This visually stunning martini is so refreshing anytime of the year. Most people debate the origin of the Cosmopolitan cocktail, but all we know is that it is a widely popular cocktail that has been around since about the 70′s and it’s so delicious. We have a great recipe for the Cosmopolitan and you can enjoy this vodka based martini at home. Give it a try it’s a sexy drink!

How to make:

1. Chill your martini glass

2. Fill a pint glass with ice

3. Add about 1 1/5 ounces of Citron vodka (you can also use an orange vodka it’s good!)

4. Add about 1/2 an ounce of Cointreau (or any orange liqueur)

5. Add 1 1/2 to 2 ounces of cranberry juice (you can also use white cranberry for a twist on the tradition)

6. Squeeze some fresh lime in

7. Shake all ingredients and strain into your martini glass

8. Garnish with a lime wedge

Enjoy!

This old school cocktail is making quite the comeback and we are excited to show you an easy way to throw together this sophisticated cocktail. Here is a traditional recipe and you will impress your guests with this delicious drink. You have to throw a party just so you can make these, trust us.

How to make:

1. Grab your glass and add an orange wedge and a maraschino cherry

2. Add about two teaspoons of white sugar (more or less depending on sweetness you want)

3. 2 ounces of bourbon

4. a dash of Angostura Bitters

5. Muddle all ingredients together

6. Fill your glass with ice and shake to incorporate all ingredients and dissolve sugar

7. Pour all ingredients into your serving glass including ice and top off with club soda (optional)

Enjoy!

Even if you don’t live in Manhattan you can still drink this cocktail. Dating back to the 1870′s this cocktail is traditionally made with whiskey. The origin is still somewhat unclear (but isn’t that true for most cocktails?) Who drinks a cocktail and remembers where it came from anyway? We personally think someone just needed a vessel for the maraschino cherry. Wherever it comes from, Manhattans are that classic drink that everyone should have in their drink dictionary. Here’s an easy recipe to make you feel like a real New Yorker.

1.Take your martini glass and chill it

2. In a pint glass add ice and about 2 1/2 ounces of bourbon or whiskey

3. add 3/4 of an ounce of sweet vermouth

4. add a dash of Angostura bitters

5. use a spoon and stir or just swirl your Manhattan around or even shake if desired

6. Strain into your glass and add a maraschino cherry

Enjoy!

Rum, sugar and mint are an amazing threesome. The mojito is a pretty fun drink (I mean, what alcoholic drink isn’t fun) It’s really easy to impress your friends with this muddled cocktail. Go ahead, put on your chinos, have a rooftop party and make this refreshing summer cocktail to keep you in “mint” condition.

What you need:

A white rum such as Bacardi

Some sugar or simple syrup

About 1/4 to 1/2 cup of club soda

3-4 mint sprigs (pick off the leaves)

A glass (duh)

Fresh limes

How to make:

Grab a tall glass

Cut your lime into wedges and put about 4 into your glass

Add about two tablespoons of white sugar to your limes (more if you want it sweeter)

Add about 10-12 mint leaves

Add some rum so you can muddle ingredients together (about 1/2 ounce)

After muddling add more rum about  1 1/2 ounces more

Top with ice

Shake vigorously until all ingredients are mixed together and cold

Top off drink with club soda and serve!

Moscow Mule is such a refreshing cocktail to have in the summer. You can use ginger beer or even ginger ale. (We prefer the ginger beer it has much more flavor) These drinks are typically served in a copper cup, but not everyone is that fancy so a regular glass will work too. Don’t sweat it. Go make a Moscow Mule!

How to make:

Pack glass to rim with ice

Add 1 1/2 Ounces of Vodka or more if you’re a drunk

Fill up glass with ginger beer

Squeeze in two lime wedges

Shake and serve!

Who wants a warm martini glass? This is the easiest way to chill your glass before making your “straight up” cocktail. It takes less than 60 seconds but makes a huge difference in the outcome of your drink.

