on how much of the spices we added. Milk explosion and a mess!

In any case, most people these days know about masala chai or just chai, which is the Hindi/Urdu word for “tea”. The stuff in the supermarkets and the original masala chai have a ton of spices – clove, cinnamon, and even black pepper included – as well as a strong, distinctive taste. This is notthat. This is a black tea that’s brewed, lightly spiced with green cardamom and a touch of saffron, and simmered with milk until it’s thickened. The result is creamy satisfaction and slightly decadent – the actual taste of the tea shines through (not just spices). And for me? It’s an easy way to remind myself of home. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 4

3 cups water

3 tbsps loose black tea (Assam, English Breakfast or whichever you like)

4 green cardamom pods, cracked

pinch saffron

4 tsps sugar (or to your taste level)

¾ cup whole milk

¾ cup evaporated milk

Procedure

In a kettle or small saucepan, bring water up to a boil. Add black tea, cardamom, saffron and sugar and boil for 1 minute. You may have to adjust the amount of black tea depending on the strength of what you are using. I used an Assam tea here. Also, you can do sugar to taste if you prefer.

Add both milks and bring up to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes until the tea has thickened a bit. Be careful not to let it boil over!

Strain and serve immediately.

A Twist on the Classic Pisco Sour

Happy New Year! As many of you know, I spent the past few weeks doing some serious culinary exploration of Peru and Brazil (so expect me to go a bit South American-crazy with my recipes in the coming weeks). I was blown away in Peru by the incredible produce – fruits, vegetables and herbs I had never seen or heard of. The cooking was super fresh, with Lima highlighting a lot of the country’s famous seafood dishes and Cusco showing me more of the homey, Andean classics. I thought I’d start this year with a cheers to 2012, a twist on a classic Peruvian cocktail (which I drank like water…).

Pisco is a clear grape brandy produced in the winemaking regions of Peru and Chile and is the national spirit of both countries. Both also lay claim to the pisco sour, but I’ve only experienced the Peruvian version, which I was taught has 3 parts pisco to 1 part lime juice. Throw in some simple syrup for sweetness, an egg white for a bit of foamy, creaminess and a dash of bitters and you have one of the most refreshing cocktails out there.

I saw a ton of different versions while I was there, everything from passionfruit to mint. But I thought I would make something a bit more seasonally appropriate, since this mid-20’s temperature makes “refreshing” the last thing you want to think about. This is sort of a cross, a pisco sour-apple really. I used a combination of fresh fuji apple juice and lime juice and infused the simple syrup with some mulling spices – cinnamon, clove, allspice, and a star anise for good measure. The result is a cold drink with warm spices that’s totally in the winter spirit…

A few things: For pisco sours, Peruvians use the juice of a local, small lime that’s extremely aromatic. I suggest using key lime juice to get as close to that flavor as possible. Also, if you are making these for a party, I suggest making them in batches to prevent the drink getting a bit bitter or the egg white from completely separating out. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

Spice-Infused Simple Syrup*:

Yields about ¾ cup

½ cup white sugar

½ cup water

2 cinnamon stick

3 whole cloves

3 whole dried allspice berries

2 star anise

2 bay leaf

pinch of ground nutmeg

1 inch piece of meyer lemon rind

Pisco Sour Apple:

1 ¾ cups pisco

¼ cup lime juice (preferably key lime)

1/3 cup fresh apple juice

¾ cup spice-infused simple syrup

2 egg whites

ice

angostura bitters (garnish)

Procedure

For the simple syrup, bring all ingredients in a small saucepan up to a boil, stirring so the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat, cover and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain and cool before using.

For the pisco sour apple, pour pisco, both juices, and the simple syrup into a blender. Blend briefly. Add egg whites and blend for another 10 seconds. Pour into glasses over ice and add a few dashes of angostura bitters to each. Serve immediately.

