Quick meals - quick and easy recipes - page 138

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.

Whole wheat flour gives this pizza dough a hearty flavor and a chewy yet crisp texture. This recipe makes enough dough for two large pizzas, so you can top one for the adults and let the kids have a go at the second one, or freeze it for later. Just add pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and all your favorite toppings. Chowhound uses this in our easy margarita pizza recipe.

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.

The classic technique for making glazed carrots involves adding just the right amount of water to a saucepan along with carrots, butter, and sugar and simmering for the exact length of time it takes for the liquid to reduce to a syrup and the carrots to become just tender. I usually overcook the carrots or add too little water, so I like this more forgiving technique. Cook the carrots in boiling water until crisp-tender and drain.

Most people don’t try making hollandaise sauce at home because the classic method requires a water bath and constant attention to ensure a perfectly textured sauce. In this fast and easy version, we use a blender to emulsify butter and egg yolks into a perfectly smooth sauce with a hint of brightness from lemon juice. Use it for classic eggs Benedict, or drizzle it over broiled fish or steamed veggies. Pick a great new blender to make this sauce and everything else you want smooth.

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.

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 tasty cucumber salad recipe combines honeydew, cucumber, and feta cheese in a garlic, lemon, pepper dressing to create an amazing salad. While honeydew is usually the backbone of fruit salads, it can also shine in savory recipes, like this one with crunchy cucumber, feta cheese, and mint. The lemon-and–olive oil dressing has lots of black pepper to temper the flavour of the melon.

This recipe from author and former Gramercy Tavern managing partner Nick Mautone is a blend of Grand Marnier and iced tea that makes a perfect summer-afternoon cooler. Game plan: We like this Basic Iced Tea recipe for this cooler. Make the tea and refrigerate it up to 8 hours in advance.

You don’t need to pull out the ice cream maker for this elegant cold dessert. Just blend frozen pineapple with rum, lime juice, simple syrup, and ice, then freeze the mixture until solid and scoopable. This tart, tropical sorbet hits the mark as both an after-dinner cocktail and a dessert.

This basic cream cheese frosting recipe is really easy to remember: Just beat together 2 sticks of butter, 2 packages of cream cheese, 2 cups of powdered sugar, and a splash of vanilla extract. It has just the right balance of sweetness and tang, so you can spread it on almost any sweet, from pumpkin cupcakes to ginger cake, or sandwich some between oatmeal cookies. Game plan: Refrigerate the frosting in a zip-top bag or an airtight container with a tightfitting lid for up to 4 days.