The Martini

Calling cocktails “martinis” is like calling all comedians Lenny Bruce. Sure, we’d all like to be him, but there can be only one.

A Martini contains only gin and dry vermouth (orange bitters is optional) and is garnished with olives or a lemon twist. Never vodka (that’s called a Kangaroo). Never onions (Gibson). And if you like it “bone dry, like Winston Churchill liked it,” you’re really just drinking chilled gin (and I judge you).

That said, if you’re looking for a dirty martini recipe, I’ve got you covered.

Making a Martini can be intimidating. A drink with so few ingredients leaves no room for error. Over-pour, under dilute, stare too long at your guests with your mouth gaping and you’re asking for trouble (and a lot of uncomfortable guests).

Some people will (ridiculously) claim that shaking bruises the gin. They are wrong. Shaking accelerates dilution. Shaking drinks that contain sugary ingredients can lead to cloudy cocktails. They’ll look disgusting, but they won’t taste any different.

Makes 1 martini

Ingredients

2 ounces (70 mL) good gin, such as The Walter Collective (my personal favorite)
3⁄4 ounce (20 mL) dry vermouth, such as Noilly Prat
1 dash of orange bitters (optional), such as Angostura

Directions

Put all ingredients in a glass with ice. Any glass will do. Stir for 60 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. I use a julep strainer and think you should too. You could use two forks, as I’ve suggested before. The goal, once again, is to separate ice from the liquid. Garnish with an olive or two. Your other alternative is a lemon twist. Not a slice, a wheel, or wedge. A twist. (See page 10 if you want to know more about why I’m adamant this should be a twist and nothing else.)

Lemon Basil Daiquiri

Ingredients

• 2oz [60ml] Lemon Basil Rum

• 3/4oz Freshly squeezed lime juice [ALWAYS freshly squeezed]

• 1/2oz [15ml] 1:1 Simple Syrup

Recipe

1. Add everything to a mixing tin/glass/jar/container full of ice.

2. Stir. Stir. Stir.

3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

My New Favorite Way To Egg

This past weekend I made dinner for a bunch of friends. The menu was pretty straight forward, whipped & herbed ricotta [which is my favorite kinky Italian dungeon], 24-month aged San Daniele prosciutto, grilled and marinated artichoke hearts, olives, grilled asparagus, and pesto and brie canapés. And then a big salad, modeled after this one.

Like I said, pretty straight forward.

All of this is just one, self-aggrandizing wind up to tell you that I discovered my new favorite way to egg. And it couldn’t be easier.

Here’s the recipe:

1. Heat a water bath to 90˚C (194˚F). I use this immersion circulator and this pan. You can use anything that’ll hold hot water, but I live in a tiny Manhattan apartment, so everything’s gotta pull double duty.

2. Cook the whole eggs in the bath for 8 minutes.

3. If you like a runnier yolk, remove to an ice bath. If you like a more gelatinous yolk, let it sit for 30 minutes.

4. Peel

5. Eat.

That’s it.

Seriously.

If I’m using this on top of breakfast pasta [it’s a thing], I’ll drop those puppies in an ice bath to preserve the runny yolk. If I’m having them alone, in place of hard-boiled eggs, I’ll let ‘em sit. Either way, it’s the perfect combination of textures. Not nearly as mouth-drying as hard boiled eggs. But not as delicate as a poached egg.

Give it a bash and let me know what you think in the comments below!

Oh, and hat tip to the team at ChefSteps.com for the recipe. I can’t find a link on their website for it, but you can find it in their Joule app if you search for “Ultimate Ramen Eggs.”

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The Seelbach Cocktail

I featured this drink in a recent episode of Quarantine Cooking. 

Some days were made for cocktailing [they end in 'y'].

There's a cocktail for every occasion. But what about the "I'm in a mimosa mood but have no oranges" occasion?

Easy, the Seelbach.

It's perfect for that cheap bottle of sparkling wine you've got in your fridge from that time you had the [insert cheap friends' last name] over and they brought Andre. Why are you still friends?

Which is exactly what happened to me. [That's a lie; I have no friends.]