*Feel free to use your favorite mulling spices here and make this your own. I used meyer lemon rind because I had some sitting around and felt it would work well with the lime juice. Orange rind is great too.

Yuzu-Basil Rickey

The art of the summer cocktail…something light, refreshing, icy cool, perfect for a summer bbq or a breezy night out on the porch (or stoop as the case may be), and preferably in a pitcher so friends can help themselves! I personally love something that has a tart-sweetness to it like a mojito, caipirinha, or a spiked lime rickey, which was the inspiration for this drink.

I’ve talked a bit about yuzu in the past, but, basically, it’s a Japanese citrus that has an interesting flavor mix of lime, grapefruit and mandarin with a musky and slightly salty quality to it. It’s rarely found fresh here, but a bottle of yuzu juice from the Asian market will last forever (a few dashes go a long way). I love it in salad dressings, anywhere I might use lemon, and particularly in cocktails like this one.

A lime rickey is pretty simple – usually it’s made from fresh lime juice, carbonated water, and sometimes simple syrup to sweeten. My take here replaces lime juice with lemon and yuzu juices, includes club soda, and is spiked with vodka. The very simple syrup gets infused with fresh basil leaves, which complements the yuzu incredibly. This drink goes down a bit too easy if you know what I mean (what vodka?), but truly it’s my perfect summer drink – flavorful and totally refreshing. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 8 to 10

1 ¼ cups water

1 ¼ cups sugar

10 to 12 leaves of basil

¾ cup lemon juice

1 ½ tbsp yuzu juice

2 ¾ cups club soda

1 ¼ cup vodka

Procedure

First, make the basil-infused simple syrup. In a saucepan, heat the water, sugar and basil stirring until water comes up to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain and cool.

In a large pitcher, mix together the remaining ingredients with the cooled simple syrup. It’s best to let it chill for a few hours for the flavors to come together, but it’s still great right away.

Serve the yuzu-basil rickey over ice.

St. Lucian Rum Punch

Hope everyone had a fun Memorial Day! I was in St. Lucia this past weekend for a wedding and was awed by the beauty (and cuisine) of the island. Now, I usually post recipes that I create, but I made a special request to learn how to make this delicious cocktail and just can’t keep it to myself. This rum punch will be the signature drink this summer for all of my bbq’s and cookouts.

Now, it’s my understanding that each island lays claim to the original rum punch, and I am not taking any sides! But this version is fruity, a bit strong, but goes down easy (it may have supplied a significant percentage of my vitamins this weekend…). I also wasn’t completely exact with my measurements here (i’ll let you guess why!), but it’s easy enough to do to your personal tastes.

As with all rum punches, it’s best to make this a day or two in advance to let the flavor intensifies. Juices, bitters, rum, and a few key spices make this a gorgeous warm weather cocktail.

Enjoy! and thank you Diane for the tutorial!

Ingredients

Serves 10 to 12

3 cups orange juice

3 cups pineapple juice

1 cup lime juice

a healthy pinch of cinnamon

a healthy pinch of nutmeg

6 generous shakes of angostura bitters

2 1/2 cups dark or light rum

grenadine syrup (will give amount in the procedure)

1 1/4 cups simple syrup

Procedure

In a large bowl or pitcher, mix together juices, spices, bitters and rum. Add grenadine syrup until the punch reaches the color of a flaming sunset. Grenadine syrups differ in sweetness, so I like to add the simple syrup after this point and taste along the way to make sure it’s not too sweet.

Again, it’s great to refrigerate it for a few hours or overnight to let the flavors combine, but it’s also delicious served immediately. Serve over ice.

Rhubarb-Kewra Granita

I mentioned screw pine extract (kewra) a few weeks back and its intoxicating, floral perfume. When I spotted some beautiful rhubarb at the greenmarket, I just knew it was a match made in heaven. As the weather has been warming up, I thought a spiked granita would be a great way to showcase both of the flavors.

