Cold meals / dishes - quick and easy recipes - page 50

This festive holiday punch is made with tart pomegranate and lime juice, aged Jamaican rum, simple syrup, and a touch of orange bitters. Just before serving, top it off with your favorite dry sparkling wine, like cava, Prosecco, or champagne. And to make it extra festive, we’ve included instructions on how to make a beautiful pomegranate-and-lime ice block to keep it chilled. Game plan: You can make the punch base and chill it up to 8 hours ahead.

This autumn-inspired drink uses sweet maple-flavored liqueur with apple brandy, sparkling apple cider, and a bit of lemon juice to balance it all out. What to buy: We like Sortilège maple liqueur for its smooth and not-too-sweet blending of whisky and maple syrup.

Champagne and club soda lighten up this deep-red punch made with claret wine, brandy, and dark rum. Fresh orange and pineapple slices add a hint of citrus and bright color. What to buy: Wines labeled “claret” are red wines that contain a blend of Bordeaux grapes. You can find them in most well-stocked wine shops or online.

Often used as a cold remedy, a hot toddy is at once delicious and invigorating. This take on the classic receives a boost of flavor from honey liqueur and apple brandy, for a toddy that’s sure to leave everyone warm and a bit toasty. A unique blend of highland honey and fine spirits, it can be found at well-stocked liquor stores or online. If you can’t find it, high-quality clover honey can be substituted.

This light, refreshing punch starts with a mix of apple cider, vodka, orange liqueur, apples, and lemons, which is then topped with sparkling apple juice and sparkling wine. Serve this not-too-boozy-tasting punch at a Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s party.

Deep in the heart of San Francisco’s gritty Tenderloin neighborhood is the creative bar Rye. When a few folks from the CHOW staff made a trip there, they fell in love with this light, bubbly cocktail made with elderflower liqueur, Yellow Chartreuse, and Prosecco.

Tart kiwis are an excellent fruit to muddle into a cocktail, especially when offset with a sweet, fruity liqueur like peach. Gently crush the kiwis to release their juice, add the rest of the ingredients, strain into a glass, and top with sparkling wine.

Angèle in Northern California’s Napa Valley is where locals go for satisfying French fare, but the restaurant’s creative cocktails.

This boozy but balanced St. Patrick’s Day punch combines Guinness, cider, and whiskey. First, freeze nonalcoholic and hard apple cider into an ice block. When you’re ready to get your drink on, pour the beer and more hard cider into a punch bowl and add the ice block. Pour the whiskey over top of the frozen cider, and as the cider block thaws it’ll give the punch the sweet-tart flavor of a Black Velvet cocktail with a whiskey back.

This light and fruity cocktail was created for the CHOW launch party by master mixologist Jacques Bezuidenhout. The sweet combination of sliced strawberries, strawberry syrup, and rosé wine is balanced by the herbal complexity.

With cabbage, carrots, radishes, and herbs, this slaw is as colorful as it is flavorful. It’s a great make-ahead dish, since the flavor develops as it sits; just be sure to give it a quick stir before you serve.

Rosa Mexicano’s perfectly balanced La Pinela cocktail is made with pineapple juice, cinnamon syrup, lime juice, and tequila. What to buy: Licor 43 Cuarenta y Tres is a Spanish liqueur with great spiced notes and a vanilla flavor that’s often served on the rocks. It can be found at high-end liquor stores and online.

This salad is a great way to use up leftover or slightly stale bread. The original is typically made with red wine vinegar and the saltless bread found throughout Tuscany. Our version has a light lemon vinaigrette and cucumbers for an added dimension and some crunch. What to buy: Pull out your best extra-virgin olive oil for this recipe, as the quality becomes apparent after the first bite.