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Ingredients

Makes 1 Cocktail

• 1 oz bourbon
• 1/2 oz Cointreau or triple sec
• 7 dashes Angostura bitters [I used Bob's Abbott bitters.]
• 7 dashes Peychaud's bitters [it's the red one...]
• 4-5oz sparkling wine

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Recipe

Add bourbon, Cointreau, and both bitters to a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir to chill. Strain into a Champagne flute and top with sparkling wine. Feel real fancy.

The Frozen Margarita

I'm not normally a frozen margarita guy [because I still have some self-respect].

But that all changed for me when my mother-in-law suggested we have some out by the pool. When she says "Frozen margaritas?", I digo "¿cuántos?"

Ingredients

Makes 2 Margs

• 2 oz Cointreau

• 3 oz Tequila

• 4 oz Minute Maid Premium Limeade. I don't know if they make a non premium, but if they do, still get the premium.

• Ice

Notes

I recommend Cointreau over triple sec here because it has far less sugar, and you're already getting plenty from the Limeade. You can substitute regular triple sec or curaçao, but lower the amount just a bit.

For the tequila, I used Jose Cuervo Silver. It's not 100% Agave, but the flavor works really well in this drink.

Recipe

1. Add first three ingredients to a blender. Blend to mix.

2. Add enough ice to double the volume in the blender. So if the boozy mix comes up to the 9 ounce line on your blender, add enough ice so that the liquid level comes up to the 18 ounce line [#displacement]. Make sense? It might be easier to look at the milliliter side since those are smaller increments.

3. Blend on high speed. [If you have a Vita-Mix put on a seatbelt first.]

4. Add ice and blend again if it's too slushy. Use your judgement as to what "too slushy" means.

Notes

1. I'll make a large batch of frozen margaritas, without ice, so that I only have to measure the ingredients once [the more frozen margs I have the sloppier my measurements get]. Then, when I need to make a drink, I'll pour in roughly 4 oz of mix per person, add ice, and blend. If you make a batch ahead of time and store it in the freezer, you'll need less ice to achieve the desired consistency. Be aware that this will make the drink more potent.

2. I can't remember what the second note was. [too many frozen margs...]

You know what else from the list of authentically Mexican treats goes well with a frozen margarita? Nachos.

The Margarita

Ahh, the Margarita. Brings out the Mexican in each of us. I'm wearing my sombrero and burro blanket as I type this. [That's what everyone in Mexico wears all the time, right? RIGHT?!?]

A distant relative of the Daiquiri and the Cosmopolitan which both spawned from the Sidecar (trust me), the Margarita is a quintessential warm weather cocktail.

It's also the cocktail that most underage drinkers order when they're smart enough to NOT order a long-island iced tea, but also don't know what to order to not sound 19 (hint to my underage fans, go for a Pinot Grigio or a Manhattan).

Notes:

The tequila doesn't need to be fancy. We're mixing a drink, not taking shots shots shots shots shots with Lil' Jon.

The triple sec doesn't have to be fancy either. Cointreau or Marie Brizzard are fantastic here, but they're more expensive than Hiram Walker or Dekuyper, which are fine too.

Recipe

2 oz Espolón tequila
3/4 oz freshly-squeezed lime juice
1/2 oz triple sec.
Kosher salt. Cumin and/or Ancho Chili Powder if you want to be muy fancy.

Remember that lime you JUST squeezed for this? Save the pressed lime half and rub its still-slightly-juicy wetness on the lip of your glass. [That was a little explicit; must have been reading one of my wife's romance novels today...] Dip the moistened lip [there I go again] of the glass into the salt.

Add the rest of the ingredients and ice to the glass and stir.

Drink.

It's easy, right? Try making these for a group of people after you've had a few yourself. If you do find yourself mixing for several people (or just yourself) make a batch. Just double/triple/x15 the recipe and you'll have a pitcher of margs for everyone/yourself!

Update! 

If you'd like a slightly smokier twist, add the ingredients to a shaker with a coffee bean or two. Shake vigorously, then strain into a double old fashioned glass filled with ice.