Granitas are awesome because they are great for lazy cooking days. They require so little – water or juice, fruit or another base ingredient, sugar, any other fun items you want to throw in, and a freezer. No ice cream maker is necessary, and in a few hours, you have a lovely frozen treat. I added a bit of vodka to make mine, but it can totally be left out for a kid-friendly/nonalcoholic version.

Screw pine, which is used in Asian and Middle Eastern cooking, is found in both sweet and savoury dishes. When sweet, the dish is often a milk-based dessert – a fantastic way to feature the delicious scent. But, truthfully, it’s really complimentary to fruits and balanced the tartness of the seasonal rhubarb here perfectly.

Here, I cooked the rhubarb down with some sugar and lemon juice, puréed, strained, and added the kewra and vodka. Ridiculously easy. A few hours of freezing and scraping with a fork, and the granita was complete – crunchy, melt-on-your-tongue ice, sweet, tart and floral. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 6 to 8

3 ½ cups rhubarb, cut into ½” pieces (approximately 5 to 6 stalks)

2 ½ cups water

1 cup sugar

generous squeeze of lemon juice

3 tbsps screw pine extract

¼ cup vodka (completely optional but nice)

Procedure

In a medium pot, add rhubarb, water, sugar, and lemon juice. Bring up to a simmer and simmer covered for 3 to 5 minutes until rhubarb basically falls apart.

Transfer to a blender and purée until smooth. (Be careful when blending hot items! Hold down the top with a towel.) Strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer (cheesecloth-lined preferably) in a bowl. Add screw pine extract and vodka, if using.

Transfer mixture to a metal baking dish – I used a 12”x14.5”x2.5 inch lasagna pan – and place uncovered in the freezer. Remove after an hour and use a fork to scrape / disrupt the ice crystals. Repeat process every 45 minutes for the next 3 or 4 hours until completely frozen and desired texture.

Cover with plastic wrap if not serving immediately.

Ponche de Crème

I have a mild obsession with Christmas (and am all about West Indian dishes this week!). I didn’t grow up with the holiday since I’m not Christian, but, as an adult, I am completely infatuated with the traditions. This weekend I bought a massive tree and went O.C.D. decorating (my husband is not allowed to touch it) while listening to Christmas music and drinking my version of eggnog. My mother-in-law stopped by during my decorating madness and exclaimed, after a sip or two of my eggnog, that it tasted just like ponche de crème (AND that it needed more rum…). Ponche de Crème is like West Indian eggnog – a favorite I have had at my husband’s family’s Christmas parties in the past. It’s flavor is sweet and creamy, with a hint of spice, and that serious kick of rum.

What’s interesting to me about this recipe is how ubiquitous it is. It’s definitely big in Trinidad and Tobago, but it is found throughout the Caribbean and even Venezuela has a version. Theirs is called “Ponche Crema” and is a traditional drink that’s had during the festival of Navidenas. All versions have similar ingredients – milk, eggs, sugar, rum – much like traditional egg nog in the U.S. But the spices and aromatics differ regionally, and Venezuelans also have one that includes ground coffee or (better) coffee liqueur. Yum!

This is now my default eggnog for the holidays. Warning – ponche de crème is extremely rich, indulgent and addictive. It has a dessert-like quality that makes you feel like it’s a treat (which it is)…AND it sneaks up on you. You might be at a party happily sipping away at this drink, chatting with friends, and then all of a sudden you’re just a liiiiittle bit too tipsy... The ingredients that make this a stand out from traditional eggnog are aromatic bitters (which add interesting depth), lime zest (fruity brightness) and condensed milk (a luscious silky texture). Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields a little over 8 cups

1 quart milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 can condensed milk

zest of 1 lime

1 ½ tsps aromatic bitters

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

pinch of salt

7 egg yolks

¼ cup white sugar

½ cup dark rum

¼ cup brandy

Procedure

Place milk, cream, condensed milk, lime zest, bitters, vanilla extract, ground spices and salt in a pot over medium heat. When the mixture comes up to a simmer, remove from heat.

