Category Archives: beverage

Spiced Tea With Ginger and Cardamom-Sanjay Gupta

Posted on by
  • 1 teaspoon minced ginger 
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
  • 3 teaspoons brown sugar (optional)
  • 3 tea bags, preferably strong black tea such as Assam
  • 1 cup of half-and-half

1. Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a saucepan or small pot. As the water heats up, add the ginger, cardamom and, if using, brown sugar.2. Once water has reached a boil, reduce to medium-low heat so it simmers with gentle bubbles. Add the tea bags and half-and-half.

Using tea bags simplifies the process.

3. Let the liquid slowly come to a boil once again, then remove from heaGupta says making chai isn’t just about the drink but also the tradition surrounding it.4. Remove tea bags and carefully pour tea into teapot or cups.

Makes 4 servings

State Fair Lemonade, chef john

Posted on by
  • 6 lemons
  • 1 1/4 cups white sugar
  • 5 cups cold water

  1. Wash lemons and peel off all the zest using a vegetable peeler. Set peeled lemons aside. Add the lemon zest to a bowl and cover with sugar. Toss to combine. Cover and let sit for a minimum of 2 hours, or up to overnight.
  2. Bring water to a boil in a pot over high heat; turn off heat and pour in the lemon-sugar mixture. Stir and let sit until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes.
  3. Pour through a mesh strainer back into the same bowl and discard the zest. Let cool to room temperature, 20 to 30 minutes.
  4. Cut the lemons in half and squeeze into the bowl. Pour lemonade into a serving pitcher. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill thoroughly before serving over ice, at least 2 hours.
  • Chef’s Notes:
  • If your lemons feel waxy, give them a good scrub under hot water before using.
  • Feel free to adjust amounts of lemon juice and sugar.

Instant Pot Masala Chai from twosleevers.com

Posted on by
    • 2-3 teabags
    • 1.5 cups water
    • 1/2 cup milk or non-dairy substitute
    • 2 teaspoons sugar adjust to taste
    • 2 whole cloves
      3-4 sticks cinnamon
      1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
      4 green cardamom pods
      4 thin slices ginger      Place all ingredients In a heat safe container, preferably one with a spout to ease pouring.

Cover the container with foilIn the inner liner of your Instant Pot, place two cups of water, and a trivet. Place the foil-covered pot on the trivet.Cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes, and allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes. Release remaining pressure.Strain into two cups and serve.

Hot Cocoa Mix, Alton Brown

Posted on by
  1. 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
  2. 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
  3. 2 1/2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
  4. 1 teaspoon fine-grain salt
  5. 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  6. 1 pinch (or more to taste) ground cayenne pepper*, optional
  7. Hot milk or water to serve
  1. Combine the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, milk powder, salt, cornstarch and cayenne in a large airtight container. Secure the lid and shake vigorously to combine, and remember to shake prior to every extraction.
  2. To serve: Place 2 tablespoons of the mix in a mug and add about 2 fluid ounces hot water or milk. Stir to combine. Fill the mug with more hot water or milk and enjoy.
Notes
  1. * The Aztecs always added chiles to their chocolate. Even a pinch ups the flavor ante quite a bit, and as called for here certainly won’t be sensed as “heat.”
  2. No matter — this is fast, easy and will keep for a year if kept in an airtight container in a cool place.

 

Watermelon-Tequila Cocktails 

Posted on by

download (2)

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
8 cups diced seedless watermelon (1 pound)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 3/4 cup blueberries
3/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, plus 8 sprigs for garnish
1 1/4 cups silver tequila
Ice

1. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a simmer with the sugar and stir over moderate heat until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute; let the sugar syrup cool.

2. In a blender, puree the watermelon until smooth. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and strain the watermelon juice, pressing gently on the solids to extract as much juice as possible. Discard the pulp.

3. In a large pitcher, combine the sugar syrup with the lime juice, blueberries and mint leaves. Using a wooden spoon, lightly muddle the blueberries and mint. Add the watermelon juice and tequila. Refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.

4. Pour the cocktail into tall ice-filled glasses. Garnish with the mint sprigs and serve.

 

pumpkin spice latte from Sarah Carey

Posted on by
  • download1 cup milk
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 whole nutmeg
  • 1/2-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced
  • 1 cup espresso or very strong coffee
  • Whipped cream for serving
  • Cinnamon for garnish
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar

  1. In a small saucepan, bring the milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to a boil. Turn off heat and cover. Let mixture steep for 30 minutes.

  2. Divide espresso between 4 cups. Strain milk and divide between the 4 cups. Top each with dollop of whipped cream and dusting of cinnamon.

blueberry margarita

Posted on by

original-201311-r-blueberry-margarita

1/4 cup fresh blueberries

1 ounce (2 tablespoons) fresh lime juice

4 ounces (1/2 cup) reposado or añejo tequila

1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) Simple Syrup

Few dashes orange bitters

Ice

Kosher or sea salt for rimming the glass

Rub the rim of two rocks or margarita glasses with a lime wedge. Swirl the rims through a small pile of kosher or sea salt to salt them. Add ice cubes to the glasses.

In a cocktail shaker muddle the blueberries and lime juice until the blueberries are pulverized. Add the tequila, Simple Syrup, bitters and a handful of ice to the shaker. Add a left over rind or two from the limes. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds, and then strain into the salted glasses.

blood mary mix from food wine

Posted on by

A ffwx-3-takes-on-the-bloody-mary-1ew cardinal rules here: This must be made the night before you plan to drink it, so it can sit overnight. Otherwise, the flavors just don’t come together. And while it looks like a long ingredient list, odds are half of them are in your fridge or spice cabinet already.

The good news? Once the mix is made, it’ll last a while in the fridge and pretty much forever in the freezer, so making a Bloody is as easy as adding vodka and celery.

Now, the recipe: In a quart-sized container, pour 23 ounces of tomato juice—the canned kind is just fine here. Add 6 tablespoons of jarred grated horseradish, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 6 big dashes of Tabasco, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon celery salt, 1/2 teaspoon celery seed, 1 ounce fresh lemon juice, 1 ounce olive brine (just the liquid from whatever green olive jar you have on hand), plus 1 full teaspoon of coarse-ground black pepper.

Stir that all up, let sit overnight and in the morning, get mixing with one of these three recipes.