Book Club Bites: A Michael Saltz Manhattan with Jalapeno-Infused Bourbon

One of the main characters in Food Whore is Michael Saltz: a manipulative, secretive creep who lies to Tia to get his way.

And yet. It was important to me that he wasn’t a cartoon villain. We can spot overt power plays and runaway egotism a mile away. It gets more complicated when the person appeals to a desire within you.

For Tia, that’s recognition and making it in NYC. Michael Saltz offers that in an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime arrangement. Except there’s a catch…

This is a classic Manhattan, with a little twist: jalapeños and ancho chilis infused in the bourbon. Manhattan (the city and the drink) will always sting. We know that. Here, it burns. I used two dried peppers to one fresh one. Why? This is a flash-infusion. If you use all fresh peppers, it will take longer for the flavors to infuse into the bourbon. The dry peppers absorb the liquid more readily, releasing their flavor.

Like Michael Saltz, this is a glamorous, sophisticated drink that packs more of a punch than you might expect. Sip carefully.

RECIPE: Using a vegetable peeler, peel the skin off half an orange. Place inside a mason jar with two dried ancho chilis and one red jalapeño (ie: a green jalapeño that has ripened and turned hotter). Pour 8 oz of bourbon (half a standard mason jar) and let steep at room temperature for at least one hour. After 24 hours, pick out the peppers.

In a cocktail shaker, add ice and 2 ounces bourbon and 1 ounce sweet vermouth. Shake, strain, and pour into a short glass. Spritz the oil of one orange peel into the glass and add with maraschino cherry. Repeat three more times until the bourbon is done.

Matcha Almond Date Smoothie

Have you had the green tea crepe cake at Lady M? It's a delicate confection made with 20+ crepes layered with super-light pastry cream just barely kissed with the green, slightly bitter taste of matcha. These aren't pancake-y crepes, they're paper-thin and imperceptible on the tongue. You see them individually in the cross-section, but that's an illusion. The cream soaks into the crepes so your fork (yes I eat desserts with a fork, I find it's easier to piece off the exact bite I want) just glides on through. 

Now it might seem ascetic to go on to describe a smoothie, but in fact they share the same flavor profile. A creamy base. An earthy sweetness. A plushness. And then, the matcha to give it all shape. 

I got this recipe from this Instagram from Kat Odell, Eater's Drinks editor. Is this drink trendy? Yes. Insufferably so? Perhaps. But, who cares. It tastes like cold drinkable cake. 

RECIPE: Blend 2 grams matcha, 16 oz water, 1 date, handful of almonds. Add crushed ice, if it's really hot. 

Pineapple Sage Champagne Cocktail

pineapple sage mimosa

Without fail, I'll always order the cocktail with herbs. Rosemary. Sage. Bay leaf. 

But come spring/summer, those herbs can get a little heavy-handed. Sure, you can go the minty route, a mint julep or a mojito. Nothing wrong with that. 

Though let me introduce you to pineapple sage. Less "Thanksgiving-y" than traditional sage. More surprising than mint. It's faintly tropical, slightly grassy, slightly earthy. It's a very subtle flavor that plays nicely with fruit and sparkling wine. 

Is pairing pineapple with pineapple sage a little matchy/matchy? Perhaps. But who would dare question twice-baked potatoes or grapes in sangria. Do it. 

RECIPE:

Muddle 2 1-inch chunks of pineapple and 4 pineapple sage leaves in glass. Add cava, prosecco or champagne. Serve with blueberries and pineapple as garnish.  

White Nectarine Orange Blossom Smoothie

White peaches, white nectarines, white cherries, white tea. Racial implications aside, there's something about the "white" flavor that's more delicate. An orange nectarine is assertive and heady. Being a stone fruit it doesn't have strong bass notes, but it's medium-bodied. An alto sax, let's say.

But a white nectarine is more ephemeral in a piccolo or harp sort of way. A white peach is more easily damaged.

There are occasions for both, just as there are occasions for a voluptuous Cabernet and a barely-there Pinot Grigio. For me, I like something in between -- something that has the perfumed air of a white fruit, and the oomph of its more pigmented cousin.

So this is just that, a white nectarine smoothie fortified with banana and pear. The orange blossom water ties it together. Orange blossom water is very strong -- you only need 3 drops or else your smoothie will taste like soap. But it also plays hide-and-seek within the flavors, sometimes there, sometimes not, sometimes totally in your face.

RECIPE: In a blender, add one banana, one pear, and one white nectarine. All cut of course. Add three drops of orange blossom water, a handful of ice, and enough water for the blender to catch. Serves 2-3.

Frozen White Peach Rosé Sangria

Everywhere you look, summer shows its abundance. Tomatoes bursting with ripeness. Zucchinis the size of baseball bats. Too-small bikinis strained over too-large chests. A farmer's tan after an unintentional nap in the sun.

This week I had an overabundance of white peaches and rosé. The recipe can go a million ways. Skin the peaches and use white wine for a snowy treat. Add champagne and call it a bellini slushie. Fortify it with vodka to get the party started or add some elegance with some Pimm's.

For me, I kept it simple. When blended, white peaches take on a creamy quality as bananas do. The result is rich and tongue-coating and with a splash of something boozy, a nice toast to the summer bounty.

RECIPE: Cut peaches into bite-size pieces and freeze. When frozen, add to blender and add enough rosé to achieve your desired consistency (loose, stiff, etc). Add lemon juice to taste.

P.S. I painted that painting background at a fundraiser for the Young Lotus Circle, an awesome organization that empowers women and girls in Asia. Check them out!

Chia Kale Cappuccino

It's times like these that I really feel like a parody of myself.

But you know, I do like green smoothies. And I like chia. And I like kombucha and excellent latte art.

And yet, there's a part of me that rebels against that $12/bottle mentality. Or the imbalance of juicing for 5 days and gorging for 15.

I made the Chia Kale Cappuccino because I wanted something a little more substantial than a juice. But more vibrant than coffee. This is a Sunday-morning-after-a-workout sort of drink, the type of thing that you can sip virtuously, ponderously, tranquilly.

The chia seeds are the energy-bestowing base. The kale is the cleansing head. I never attempted latte art, but maybe I'll give it a shot with a kefir foam or something.

RECIPE: Beforehand, add 1/4 cup of chia seeds to 2 cups of the milk of your choice. I like unsweetened almond milk. Let the chia seeds inflate overnight. You'll have lots leftover for your other chia milk needs.

Next morning, make the kale smoothie to your liking. I put in some combination of apple, pear, orange, grapefruit, mango, pineapple, cucumber, bananas, and mint. If you're gonna go green, stay away from beets, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc.

Add chia seed milk to bottom of glass and gently pour kale smoothie on top. When you're making the smoothie, make sure it's less dense than the chia milk.

Note to chia neophytes: Should you wipe your counter of chia seeds, you will later find them sprouting in your sponge! Pretty gross, I know.