In a bowl, beat together egg yolks and sugar until light and creamy. Pour a little bit of the hot milk mixture into the yolks and whisk. You want to bring the egg yolks up to temperature without cooking and solidifying the yolks. Keep adding the milk mixture a little at a time until yolk mixture is up to the same temperature. Return it all to the same pot and place back on the stove over medium-low heat.

Cook the mixture for about 2 to 3 minutes or until a thermometer registers 170° F – make sure to stir continuously. Pour into a pitcher and add rum and brandy (and more than I suggested if you like it stronger of course). Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours or (better!) overnight.

Strain the mixture before serving to remove any pieces of zest or clumped spices. Serve chilled over ice with a bit of fresh nutmeg on top.

Champurrado

Seriously, I feel like I’ve been missing something. Mexican chocolate. I mean I’ve had a Mexican hot chocolate before but have never experienced the pure form of it. The deliciously sugary, cinnamony thick tablets of sweet dark chocolate. It’s a serious love affair, and I’m going to find more and more reasons to sneak these into desserts…or my morning coffee. You’ve been warned – forgoing the recipe in favor of just eating the chocolate did not seem like an outlandish option after the first bite.

Atoles are a group of masa-based Mexican and Central American hot drinks with champurrado a specifically chocolate one. The drink consists of water or milk with masa, spices like cinnamon and/or anise, and chocolate in the case of champurrado. The masa acts as a thickening agent to create a drink that can range in thickness from a pudding-like consistency to a thinner liquid.

As the weather continues to cool, the thought of a warm, spicy chocolate drink crept into my mind, and I thought I would explore this version over the traditional Mexican hot chocolate. Champurrado is actually a Christmas drink, though it’s also had for breakfast, often with churros. That’s the breakfast of champions if I ever knew one….would not mind it myself.

I happened to find this luscious Ibarra Mexican chocolate at Whole Foods along with the masa harina I used to thicken it. Although the chocolate is sweetened and has cinnamon, I added a touch more of both along with some vanilla bean for good measure. The result is thick, rich, warmly spiced deep hot chocolate with a hint of that sweet corn flavor. Totally addictive. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 4

4 cups milk

2 tablets Mexican chocolate, chopped into little pieces

1/3 cup masa harina

¼ cup light brown sugar

½ tsp salt

1 cinnamon stick (optional)

½ vanilla bean, split and scraped or ¼ tsp vanilla powder (optional)

Procedure

In a saucepan, warm 1 cup of milk on low (want it warm enough to melt the chocolate). Pour into blender and add chocolate pieces and masa harina. Blend on high for 30 seconds, and strain back into the saucepan.

Add remaining milk and ingredients and heat on medium-low. You want to slowly bring the mixture up. Once the mixture begins to bubble, reduce heat to low and let simmer 10 minutes until it thickens and the cinnamon and vanilla have infused.

Serve immediately!

FYI – It’s natural for a skin to form as you’re cooking. Feel free to remove before pouring.

Smoked Earl Grey Tea Cocktail

A few weeks back, I was chatting with a friend of mine, John-Paul, who owns a really cool tea company and promised him I’d come up with an interesting tea cocktail. This smoked earl grey tea cocktail was the result and is a delicious combination of smokiness, citrus and ginger that works for both guys and gals.

John-Paul runs Tavalon, a tea company he founded about 5 years ago when an “aha” moment in London inspired him to forge a new face for tea in America. Their teas are incredible, yes, because they have a tea sommelier who travels all over the world sampling different teas, buy directly from tea farms, only source “premium” loose teas, and use numerous focus groups to test their over 80 blends (which they blend here in NJ). But, beyond that, their teas are really flavorful, fun, lifestyle-oriented and, like here, work wonderfully with a little booze!

