While bartender contests are usually not our scene (don’t you HATE it when you get a recipe that calls for three things you’ve never even heard of, let alone have in your pantry?), there was one drink at the Don Julio Tequila cocktail competition at Good Spirits we tried that we absolutely have to, and can easily, make at home.
Recipes
When you hit the Greenmarket this weekend, pick up some Farmer Ground Flour (sold at the Cayuga Pure Organics stands) and try this earthy, rustic pound cake from June Russell, farm inspection manager for the Greenmarkets. Made of cornmeal, buckwheat and wheat, it’s a cross between cake and cornbread and makes a wonderful winter treat.
The Forrest Gump cocktail from Nick and Toni’s Cafe features Brooklyn’s own Cacao Prieto Cacao Rum, which we wrote about here in Edible Brooklyn. It goes down easy with some Valentine’s chocolate, just saying…
Lou DiPalo, the fourth-generation operator of DiPalo’s Fine Foods in Manhattan’s Little Italy, shared his grandmother’s recipe for true Italian-style cheesecake. The rich dessert has a slight salty tang thanks to the ricotta, which DiPalo’s shop still makes fresh a few times a day.
Looking for more ways to get your daily serving of leafy greens? Try this recipe for Chocolate-Covered Kale Chips from Daniel Sklaar, founder of Fine & Raw Chocolate.
Winter produce doesn’t have to dreary. With recipes like this one for rich roasted parsnip and sweet potato soup from Karol Lu, a competitive cooking veteran, you can dine like a king, even in the coldest months.
After all the holiday feasting and feting, who couldn’t use a little pick-me-up to get through the work week? Here’s a cocktail from the folks at Kings County Distillery and Marlow & Sons restaurant in Williamsburg that’s just right for our we’d-rather-be-baking-cookies-than-sitting-at-this-desk mood.
Ask an Italian about the Feast of the Seven Fishes and you’re likely to get a lot of blank stares. But ask them what they eat on Christmas eve and the answer will be a resounding, “Seafood!” This meatless meal varies from family to family and village to village, but as per tradition, there is always a lot of fish.
This cocktail calls for beet kvass, a slightly fizzy, naturally fermented drink from the Old World. Find it at Zabar’s made by Brooklyn-based company The Gefelteria.
Brrr…it’s cold outside. We’ve barely started on our lunch, but already we’re dreaming about what to put in the oven for dinner tonight. Here’s a recipe that will do just fine: rich and creamy 5-cheese mac and cheese from Home Cooking with Jean-Georges: My Favorite Simple Recipes (his wife, Marja, actually created it).
With holiday parties looming and menus to plan, we thought of this rich, frothy punch by mixologist Casey Van Heel of Rye Restaurant in Williamsburg. Light as a feather, yet decadent thanks to the upstate milk, this cocktail is more dessert than drink and perfect for filling guests’ glasses at winter gatherings.
Thanksgiving is just one week away. If you haven’t finalized your menu plans (or heck, even if you have), you’ll want to try this recipe for Fresh Pumpkin Pie with Salty Roasted Pepitas from One Girl Cookies, which we profiled in Edible Brooklyn last year.
