ES called beets in cocktails the next big thing way back in 2010, and sure ‘nough we are seeing them show up on drink lists coast to coast.

This one, from Poste Moderne Brasserie in Washington, DC, mixes up beets for martini lovers.

Just Beet it

1/2 oz. Grey Goose vodka
1/4 oz. lemon juice
1/4 oz. beet juice
1/2 oz. simple syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a martini glass with a beet salt garnish.

(Photo: Jason Wiles)

Find dozens more creative cocktail recipes in Endless Cocktails.

Every two months I host a cookbook club meeting. A cookbook is chosen (usually at the prior meeting) and friends and family all choose a dish to make from it. Then we all get together to talk about the dish we chose, eat the hell out of all the food, and drink an ungodly amount of beer. While flipping through our next cookbook, Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table, trying to pick my dish from the hundreds of incredible recipes, this recipe for olive oil ice cream caught my eye. A basic custard base, but some of the heavy cream is swapped out for olive oil. One of Dorie’s suggestions is topping it off with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of Maldon salt flakes. The end result is a sweet and incredibly nuanced ice cream. My five year-old son declared it the best ice cream yet (he has rich five year-old tastes).

Olive Oil Ice Cream

From Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table

Note: This ice cream is only as good as the olive oil you use. Dorie specifies a fruity oil, with no peppery finish. Based on reviews from America’s Test Kitchen, this would be a great choice. I had Columela, a floral, fruity oil with a definite peppery kick at the end, so I cut it with a couple of tablespoons of the bland, one-note extra-virigin olive oil I buy by the gallon for cooking. It worked perfectly, keeping the fruity notes and taming the peppery bite.

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 5  large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup fruity extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Method

1. Set up an ice-bath: Fill a large bowl 1/4 of the way up with ice water. Place a medium-sized bowl over the ice water. Place a mesh strainer on top.
2. In a medium saucepan, dissolve the sugar and salt in the milk and cream over medium heat. Slowly drizzle the warmed mixture into the egg yolks, whisking without stopping, until smooth. Return to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring and scraping the bottom and sides of the pan constantly, until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
3. Pour the custard through the strainer, discarding the solids left behind. Add the olive oil, and whisk well for 2 minutes, until it is well blended. Cover the mixture and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight. Churn according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. Store in a shallow container, covered with plastic wrap and and air-tight lid. Keeps up to 2 months frozen.

It seems that in these tough economic times, the porn industry has had to diversify by branching out into the Asian food distribution market.  Or vice versa.

So it should come as no shock that when Van Gogh wanted to send us a bottle of its new PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY FLAVORED VODKA to sample, I was the first (and only) writer to jump at the chance to experience such a creation. I didn’t have the highest of hopes for it, but come on, I never really have dreams of glory for any of my drunken experiences. All I hope for are entertaining stories we can retell in the future. And by “entertaining” I mean “humiliating,” but whatever.

My roommates and I decided to throw together a last-minute “flavored vodka tasting party” (classy) to poll people on the PB&J vodka. As one might imagine, the reactions were not the most positive. Don’t get me wrong, I love vodka. I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But something seems a bit…. off about this booze.

Their website describes it as such:

The fragrance of our PB&J vodka is predominantly of peanuts complemented by the fresh fruit aroma of raspberry. In the mouth, the roles are reversed with the raspberry taking center stage supported by the toasty flavor of peanut butter and a hint of vanilla on the side.

But here’s how WE described it, both by itself and mixed with the suggested sodas from the website’s “recipes” —

Straight up, on the rocks

• “Not as bad as I thought it would be.”
• “The nose smells like rotting pecans to me. I taste it and I feel like I’m four, like I’m a little kid” (because little kids love vodka, obviously).
• “At first it smelled like PB&J but now it doesn’t at all.”
• “Slightly sweet aroma, smell gets bad after a while.”

With Dr Pepper

• “Mixed with the Dr. Pepper, it has a nutty aftertaste.”
• “It tastes like licorice, in a bad way.”

With Coke

• “I can tolerate the Dr. Pepper, but I would not drink it with Coke again.”
• “This just tastes like… ughhh… like I left the Coke in my car and it went bad. I don’t know which one I like LESS!”
• “Oh yeah. That’s *real* not good.”

Shaken with a combo of Coke and Dr. Pepper 

• “IT LOOKS LIKE SWAMP WATER!”
• “It tastes like bad root beer… To be fair, I feel like this is the best yet.”
• “It’s like a melting pot of ‘bad’ all together, somehow working itself out.”

So… yeah. Not exactly glowing reviews. But! One of our friends had the foresight to bring ingredients for a custom cocktail! This was the best one yet.

The ES Peanut Butter and Jelly Vodka Cocktail

Take 1 tbsp butter, melt it in the microwave, and dip the rim of a martini glass into it.

Then dip the buttered rim into a shallow bowl of graham cracker crumbs.

Now, shake together:
1 shot PB&J vodka
1/2 shot Framboise
1/2 shot whole milk

Fill your glass. Garnish with raspberries.

There you have it! Just like eating lunch on the playground.

It was pretty good, for what it was. Or as I eloquently put it (and I think offended some girl who came to the party): “I mean… it’s sweet, pink, and creamy… definitely the kind of drink some girls would order.”

PB&J vodka: It’s good…. for some girls, I guess. Personally, I think I’ll stick to my trusty boxed wine and mid-grade whiskey.

What did you have for breakfast when you woke up this weekend? Unless it was a croque-madame (which I didn’t even know about until this weekend), you lose. What you’re looking at is the female version of a croque-monsieur, which is a glorified ham and cheese sandwich with bread soaked in a tasty sauce. I’ll let you figure out why this one’s considered the female version.

Anyway, I was lucky enough for my girlfriend to have seen it made on The Chew, which inspired her to make it for breakfast. It peaked my interest right away — pretty much just because Michael Symon is on The Chew and I’d love to hang out with him and have a beer. But other than that, this concoction has everything a breakfast should be.

Think of what you’d order at the diner. If you have any wits to you, you’re going to order eggs, some delicious meat (bacon or ham), toast, and homefries. But let’s be honest, most of us just use the homefries as filler, to soak up the “dippy egg” or sunny-side up egg. This breakfast has it all and more. Not only does it have a delicious, savory meat, but it also includes melted cheese in between a tasty baked bread with crispy toast.

Further, the toast has been soaked in a cream (bechamel sauce) made of milk and nutmeg, giving the whole meal a bit of a sweet undertone. Finally, thanks to the females out there, the fried or poached egg crowns the sandwich. To eat it the right way, break the yoke first, and then cut into the rest of it. Get a little bit of everything in every bite and there’s no need for those homefries.

The Croque-Madame

Makes 6 sandwiches

Pre-heat oven to 400

Bechamel Sauce:

• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups milk (the g/f used 2 %)
• 1/8 cup of flour
• Salt and pepper to your liking
• Grated nutmeg to your liking (“just a pinch”)

Melt butter in a small saucepan on low heat. Once the butter is melted, whisk in the flour until mixed.Slowly whisk in the milk and cook while stirring until thick. This takes about 15 minutes. If it’s taking longer, turn up the heat. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.

Sandwiches:

• 12 slices of French or Italian bread — pick something with a nice crust on it
• A little bit of butter
• 1/2 lb of “off the bone” sliced deli ham
• Block of Swiss cheese, grated
• 6 eggs
• Chopped chives

Duck po-boy, topped with Louisiana hot sauce and horseradish sauce. Now that’s a sandwich. One of the many awesomely delicious foods I had in New Orleans, at Jazz Fest 2012.