Mocha Latte
I find myself at a cafe or bakery every weekend ordering a decaf espresso latte. They are my absolute favorite beverage loaded with steamy milk. I don’t typically order mocha lattes because they’re never quite as I imagine them to be. Basically I want drinking chocolate with a latte splash. So here’s my perfect mocha latte easy enough to make at home.
Yield: 2-3 servings
Total Time: 20 minutes
GATHER THE GOODS
8 oz. coffee or espresso
2 c. whole milk
1 c. semi- sweet chocolate morsels
MAKE IT
Brew a pot of your favorite coffee and keep hot.
Place chocolate in a heatproof pot or tea pot. Bring milk to a light simmer and reserve about 1/4 - 1/3 cups. Pour remaining milk over chocolate, stirring to melt.
Froth the milk with a frother.
Pour hot chocolate in a mug and top with coffee and frothed milk.
Fizzy Thai Tea
GATHER THE GOODS
1 Thai tea bag
2 tablespoons condensed milk
crushed ice
2 tablespoons whole milk
splash of orange seltzer
MAKE IT
Steep Thai tea in 8 to 16 ounces of hot water. Once the color turns deep orange, mix in condensed milk until evenly distributed. The color will be a murky orange.
Fill a glass with ice, pour Thai tea mixture over top, add milk, and top with orange seltzer.
Green Coconut Smoothie
Yield: 1 serving
GATHER THE GOODS
1 cup packed spinach
1/2 green apple, diced
1 Persian cucumber, sliced
1/2 large stalk celery, chopped
3 frozen strawberries
6 to 8 fluid ounces coconut milk
MAKE IT
combine ingredients in blender. Blend on high until smooth. Drink with or without a straw
Chai Tea Latte
GATHER THE GOODS
Yield: 1 serving
9 whole cloves
3 whole star anise
1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
1 teaspoon multi-colored peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups water
2 black tea bags
1/2 cup milk
cinnamon for garnish
MAKE IT
Preheat a small pot over medium high heat. Add the cloves, star anise, cinnamon stick, black peppercorns, and nutmeg. Toast for 1 to 2 minutes until the spices become fragrant.
Add the honey, vanilla extract and water. Bring to a gently simmer and add the tea bags. Steep for 10 minutes.
Steam or froth the milk in a separate pot or frothing vessel.
Strain the chai tea into a mug of choice. Pour milk into the cup and top with froth.
Sprinkle with ground cinnamon and enjoy right away.
Creamy & Dreamy Hot Chocolate
Hot chocolate is without a doubt one of my favorite beverages. Not spiked or anything “unique” just straight-up cream and chocolate… and more cream. I vow never to get hot chocolate while out on the town unless I know it will be as rich a luscious as I know mine to be. My first love of the real stuff came from Max Brenner’s little pop-up holiday hut in Bryant Park. My family and I used to go annually and I always looked forward to drinking straight melted chocolate. But because I can’t wait for that one time a year I learned to make it at home. I thought there was something secretive about the method but it’s just like drinking hot ganache.
Gather the Goods
1 cup heavy cream
1 -1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate morsels or chopped up bar (Guittard, Callebaut, Ghirardelli)
whipped cream for serving
dash of cinnamon optional
Make It
heat the heavy cream over medium heat until it comes up to a simmer. Make sure it doesn’t scald or form a layer of skin.
Add in the pieces of chocolate and whisk until the mixture is smooth and all of the chocolate has melted.
Pour the hot chocolate into a mug and serve with a heaping dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Festive Holiday Trio
Cider Kick
5 oz Hard apple cider
2 oz vermouth
1/2 oz simple syrup
**Warm the cider, mix in vermouth and syrup and serve
The Red Orange
4oz red wine
4 oz orange juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch clove
**Mix, warm (optional), serve
Pomegranate Bourbon Sour
3 oz ginger-ale
1.5 oz pomegranate juice
1.5 oz lemon juice
1 oz bourbon
**Mix and serve over ice
Pear and Lychee Cocktail
Gather The Goods
Ingredients:
2.5 oz Lychee pear puree
1.5 oz gin
2 teaspoons rose elderflower cordial
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 ounce fresh squeezed lime
4 oz club soda, cold
1 lychee, torched for color as garnish
Method:
1. Stir the lychee pear puree, gin, rose elderflower cordial, and vanilla bean paste together in a glass.
2. Transfer the mixture into the glass desired for serving and finish with the lime juice and club soda.
3. Make a slit in the lychee, torch it and place on the rim for garnish.
The Speckled Lychee
photo credit: Pomp & Whimsy Gin
Gather the Goods
2 oz Lychee puree
1 oz Pomp and Whimsey gin
1 tablespoon elderflower cordial
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/2 ounce fresh squeezed lime
3 oz club soda or sparkling water, cold
Edible flowers preferably elderflowers, as garnish
1 slice lime, torched for color, as garnish
Make It
1. Stir the lychee puree, gin, elderflower cordial, and vanilla bean paste together in a glass.
2. Transfer the mixture into the glass desired for serving and finish with the lime juice and club soda.
3. Torch the lychee and place on top with the edible flowers for garnish
Grapefruit Crush
Yield: 2
Gather The Goods
1 C Fresh Squeezed grapefruit or grapefruit juice
2 T Lime Simple Syrup
0.5 oz Rum
8 Mint leaves
Crushed Ice
----------------
Lime Simple Syrup
1 c sugar
1 cup lime juice
Rinds of squeezed limes
Make it
1. Make the simple syrup and let cool.
2. Use a small brush to paint on the simple syrup before dipping in the sugar. Note: you can create the same design I did or you can simply dip the rim for a classic look.
3. Pour in the grapefruit, simple syrup, and rum.
4. Muddle the mint until it forms into a paste. Use a spoon to add it into the drink and stir.
Japanese Horchata
Gather the Goods
2 cups water
2 tablespoons Genmaicha loose leaf tea
1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons sushi rice
3/4 cup coconut milk
2- 3 tablespoons honey
Make it
1. Bring water to 190 degrees and add the loose Genmaicha tea leaves. Let steep for 1-3 minutes. Let tea cool down before adding rice.
2. When tea has cooled, add raw sushi rice and blend in blender until course. Let sit for 2 - 3 hours and strain liquid through sieve leaving rice bits behind.
3. While liquid is sitting, fry 2 tablespoons of sushi rice in hot oil until they pop into mini kernels. Transfer to paper towel to soak up any leftover oil. Set aside.
4. After a few hours, blend honey and coconut milk into tea liquid until smooth and frothy.
5. Add ice cube and kernels to the Genmaicha Horchata and drink through a straw in a sassy tall glass.
MAKE AHEAD
Make Genmaicha tea ice cubes to add to horchata so they don't dilute the drink! Make tea as you would above and pour hot into prepared ice trays. You can purchase cube rubber ice trays at any home goods store.
Meyer Lemon and bubbly Lime Margarita
gather the goods
For Rim:
Honey
sugar
Simple Syrup:
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C water
Yield: 2
2 oz. Tequila
1/4 C Meyer Lemon, fresh squeezed
1/4 C Lime, fresh squeezed
2 T simple syrup
splash of seltzer
make it
1. Coat a margarita glass rim with honey and dip in sugar.
2. In a Boston shaker add ice, tequila, lemon, lime, and syrup. Strain the liquid from the ice and pour into glass. Add a splash of seltzer.
3. Serve straight up with a lime slice!
Juniper Sunset
make it
1.5 oz. Tanqueray Gin
½ oz. Aperol
2 fl oz Blood orange
4 fl oz tonic water
¾ oz Rhubarb simple syrup
1 stalk rhubarb
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
Rhubarb sugar to coat rim
1 stalk rhubarb from syrup
1-2 T sugar
gather the goods
Measure equal parts sugar and water and place into a pot.
Peel the rhubarb and slice paper thin. Place both the skin and rhubarb into the pot. Let the mixture come to a boil until the sugar has dissolved; strain and cool syrup.
After removing rhubarb from the pot let dry in a dehydrator or 200-degree oven. Grind in spice grinder with sugar.
Dip the rocks glass into the rhubarb sugar so there is enough to coat the rim.
Pour gin, aperol, simple syrup, and orange juice into Boston shaker with ice, and shake until emulsified. Pour mixture into rocks glass leaving ice behind.
Add the tonic water and stir.