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Chocolate Almond Cake-Brownie [it's a thing]

NOTE: If you’re coming here from the Epicurious “4 Levels Of Brownies” YouTube video, the picture above will look different.

Yield: 4-8 servings

Ingredients

• 7 ounces (200 g) Almond Paste

• ¼ cup (60 g) sugar

• 4 ounces (113 g) butter, plus extra to grease the pan

• 2 tablespoon (40 g) honey

• 3 eggs

• 2 tablespoons (30 g) amaretto liqueur, such as Luxardo

• 1/3 cup (50 g) flour

• ¼ cup (30 g) cocoa powder

• Kosher salt, to taste

• 1 handful chocolate chips

• ½ cup sliced almonds

• Confectioners’ sugar

Recipe

Mix together the almond paste and the sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and use a hand mixer to cream the mixture. This is an important step! Creaming things results in lighter, less dense texture!

Add the honey to the batter and mix to incorporate.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing fully to incorporate before adding the next egg.

Add the amaretto, the flour, the cocoa powder, and the salt to the batter and mix.

Grease the inside of two 4-inch by 1¾-inch springform molds with butter. You can peel back the butter wrapper and use it like a giant crayon if that’s easiest. Sprinkle the flour into one of the molds. Tip the mold and rotate it to coat the interior with flour. Pour the remaining flour into the other mold and repeat. Discard any remaining flour.

Place the molds on a parchment paper–lined baking sheet and divide the batter evenly between the molds, tossing in a small handful of chocolate chips after filling each mold halfway.

Preheat an oven to 350˚F. Bake for 20 minutes. Test it after 18 minutes. You should see a little wobble in the center of the cake when you jiggle the baking sheet.

To finish, sprinkle the sliced almonds on top of the chocolate brownie. Then put the confectioners’ sugar in a small fine-mesh sieve and gently tap it over the cake to give it the pretty white snowy topping. Or not. Your call.

The Donna Rosa

This is a riff on the Jasmine cocktail, and by "riff" I mean "I added an egg white and called it something completely different." I named it after the Pink Lady cocktail [just to be confusing, I guess?]. Except in Italian, because...Campari. Does Donna Rosa translate to Pink Lady? Google says "yes", but Google's shifty, so who knows. Whatever you call it, it's wonderful. Give it a try and let me know how it turned out in the comments below!

Ingredients

1 oz gin
3/4 oz Campari
3/4 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 oz Cointreau or triple sec
1 egg white

Recipe

Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice. Shake for at least 30 seconds. 60 seconds is better. You want that egg white completely emulsified and frothy. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Enjoy!

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Almond Paste

Yield: 7oz (200g)

Use this in Chocolate-Almond Brownies

Ingredients

• 1½ cup (225 g) almonds

• 1½ cup (150 g) confectioners’ sugar

• 1 egg white

• 1 tsp (4 g) kosher salt

Recipe

Add the almonds and sugar to a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and process until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. It should be the consistency of sand.

Add the egg white and kosher salt to the food processor and process to incorporate, about 30 seconds.

Scoop into an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

Note

This is part of a cookbook proposal that’s out on submission right now. If you’d like to see what a book proposal looks like, click here.

The Wenatchee

Photo cred: Lauren Layne

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Ingredients

• 2oz Lairds Applejack
• 3/4oz Sweet Vermouth (I use Noilly Prat)
• 1 dash bitters (I use Bob's Abbotts Bitters)

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Recipe

1. Add all ingredients to a mixing tin/glass/whatever with ice.
2. Stir for 60 seconds.
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
4. Drink.

Mac & Cheese

Panko is a Japanese breadcrumb alternative. It’s much lighter and crunchier than regular breadcrumbs. I use it exclusively instead of breadcrumbs.

If you can’t find campanelle, try to pick something with curves and ridges. Curves provide more nooks and crannies for the sauce to hide in and the increased surface area of the ridges gives the sauce more to hang on to. As I mentioned in Epicurious’ Mac & Cheese video, the pasta is really just a cheese delivery device.