I have to admit – I am completely addicted to Tavalon’s Smoked Earl Grey Reserve Tea. It’s incredibly complex, woodsy with citrusy floral notes. I’ve been drinking it nonstop. When I was coming up with this recipe, I wanted something that wasn’t too sweet and really highlighted the tea flavor rather than masking it with a heavy alcohol flavor. This Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur I picked up (yes, because Oprah said to) worked perfectly. The cognac base blends seamlessly with the smokiness of the tea, and the ginger is delicate enough to compliment it without taking over. I’m ginger-light with my cooking precisely because it so easily can overpower. Not here. The lemon juice provides the perfect tangy balance, and using a lemon sugar on the rim provides just the right amount of sweetness. This is a seriously good cocktail and will definitely be served at my next dinner party – enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 1

Rim:

sugar

lemon zest

½ lemon

Cocktail:

3 ounces cold, brewed smoked earl grey tea

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 ounces Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur

Ice

Procedure

In a small bowl, add sugar and as much lemon zest as you desire. Mix thoroughly and transfer to a plate. Rub the ½ lemon along the rim of a rocks glass. Dip glass face down into lemon sugar to create an even coating along the rim.

To the glass, add cold, brewed smoked earl grey tea, lemon juice, and ginger liqueur. Stir to combine and add a few ice cubes.

Sugar Plum Sherbet with Star Anise

My tongue just twisted writing the title to this! The unbearable heat in NYC has lead me to more inventive ways of cooling down. What could be better than a homemade, refreshing fruit drink made with seasonal ingredients and interesting flavors?

Sherbet in America has come to take on a sorbet-like connotation, but the origins are really in the word “sharbah”, which is Arabic for “a drink”. Sherbet (or sharbat as we called it growing up) is a soft drink of sorts made from fruits, flower petals, and/or herbs. These are often extracted with sugar and lime juice to form a syrup, which is then diluted with water, milk, or evaporated milk and served over ice. Falooda, a South Asian sherbet, has always been a favorite of mine; it’s intoxicatingly flavored with rose syrup – will have to make it soon. Hibiscus, screw pine (amazing and unique), and saffron are other flavors often used in sherbets.

Turkey, India, Afghanistan – to name a few – all have their versions of sherbet. I’ve been researching Turkish food more as I’m planning a trip there for later this year (seriously canNOT wait), and I came across a recipe for sour cherry sherbet. That was the inception of this recipe. In the greenmarket, I stumbled upon these luscious, burstingly-ripe sugar plums and thought these one-up a sour cherry any day.

I also personally love the combination of plum with vanilla, and the star anise creates a beautiful perfume to the drink. The plum-tartness is balanced out well by the creaminess of the evaporated milk, and the result is actually quite delicate, more fruity than creamy. The milk can be left out of the recipe for those who don’t tolerate it well or simply want to watch calories – it’s delicious as a simple fruit drink over ice. I mixed a little sugar and cinnamon to create a rim on a martini glass and served it that way – lovely. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields approximately 9 to 10 cups

8 cups water

1 ½ cups sugar

1 ¾ lbs sugar plums (1 carton)

½ vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

2 star anise pods

1 can evaporated milk

Ground cinnamon and sugar (for glass rim, optional)

Procedure

This is super easy.

In a medium pot, heat water on high. Add sugar and stir to dissolve.

Add whole plums, vanilla, and star anise. Bring up to a boil and lower to a simmer. Simmer, partially covered for 15 minutes. Uncover, and simmer for another 5 minutes. Throughout the simmering process, you want to mash the plums with a spoon – they come apart really easily.

Strain through a cheesecloth- lined mesh strainer. Pick up the ends of the cheesecloth and twist to squeeze all of the juice out of the plums. You may need to let it cool a bit before doing this. Discard the solids.

Let juice cool for a few hours in the fridge. Add evaporated milk. Serve over ice or in a cinnamon sugar-lined martini glass.

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Ponche de Crème

Champurrado

Smoked Earl Grey Tea Cocktail

Sugar Plum Sherbet with Star Anise