1. Fill your martini glass with ice and water

2. Let sit for about 1 minute

3. Empty out ice and water

4. Pour in your favorite martini

Enjoy!

There is nothing dirty about drinking a dirty martini (what you do after having one or two is your business) the “dirt” is essentially the olive juice. This drink tastes great with either vodka or gin and you can add as much olive juice as you need if you want it dirtier or not. We love drinking martinis, but be careful this is a strong cocktail and quite easy to drink so drink with caution so you don’t end up naked on your bathroom floor. (wait, who said that?)

Ingredients:

2.5 ounces of your favorite vodka or gin

1/2 ounce of dry vermouth

about 2-3 tablespoons of olive juice (this is totally up to personal preference) you can add as much as you like

How to make:

Chill your martini glass by adding ice and water to it set aside

Pour all your ingredients into a pint glass with ice and shake

Strain liquid and pour into chilled martini glass

Garnish with olives and enjoy! You can even use blue cheese stuffed olives for some added zing!

I scream you scream. Who doesn’t love Ice cream? This is a fun and easy recipe to make your own at home and get your kids (if you have some) involved in the kitchen. Be forwarned that this recipe honestly takes about 10-15 minutes of vigorous shaking so if you’re not up for the physical challenge go to Haagen Dazs. The consistency of this ice cream is also that of soft serve so don’t expect a super firm result. With all that said, it’s freaking delicious so go make some homemade ice cream.

You will need:

1 gallon sized zip bag

1-2 smaller zip bags (2 if you want to double bag to prevent leakage)

Some crushed ice to fill 1/2 your gallon bag

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups 1/2 & 1/2

1/2 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

about 3 tablespoons salt

Take your gallon bag and fill 1/2 with crushed ice and add salt to the ice (this lowers the freezing point and prevents ice from melting so quickly) and shake salt around

Take all ingredients and combine in a bowl and whisk until sugar is dissolved

Ladle mixture into smaller bag and close tightly

Put smaller bag into larger ice bag

Shake for 10 minutes and serve!

It really is so good and a good workout!

Who doesn’t love a good margarita? This classic tequila recipe will have you doing the meringue. You can serve this cocktail on the rocks or straight up, with or without salt. You can also add some fruit puree’ (like mango or strawberry) if you want to make a fruity flavored margarita and impress your guests with a nice twist on a classic recipe.

1. Take a lime and go around the rim of your glass and turn upside down and dip into some margarita salt (if you want salt)

2. In a pint glass add 1.5 ounces of your favorite tequila, 1/2 ounce of Cointreu and 1/2 ounce of fresh lime juice

3. Add ice and shake all ingredients together

Strain into your glass and serve with your favorite chips and guacamole!

This elegant cocktail is amazing during the summer and so refreshing. You really can’t go wrong with mint and bourbon. Here is an easy way to make your own mint juleps at home and have your own Kentucky Derby party.

What you need:

3-4 fresh mint sprigs

2.5 ounces of bourbon

simple syrup or granulated sugar

crushed ice

How to make:

1. Make a simple syrup or you can use regular granulated sugar

2. Grab some fresh mint about 3-4 sprigs and pick off the leaves

3. Take your mint and simple syrup (or just add a little bourbon and granulated sugar) and gently muddle the leaves

4. Add your crushed ice and pour in the rest of your bourbon and stir

5. Finish with a mint sprig and some confectioners sugar (optional)

Some people prefer the taste of homemade ketchup rather than store-bought stuff. We like both because they are quite different. Here is a really delicious recipe to make your own homemade ketchup. This version has a nice brown sugar sweetness and it goes well with just about everything. It’s quite simple to follow so give this ketchup recipe a whirl.

Things you will need:

1  28 ounce can of whole tomatoes in thick puree’

1 medium onion chopped

1 tablespoon of oil (vegetable)

1 tablespoon of tomato paste

2/3 of a cup of dark brown sugar

1/2 cup of white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon of salt and black pepper

1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and cayenne pepper

How to make:

Pour tomatoes and puree into blender and puree till smooth

Heat your pan and add vegetable oil and cook your onions until softened (about 8 minutes)

Add all your ingredients to your onions and cook over moderate heat until it thickens (about an hour)

Pour mixture back into your blender and blend until smooth

Cool and serve!