You can substitute other cheeses for the ones provided below. To preserve the sauce texture, use the same category of cheese. If you don’t have Parm-Reg, use another aged hard cheese, such as Grana Padano. Instead of mascapone, use another cream cheese, like…cream cheese [who would have thought?!] or crème fraîche. Instead of Havarti or white Cheddar, try Taleggio or Emmental.

While we’re on the topic of cheese, try to find real Parmigiano-Reggiano. Anything labeled “Parmesan” or that doesn’t say “D.O.P.” is not real Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. DO NOT BUY KRAFT. I have strong opinions here because real Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese is so good and so flavorful you’ll wonder how any of the knock offs ever made it to market [hint: legal loophole]. Here’s an entire book (👈 affiliate link) on the subject that I found fascinating.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 cup [I can’t remember the weight] panko

• 1/2 pound (250 g) dried campanelle pasta

• 1 quart (900 g) heavy cream

• 4 ounces (125 g) Havarti, grated

• 4 ounces (125 g) Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated [I LOVED using Gruyère in place of parm though...]

• 4 ounces (125 g) mascarpone

• 4 ounces (125 g) white Cheddar, grated

Recipe

Heat the oven to 350 ̊F.

Toast the panko in a medium skillet over medium heat. Once it’s good and toasted, transfer to a small bowl. Set aside.

Cook the pasta in well salted water per package directions for a few minutes less than al dente. If the package doesn’t have directions for al dente, subtract 2-3 minutes from the full cook time. Drain, and reserve.

Bring the cream to a gentle simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cheeses to the saucepan and stir until completely incorporated. You shouldn’t see huge chunks of cheese floating around.

Add the pasta to a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Pour the cheese sauce on top. Top with panko.

Bake for 15 minutes to finish cooking the pasta. The sauce will firm up as the pasta absorbs some the sauce. If the panko is getting too brown, or the pasta looks like it’s drying out, cover the casserole dish with a piece of foil.

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Lemon Basil Rum

Ingredients

[makes 4oz infused spirit, enough for 2 cocktails]:

• 10g Lemon peel [the peel from one small lemon]

• 10g Basil leaves [a packed handful]

• 4oz (120ml) white rum

Equipment:

• iSi whipper

• 1 N2O charger [do not use soda chargers here]

Use in:

• Lemon Basil Rum Daiquiri

Recipe

1. Put all ingredients into the whipper. Close the whipper and charge with the N2O charger and shake for a second or two.

2. Gently swirl or vigorously shake the container for 1 minute.

3. Slowly depressurize then open the whipper.

4. Strain the now-flavored rum into a small carafe and use in a drink.

The Jasmine

The Jasmine holds a special place in my (and Wiff's) heart. We were introduced to the Jasmine by Craig DeBolt, one of our favorite bartenders at one of our favorite bars in Seattle, Oliver's. I've since tweaked the recipe to suit Wiff's palate. It is wonderfully bitter and refreshingly zesty thanks to a generous pour of lemon juice.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz London Dry Gin (I typically use Bombay Sapphire. Use whatever gin you like, as long as it's not TOO fancy.)

• 1 oz Campari

• 1 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1/2 oz Cointreau (You can substitute regular triple sec here, though it will be slightly sweeter.)

Recipe

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass, jar, cup, or tin filled with ice. Stir or shake for at least 30 seconds. Cold = good in cocktail land. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and enjoy.

How To: Make Simple Syrup in the Microwave

Updated: February 18, 2026

I use this in lots of cocktails. Yes, I know sugar is the devil. But adding 1/2 oz to a cocktail isn't going to kill you. Unless you have 30 of those cocktails in one night. But even then it's not really the sugar's fault, is it? Also, why are you drinking 30 of the same cocktail? Branch out, man!

INGREDIENTS

250 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
250 g (1 cup) water

DIRECTIONS

Put sugar and water into a heatproof glass container.

Microwave on high until it starts to boil, usually around 3 minutes in my microwave. If it boils for a few moments, that’s fine.

Stir to dissolve the sugar.

