Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Sprinkle with fresh ground nutmeg.
There’s a kid’s version that my father used to make for his grand children – use a little more cream, a little less Crème de Cacao and a lot less Cognac.
The following drinks were adapted from a 1932 recipe book called The Art of Mixing by James A. Wiley and Helene M. Griffth.
Milk Punch
Shake with ice, pour in a rocks glass with no ice and float a tablespoon of dark rum on top.
Jack Rose
Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass.
Clover Club
Shake and strain into a cocktail glass.
Night Cap
Shake thoroughly and strain into cocktail glass.
Elk’s Own Cocktail
Shake with egg white & a little bit of simple syrup.
Simple Syrup = 1 cup sugar & 1 cup water, heat until sugar dissolves and mixture is clear.
We were on our way to the Williamsburg Flea Market yesterday when we came across Fabbrica Restaurant & Bar. We were hungry and it was the first restaurant we came to when we got off the ferry (N. 6th St. and Kent Ave.) It was a fortuitous find, crowded but with room at the bar.
Their menu changes throughout the day – breakfast, brunch, lunch, late-lunch, etc. I was lucky to get there when Purgatorio was on it. That’s not Dante’s poem but eggs cooked in tomato sauce. It was the first time I’d ever seen it in a restaurant. My mother made it as a standard Monday lunch, using left over Sunday gravy. She called it Eggs in Purgatory.
I looked at the dinner menu and will definitely go back – hearty Italian food, interesting industrial décor, friendly service and pet-friendly too (dogs at the bar and outdoor tables).
It’s been vacant for a very long time and now it’s a bar & restaurant with great views.It’s the 1st pier on the Hudson River, at the western end of Battery Park on the foot of West Street.
Specializing in sea food, they have an extensive raw bar.
They also serve standard, well-presented pub grub.
Lots of hi-quality beers on tap and a well-stocked bar.
Mint Julep Nothing like it in summer. Try it in a silver cup if you have one. Originally made with Cognac, the standard is now Bourbon although some prefer rye.
Ingredients:
Mint leaves
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
Bourbon
In a rocks glass or silver cup, muddle a good size bunch of mint leaves with the sugar and a few drops of Bourbon. Pack the cup with cracked ice and mix the mint with the ice. Add the Bourbon and then add more ice and a sprig of mint.
Magnolia
Ingredients:
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp Cointreau (or 4 drops of orange flower water)
1 ½ oz brandy
1 egg yolk
Shake and strain into flute and fill with sparkling hard cider or Champagne.
Golden Fizz
Ingredients:
1 shot of gin
Juice of ¼ lemon
1 tspn sugar
1 egg yolk
Club soda
Shake thoroughly and strain into small highball glass without ice and top with some club soda.
Two other traditional Southern specialties, the Sazeracand Ramos Gin Fizzgot their own posts.
We recently spent a long weekend in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It’s been a resort for a long time thanks to the mineral water spring and spas. Until about the time Las Vegas came of age in the 1950s, Hot Springs was also a gambling mecca attracting Hollywood celebrities and gangsters. They even have a gangster museum.
I’ve always appreciated Southern cuisine and Hot Springs has some great restaurants. We started every morning with grits and eggs (and donuts) at our hotel restaurant (The Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa). Grits aren’t too common in NYC so I look forward to them whenever I’m in the South.
We had a great dinner at KJs Grill– chicken fried steak, French fries and local draft beer surrounded by paintings and photos of Marilyn.
It wasn’t all Southern American food, there was some Southern Italian too. We had a terrific meal at Luna Bellathat included arancini as good as any that I’ve ever had in New York. The same owners as KJ’s and more pictures of Marilyn.
Small MandolinSlices garlic as thinly as Paul Scovino did in Good Fellas and it’s cheap enough to throw away when it gets dull. Get one in a housewares store for $5 or $10. Watch your fingers, it’s sharp.
Hanging Basket
Good for handy storage of root vegetables and perfect for drying peppers.
Mushroom Brush
For getting that ugly brown stuff off mushrooms.
Egg Beater
Quicker than a whisk for fluffy omelets and zabaglione.