You have the option to add other spices or fruit or jalapeno to this recipe. Get creative and use this as a base and add your own favorite ingredients! We’re moving fast so ketchup!

Making spaghetti squash is so easy and you will really think you are eating spaghetti if you have a good tomato sauce to top it off with. Spaghetti squash is a healthy alternative to eating pasta if you are living a low carb lifestyle or just want to get some more vegetables into your diet. Try this guilt free veggie and get your squash on!

1. Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees

2. Cut your squash in half lengthwise

3. Use a spoon and scrape out the seeds

4. Grab a little olive oil and rub your squash

5. Salt and pepper the inside of your squash

6. Place your squash on a roasting pan skin side down and roast for about 45 minutes or until the squash is tender

7. Using a fork remove the squash scraping so that you form noodle like strands

8. Top with your favorite tomato sauce!

Trick your kids!

What you need:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups of buttermilk

1/4 cup of sour cream

3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted and cooled a bit

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of table salt

2 large eggs

about a tablespoon of vegetable oil

1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees so you can keep your pancakes warm while you are cooking them all

2. In one bowl mix all of your dry ingredients together

3. In another bowl mix all of your wet ingredients together

4. Let your batter rest about 10 minutes then give it another stir (careful not to over mix your batter)

5. Take your skillet of frying pan and lightly oil with some vegetable oil

6. Once your pan is hot add your batter (you can pick the size of your pancakes)

7. Add some fruit or chocolate chips if you desire

8. Once your batter starts bubbling up around the edges flip your cakes over and cook the other side

Keep your heat moderate so you don’t burn them

We want to give credit for this recipe to Cook’s Illustrated

One of these unusual after-hours guests was Mark Ladner, award winning chef of Del Posto here in New York City. Mark and a team of cooks, servers, and other staff showed up and following closely behind them, a plethora of premier Italian culinary vendors marched in tow. Marco of Parmacotto’s staff carrying an entire pig’s worth of prosciutto and a large hand crank slicer, Italian Olive Oil Club with cases of olive oils from various regions in Italy, Bertani and Chianti bringing their various vintages and varietals, Solerno with cases of their blood orange liquor (great replacement for Cointreau/Grand Marnier in margaritas by the way), and the list goes on.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, “What high-brow, hedge fund executive’s birthday is it today?” Surprisingly, though, the reasoning for all this delicious Italian fare was a much more noble (and a much less selfish) one.

April 18th, 2013 marked the second annual Making Dreams Come True Event. This event was a fundraiser for the construction of schools in Newmark, NJ for students with special needs. The main component of this event was a silent auction that allowed esteemed guest to bid on various items including golf and tennis packages, date nights, jewelry, and other fun goodies with all the proceeds going to the goal of helping to build the new schools. Last year’s event was an outstanding success and managed to raise over $350,000 for the organization and this year’s was expected to top that.

Mark donated his time and dishes to be served as hor d’oeuvres during the event (from his renowned mac and cheese, to lobster and truffle sandwiches, to olive oil ice cream dipped in chocolate) and the various Italian sponsors all rallied with their different offerings to make the night an appealing and memorable one for all the guests involved (while the wine producers helped to loosen the grip on their wallets).

What a great way to use food, wine, and the promise of tennis to promote a great cause, no?

We’d like to say a special thank you to La Cucina Italiana magazine for their part in helping to organize the event as a major sponsor (and for inviting us to come join in).

If you would like to donate to the Newmark Schools fund yourself, would like to attend next year, or want to help sponsor the cause in any way, head to their site here. Also, you can visit the NYSE Euronext page for info on more charities involved with the New York Stock Exchange.