Cool to room temperature then transfer to a squeeze bottle and refrigerate.

BONUS

Try my new Apple Cider Simple for an autumnal twist. Or my Spruce Tip Simple Syrup for a hit of winter any time of year. Or how about Ginger Simple Syrup? Or Mint! The possibilities are endless!

Watch the video 👇

The Manhattan

Next to the Martini, the Manhattan is the epitome of classic cocktails.

Made with ingredients sourced from around the world—American bourbon or rye, French sweet vermouth, and Trinidadian bitters—the Manhattan, like Manhattan, is truly a global cocktail.

If you’ve tried Manhattans before and thought they were too strong, I think you’ll like this recipe. It’s closer to the original recipe in terms of size and strength. It’s bracing enough to remind you it’s a cocktail, but it’s not so spirited that you’ll hop on a train, head to the Village, and get on stage to try stand-up for the first time.

Because the proportion of sweet vermouth is higher in this recipe, use decent stuff. Carpano is cool, Dolin is delightful, and I’ll never say no to Noilly Prat.

2 ounces (60 mL) good bourbon or rye, such as Woodford Reserve
1 ounces (20 mL) sweet vermouth, such as Noilly Prat
1 dash aromatic bitters, such as Angostura

Amarena or maraschino cherry, for garnish

Add all ingredients to a mixing tin or glass full of ice. Stir for 60 seconds. Don’t shake this drink. Every time you shake a Manhattan the Monopoly Man loses his monocle. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with an Amarena or maraschino Cherry. (Luxardo makes a fantastic maraschino cherry, available on Amazon.com.)

Peanut Butter Cookies

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INTRO

My Wiff makes these. A lot. On any given day, I'll come home from walking the dog and there’s a 50% chance she'll be pulling them out of the oven.

I'll have been gone for only 2 minutes.

I have no clue how she whips them up so quickly. [She's a witch.] 

Make extra... They disappear [translation: I eat them] almost as quickly as they appear.

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INGREDIENTS

Makes 12 cookies

• 1 c Peanut Butter (250g)
• 1 c Sugar (200g)
• 1 egg (50g)
• 1 t (15ml) vanilla extract

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RECIPE

1. Mix everything together in a large bowl.
2. Place teaspoon sized balls on greased cookie sheet, parchment paper-lined baking pan, or Silpat. Flatten the balls with a fork, making a crosshatch pattern. This helps them cook more evenly, and looks badass. 
3. Bake @ 350˚F for 6-8 minutes. They will seem undercooked when they first come out of the oven but they’ll firm up as they cool.
4. Bonus points: drizzle melted chocolate chips over the tops when they come out of the oven to make them taste like a chocolate peanut butter cup.

Silky Smooth Sweet Potato Purée

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Last updated: February 18, 2026

Use this recipe when you have sweet potatoes and aren't sure what to do with them. Or when you're in the mood for mashed potatoes but don't want to do any work.

Or if your annoying coworkers won't stop talking about how "going Paleo cured his eczema" and you want to dip your toe.

It only takes 4 ingredients to blow your mind. Seriously. Try it.

Ingredients

Note: One lb of potatoes makes about 2-4 Servings

100% Sweet potato [Unless you live in Central or South America, you've likely never eaten a yam.]
20% Butter
30% Water
1% Kosher salt

If you don't have a scale [can you feel my rage?] you should get one. They're $10 on Amazon or in Walmart and it'll seriously help you get better in the kitchen. If you want to cook this right now without a scale, just guess. Start with a few tablespoons of butter and water. If it starts burning, add a bit more water. For salt, add some, stir and taste. Repeat until it tastes good.

Directions

Peel sweet potatoes and slice into small pieces about 1/4 in thick.

Weigh the sweet potatoes, and then measure out butter, water, and salt. If you have 500 g sweet potatoes—which is about a pound—then you'll need 100 g butter, 150 g water, and 5 g salt.

Heat a pan over medium heat and add the butter. If you like the flavor of brown butter [you should], let the butter sizzle, bubble, and brown. It's done browning when you smell nuts. If you don't like brown butter [and I judge you] go to the next step.