Fish Gripper & Scaler
This gripper was my father’s and is over 50 years old – Delty’s Fish Gripper, Lancaster PA.
Masher
Use it to make a lumpy sauce smooth – squashes tomatoes, onions, etc. as they’re cooking.
Shrimp Deveiner
A great design by Lamson Sharp.
Pepper Roaster
Really a grater but it doubles as a grill for roasting peppers on a gas burner – about 2 or 3 jalapenos or 1 bell at a time.
Processor
This one only holds about 2 ½ cups. I use it for making a trinity or any other fine chopping.
Herb baggie
To keep parsley, rosemary, etc. fresh put them in water in a rocks glass, cover with a baggie and refrigerate. Works with basil too but don’t refrigerate. Rather than a bowl or tray, use baggies for marinating meat and fish
Not too long ago my cousin Jeanne reminded me about a special after-dinner drink my father would make for our grandmother when we went to see her on holidays. It’s called a Pousse Caffe.That translates to something like ‘coffee chaser.’ It’s made by very carefully pouring layers of different colored liquors with different densities into a pony glass. They have to be poured in the correct order or they’ll mix. He held the glass on an angle so the liquor would slowly and gently run down its side. With some care and a steady hand, you can do it.
My father’s five layer recipe starts with a red base of Grenadine Syrup, followed by chocolaty Crème de Cacao, then green Crème de Menthe, clear Cointreau and topped with some amber Cognac. Use about one half ounce of each or vary the amounts for different of thicknesses of color layers.
It should be drunk in one shot, the way my grandmother did it. You get a swirl of different tastes in your mouth. It’s more a confection than a drink – not too sweet or tart.
Italian Flag Pousse Caffe
Whenever I make Pousse Caffes, since they’re so colorful, all the kids around the table want one. So I’ve come up with a milder version.
It starts with the same non-alcoholic Grenadine Syrup, then a thin layer of the green Crème de Menthe topped with some half and half. The only alcohol is in the ¼ ounce of low proof Crème De Menthe.
Brandy Scaffa
Another version of a layered after-dinner drink is the Brandy Scaffa. It’s not too sweet and has a bit more kick than the Pousse Caffe.
Start with 3/4 ounce of Luxardo Maraschino Liqueurin a narrow glass and then float 3/4 ounce of brandy on top of it. Finish with three dashes of Angostura Bitters sprinkled on top. Then watch it sink to make a reddish-brown line between the two layers. Of course, to get the correct effect, you should do it in one shot.
Use it for deglazing. It’s gentler than a metal one for scraping up the brown bits.
Hachoir or Mezza Luna (?)
I found this chopper at a yard sale. I’m still not too sure how it’s really supposed to be used but its old and interesting. It came from a Philadelphia restaurant.
Mellon Baller
Perfect for removing choke from artichokes. I suppose you can use it for balling melons too.
Cutlet Pounder
When the butcher doesn’t make them thin enough, here you go.
Blender
Good for powdering spices or making Flips & Frulatto. I got this one in a flea market. It’s nothing fancy with only two speeds, on and off.
Muddler
For Old Fashioneds, Mint Juleps Caipirinhas, etc.
Garlic Press
Speaks for itself.
Potato Peeler
Buy a cheap one and replace it when it gets dull.
Olive Pitter
The curved bottom is the perfect shape for squashing olives so you can remove the pit.
New York City used to have one Chinatown and now there are three. In additional to the original in downtown Manhattan, there’s one in Sunset Park, Brooklyn and another in Flushing. This morning we went shopping in Flushing.
Fresh produce, seafood, meat and all kinds of Asian imports beautifully displayed and good prices too.
And did I mention fresh fish…
Asian – Italian Fusion – Spaghetti al Nero Sepia con Bok Choy
Boil washed and sliced bok choy until tender (This recipe works with broccoli rabe, arugula or other greens too. Made like this, weeds would taste good.) Sauté the still wet greens and with garlic and oil. Add S&P, red pepper flakes cover and steam. When it wilts, toss with pasta. Simple, right? A little cheese isn’t bad on this.