Tres Carnes is basically a quick-service taco and burrito spot that is serving up slow cooked Texas-style BBQ paired with Mexican fare and knocking a few socks off along the way. Executive Chef Sasha Shor (making her culinary debut) and pit master Mike Rodriguez (who spent over a decade at Salt Lick) have teamed up to bring you some pretty amazing stuff.

Speaking of amazing, let’s talk smoked brisket. This thing is covered in Tres Carne’s secret spice rub and then smoked for over 16 hours over real hardwood. We love the authenticity of Tres Carne’s smoking procedure steeped in real Texas tradition. It melts in your mouth and is so moist and full of flavor. They give you the option to wrap, fold or layer this stuff in a burrito, taco or a bowl over rice and beans or greens. You can even try it arroz verde style, which is rice with cilantro, poblanos, green onion and lime. Not a rice person? Go for the blackeyed blackbeans made with the Tres Carnes spice rub and Mexican beer. Yum! You really can’t go wrong.

We are also crushing hard on their burnt-ends chili. This is a thick, flavorful chili with giant hunks of tender brisket and no beans (Tres Carnes keepin’ it real Texas chili style)! We could have had 5 bowls of that stuff. They also offer chicken adobo and BBQ pork shoulder if brisket doesn’t blow up your skirt, but, in my opinion, the brisket is the way to go.

You can get any of these meats with a giant, delicious scoop of smashed and smokey guacamole or wash it down with a Mariachi Michelada made with the amazing “Cock’s Tail Bloody Mariachi”. Whatever you do make sure you complete your tex-mex experience with a double-smoked churro doughnut. It’s the icing on the cake, or the crema de carmello in the doughnut. Either, you get the idea and need to get this doughnut. Tres Carnes is our new crush and with prices starting around 8 bucks you can afford to have your own tex-mex ten pound food baby. Get on it.

Tres Carnes

The plates resemble this small cozy atmosphere. They serve up small sandwiches such as the parmesan and thyme egg on a freshly baked mini croissant (so cute you want to shove it in your pocket, we tried and it doesn’t fit. Don’t judge us.). The eggs on this sandwich were perfectly soft scrambled and seasoned with fresh thyme and freshly-grated parmesan cheese. Alternatively, if you’re not an egg person, grab the soft brie with homemade fig confit and Granny Smith apples on a baguette. Or grab both because, frankly, these mini sandwiches are just that; mini.

Not in a sandwich mood at all? Go for the Japanese Hamburg Steak, which is an organic beef patty simmered in a demi-glace with melted mozzarella and served over japanese rice with a hard boiled egg. What?! Whatever your mood, they have something here for everyone.

The sandwich plate with two sandwiches plus a soup with run you about $12.50 and the steak will run you about $15. For this price, you are getting high quality ingredients and you can taste the difference. Good ingredients make a good product. All this goodness, while sitting in a treehouse. We are hooked on House of Small Wonder.

House of Small Wonder

Let’s talk food. They offer omelettes and hashes and sandwiches, but we had a dish with poached eggs, balsamic jus, fresh tarragon, tomatoes, avocados and an english muffin (this dish is officially called the “Canyonland Poached Eggs, with Balsamic Jus, Fresh Tarragon, Tomatoes, and Avocado, on Toasted English Muffin” on the menu by the way). The eggs were poached perfectly and the avocados were also just the right amount of ripeness. The fresh tarragon added that brightness to cut through that sweet balsamic jus. You can also choose if you want your eggs cooked in butter or olive oil. Who gives you that option? Sounds fancy, right?! It was only $8.75, and as you New Yorkers know thats a total steal for a good breakfast. Go take yourself out to breakfast and get your coffee fix at Elephant & Castle.

Elephant & Castle

Sake marinated pork belly is melt-in-your-mouth delicious. The pork belly is amazingly fatty and the sake adds a little acidic note which makes this dish pretty unforgettable. There are freshly plucked cilantro leaves that seem to float atop these little pork morsels of heaven, which adds a brightness to each rich fatty bite. A great appetizer besides the pork belly is the tuna tartare with a lemon infused sochu sorbet and this sick avocado cream, which is a light airy mousse (I could bathe in that stuff). The lemon sorbet on this tuna is that little frozen element of surprise that makes this dish memorable and its so good you will want to ask for it in Sno Cone form.