Add water, salt, and sweet potatoes and raise heat to high.

You don't need to stir this. Maybe once or twice. We want the potatoes to steam, but we also want them to fry. Frying them means browning them. Remember the brown butter from above? Brown = flavorful. Taste one. If it's soft-ish, or if it's at least lost its crunchy starchiness, turn off the heat.

Add everything from the pan into a blender and blend on high until it's smooth. If you have a Vitamix, blend for a minute and, if not, blend until Tuesday. You can add more butter or water if it's too thick. I usually blend on low because I like mine more sweet potato-ey and less buttery purée.

PRO TIP: You can make this into a soup by adding more chicken stock/water and continuing to blend.

Reserve to a plastic container. It'll keep in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Nachos

Wondering what other traditional mexican delicacy goes well with nachos?

How about a frozen margarita?

Skirt Steak, Spinach Salad, Brown Butter Cauliflower Glory

This was kind of a spur-of-the-moment meal that turned out to be mind-blowingly fantastic. The nutty creaminess of the Cauliflower Glory [purée] plays nicely with the juicy steak and the crunch onions from the salad. I will make this again. And again. And hope you do too.

It's a 6 out of 10 on the difficulty scale only because you need a pressure cooker and a blender. Don't fret if you don't have a pressure cooker - just chop the cauliflower into very small pieces and steam them with some water. You WILL need a blender to achieve the luxurious creamy texture though. And the more powerful the better. (I love Vitamix.)

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Cauliflower Glory

Can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. Keep in the refrigerator until you're ready to complete the dish.

Also, you can scale this up or down based on the amount of cauliflower you have. To scale the recipe up or down, weigh your cauliflower, and then multiply by the percentages of the other ingredients.

For instance, if your head is 800g, then you'd need: 120g butter, 24g water, and 8g salt.

My head was ~700g, so...

• 100% (700g) Cauliflower, roughly chopped
• 15% (105g) Butter
• 3% (21g) Water
• 1% (7g) Salt

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Heat a pressure cooker over medium heat. Add butter. And brown it.

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Once butter is browned (it should look dark brown and smell very nutty) add the cauliflower, water, and salt and stir.

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Seal the pressure cooker and cook on high (1 bar, the second ring) for 20 minutes.

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Once the pressure cooker releases it’s pressure, remove the lid. If it looks really watery (use your judgement), heat it, uncovered, until it thickens up.

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Blend in a blender until really really puréed. Like 5 minutes on ludicrous speed in a Vitamix.

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Spinach "Salad"

• 200g Spinach, washed and dried
• 30g Red Onion, diced
• 10g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated

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To finish:

Cook steak in frying pan over medium high heat until it's just medium-rare, about 2-3 minutes on each side.

Move steaks to a plate to rest. Add spinach to the pan. Don’t touch it...you want it to brown. Once it smells browned, mix it up a bit so the rest can brown. Once it’s very wilted and browned (5-8 minutes total), remove from heat and add the onion, stirring frequently. You’re just trying to warm the onions, not brown them.

Put a spoonful of Cauliflower Glory in the center of a plate. Run a spoon through it to make a pretty pattern.

Let your inner painter Gogh wild...

Add some of the Spinach Salad, top with a few pistachios and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

You should add double what you see here... I just didn't make enough spinach for two servings.

Slice the steak into 1/2” thick pieces and arrange on top of the Spinach Salad. Sprinkle with a wee bit of finishing salt.

[Yes, there is way too little green stuff to balance this picture. I've adjusted the recipe accordingly.]

MEEEEAAAAATTTT

The Humbug Spritzer

Santa drinks because you're bad. Don't let him drink alone.

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Makes 1 cocktail

• 1oz Campari

• 4oz Sparkling wine [I used Delacroix Brut] 

• 1 sprig of rosemary

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1

Pour Campari into a champagne flute or coupe.

2

Add sparkling wine. 

3

Garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

Serve to Santa to see if you can get back on the Nice list.

[Or not... *wink*]