Another non-tradtional popular menu item from Bozu are the sushi bombs (think sushi roll without the seaweed). They are little balls of rice topped with an assortment of fresh fish. Each dish comes with a little side of pickled cabbage and a fresh dill feather. If you like your sushi bombs with a soy sauce drizzle, Bozu pre-mixes their soy sauce with wasabi. So if you are in the mood for mild, medium or hot you can just pick an option (we found this fun) and give your sushi bomb a little soy sauce shower.  These picturesque plates look like works of art as they pay close attention to detail and you will appreciate their meticulous knife skills (we’ve never seen an avocado sliced so paper thin).

If you are not a big fish eater try the tofu salad. They make their own creamy tofu and pair it with bitter and delicious watercress and an amazing soy dressing that will make you want to drink it. Speaking of drinks they have an extensive sake menu and sake cocktails. They also infuse their own vodkas, which will get you lit!

Don’t come here expecting traditional Japanese food, but you can expect a good meal at a decent price. Sushi bombs are about 6 bucks for 3 pieces and the appetizers are around $11-13. They only except cash and Amex so bring a wad or someone who has a real job to expense it on the Amex.  We recommend you make a reservation because this place fills up quickly. Go get sushi bombed!

http://www.oibozu.com/

Now, if you are a sucker for the salty and sweet soul mates, give the pretzel shake a try. What the hell? Who puts pretzels in a shake?! The overachiever chef Christina Tosi does. Chef Tosi has an amazing knack for the marriage of salty and sweet and will have your taste buds dancing. In addition to creating amazing desserts for the milk bar, she also holds classes to bake your way through the Momofuku cookbook.  You can take a whack at making your own crack pie or even attempt their trademarked cereal milk, which is basically milk infused with cereal. Sounds weird, right? Close your eyes and try to remember when you had a bowl of Lucky Charms or Frosted Flakes. Do you remember drinking the milk after all the cereal was gone? It was the best part (I’m sure Tony the Tiger would agree). Well, Milk Bar has taken this throwback flavor and bottled it! They serve the cereal milk in soft serve form or you can just drink it on its own. Amazingly sweet and reminiscent of childhood.

Enough with all this sweet talk, my chair is getting smaller (or maybe it’s my buns getting bigger). On that note, Milk Bar also has buns! Steamed buns with veggies or pork and you can add a side of kimchi slaw or a poached egg. These mini buns come out piping hot and the pork inside is perfectly cooked and seasoned. How can any of this be wrong when it sounds so right?

Most of the sugar rush items range in price from $5-7 and the pork buns will run you about $8. You can even order an entire birthday or special occasion cakes here and this will run you about $40. So, with all this sugary goodness and baked deliciousness Momofuku Milk Bar is a great stop to get your carbo load on.

Momofuku Milk Bar

1. You want to get a pot of boiling water on the stove and prepare an ice bath (which is just ice and water)

2. Take your basil and pick the leaves off the stems

3. You can save your stems and also use them in the oil, but they take longer to soften in the boiling water so do them separately

4. Blanch your basil leaves (drop into boiling water) for a few seconds and then transfer to your ice bath

5. Remove leaves from ice bath and dry out moisture using a paper towel

6. Use a food processor and add your  basil leaves and your neutral flavored oil and blend together

7. Using a chinois or paper towel strain any leftover debris from your oil

Use this oil to give your dishes a basil flavored kiss and to add a beautiful splash of vibrant green.

Rosemary infused oil is delicious and so easy to make at home. We like to use a neutral flavored, high smoke point oil so that we can infuse our own rosemary flavor. Here is an easy way to get this job done. Use this oil in so many dishes to give a hint of rosemary and impress your guests. You can even use this technique with an olive oil and use it to dip in some crusty italian bread before a meal. Now we’re talking.

1. Take about 3 rosemary sprigs and put into a saucepan

2. Add about 3-4 cups of oil

3. Slowly bring your oil up to about 150 degrees to infuse the rosemary flavor. You can use a candy thermometer if you have one. We broke ours so we were living on the edge and took a guess.

4. Remove your oil from the heat and let cool

5. Find a beautiful bottle to store your oil and use frequently

Done!

Making your own homemade mayonnaise is really easy and it tastes so much better than the store bought stuff. You can use this recipe for all your mayo needs. You can also modify this recipe and add garlic and herbs to create your own delicious spread for sandwiches, potato salads and moisturizing face masks. Just kidding (sorta)

Go mayo!

1. Grab a bowl and a whisk

2. Take one egg yolk and put it in your bowl (if you want to know how to separate eggs watch our egg video!)

3. Take about two teaspoons of Dijon mustard and add it to your egg yolk

4. Take about 1/2 a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice and add that to your bowl as well

5. Whisk all of these ingredients together

6. Slowly drizzle while whisking a neutral flavored oil (such as Canola) into your whisked ingredients

7. Add salt and pepper or fresh herbs to taste!

Done!

The table is a pretty standard setting, except for one thing: your water comes in a whiskey bottle (frankly, whenever I drink water I prefer some sort of alcoholic container for it, just makes me feel better about it, you know?). Besides the fun water vessel, the main star of this place arrives piping hot and explains the permeating smell throughout the entire restaurant; the fried chicken. And what a fried chicken it is. It’s golden crisped on the outside and moist and juicy on the inside: the way fried chicken should always be. Not to be outshone though, the trusty sidekick waffle is a star on it’s own. It comes in three different varieties: classic, bacon and cheddar, and rosemary mushroom. All of which are fan-freaking-tastic of course (my favorite though is the bacon and cheddar if you’re asking). Put them together on a fork and you’ll be hooked on the salty-sweet goodness.

If that’s not enough artery-clogging fun, you should try the mac and cheese. It’s pretty much giant shells bathing in a cheesy Mornay sauce that’s killer and a crusty Ritz cracker crust. (Whatever happened to the Ritz cracker anyway? I love that they are bringing back this old school cracker.) After wolfing down the crumbly, salty, baked Ritz topping on those cheesy little love morsels you have to wash it all down with one of their nostalgic cocktails. Get your buzz on with their Welch’s grape soda mixed with a gin fizz or a cucumber julep with Jim Beam. Both of these cocktails were enough to wet our whistle and give us a good little buzz.  Good thing for that whiskey bottled water.

The fried chicken dish will run you $16 a pop and the mac and cheese side is 8 buckaroos. So it isn’t KFC prices by any means but with all this good old school flavor and amazing fried chicken, you should definitely give this place a try when your budget permits.

Sweet Chick 

Don’t mess with perfection! These onion rings are so easy and this batter sticks to the ring and is crispy and delicious. You can also use this batter recipe for fried fish recipes and oyster po’ boys! You can batter just about anything with this. We want to give a shout out to Chef Michele Ragussis for giving up the secret recipe to us. (We only had to threaten her with violence)

Batter up!

1. Peel and slice your onion into rings

2. Heat a high smoke point oil such as canola in a pan to about 350 degrees (enough to cover your rings)

3. Grab a large bowl to create your batter

4. Pour in 2 cups of all-purpose flour

5. Add large pinches of salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to the flour

6. Grab a beer, a good lager works best, drink some and add a cup to your batter and whisk in

7. Whisk in one cup of club soda

8. Once your batter is well incorporated make sure it is a little thicker than a pancake batter

9. Stick your finger in and make sure it sticks to know that it is thick enough

10. Dip your onions into your batter and coat

11. Carefully drop into the hot oil and cook until golden brown, don’t burn them

12. Remove from oil and place onto paper towels and add some nice coarse salt while the onions are still hot

13. Be the hit at the party and smell like fried food all day long!

Ain’t no thing, but an onion ring!