Every holiday and family get together there was a jar of those canned pickled beets ready to be feasted on. The little purple gems  were nearly as tasty, and loved, as my grandmother’s caramel corn (a recipe for another day.) Since they moved west, fewer beets made it to the table at family holidays and my life in general. I had forgotten how wonderful they were until recently. It seems beets seem to be an East Coast staple, appearing in various forms on menus across New York City. I’ve had more beets in the past few months than I have in the last ten years, but happily so.

This week, I decided to pickle my own beets. Not from my yard, but organic store bought beets, mostly, so I can have them around to munch on from time to time. There are plenty of health benefits attributed to beets. Rich in antioxidants, they commonly found as fodder for juice shops, complementing fruit juices as well as fellow root vegetables. Beets also tend to lose less of their nutritional value when cooked unlike other vitamin rich vegetables and fruit. Beets contain betalains which are important for natural detoxification and anti-inflammatory support.  Curing the body’s ailments through natural resources, specifically diet is the best way to live.

Although I haven’t yet acquired my grandmother’s recipe for pickling beets, I did a bit of research and found what seems to be a more than adequate recipe. I recommend storing these in a sealed airtight container, heck you can even can them yourself, should you be so adventurous. They make an excellent side dish for dinner or a nice compliment to any salad. (try them with some homemade goat cheese.) Whatever way you choose, be sure this indulgence is a healthy one, and resourceful too.

Pickled Beets

4-5 Beets, scrubbed with tops removed

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 olive oil

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey

salt

Wrap each beet individually in aluminum foil. Roast beets in 425F oven for 1 hour or until fork tender. Remove from oven; let stand until cool enough to handle. Using a dull knife, slip skins off cooked beets. Cut each into quarters or eights, depending on size. Place beets in container with lid. Fill with vinegars, oil, water, salt and honey. Cool for at least 30 minutes. Keep refrigerated.

Last weekend, I bartered with my roommate J for a few extra weekend walks. I offered him a fresh batch of the cookies of his choosing. We decided on macadamia nut cookies, half with white chocolate, half without. Macadamia Nut (white chocolate chip) cookies are the Chanel of the cookie world; held in high esteem for their luxurious flavor, envied by those afraid to bake with more expensive ingredients and generally appreciated by nearly everyone, even those who chose not to indulge. As always I choose to change it up a little, making it slightly healthier and slightly less sweet. I promise they are still a hit. Oh, did I forget to mention the half batch with chocolate also had cranberries? I’m sure you’ve had or heard of the Bliss Bar sold at holiday times at Starbucks. This would be my version…

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies with Cranberries

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 2 cups wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries (about 6 ounces)
• 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips (about 8 1/2 ounces)
• 1 cup coarsely chopped roasted salted macadamia nuts (about 4 1/2 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift first 3 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add both sugars and beat until blended. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla. Add dry ingredients and beat just until blended. Using spatula, stir in cranberries, white chocolate chips, and nuts.

Shape dough into small balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake until golden, about 16 minutes. Move to cooling rack.

Next to Tequila, the liquor thats best and cheapest to bring home from Mexico is Kahlua. This liqueur is renowned for its smooth taste and scent, both results from the infusion of Veracruz coffee beans and Mexican vanilla (another good duty-free purchase.)  Like most things, a homemade version has qualities that a store packaged product can’t provide; individuality, resourcefulness and adventure.

Homemade liqueurs are some of the simplest cocktail ingredients to make, but are often brushed aside because they can involved steeping and fermenting over long periods of time. However, consider the end products of enjoyment, craftiness and the title of homemade beverage connoisseur that result from a specially made bottle. It’s the kind of achievement even a scout could be proud of; if only they handed out badges for homemade booze.

To save a little time, here’s a recipe for homemade Kahlua that not only utilizes your favorite coffee but also has quick results.

Makes about 1.5 liters

6 cups brewed coffee (Use your favorite kind– my house is a La Colombe kind of house, but any coffee will do)

1 pound light brown sugar

3 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1/2 liter of vodka (something simple, svedka or smirnoff is recommended for affordability and quality)

While the coffee is still hot, mix in the brown sugar.

Let cool to room temperature

Mix in vanilla and vodka.

Bottle for safe keeping or serve immediately.

I surfed around her websites before interviewing her and a few recipes she had posted caught my eye. Of course, I wasted little time and made a batch of sweet potato biscuits, which turned out better than I had hoped. The biscuit itself is not sweet but rather flavored lightly with sweet potato. They make the perfect snack or dinner component when served warm, split open with butter on each side.

For Christmas Dinner I had a few friends over and fixed a batch to go with our Roasted Chicken (recipe to follow in the next few days.) Donna’s recipe comes from a handwritten heirloom copy and I gather is one that she too has not only made for years but shared with many. I am smitten with the idea of generations old cooking treasures and love this recipe’s history and it is a recipe that needs to be shared. For Christmas I added a few spices to make the flavor more reminiscent of the holiday spirit, spices that of course go so well with sweet potato

Ingredients

1 package dry yeast

2 tablespoons very warm water

5 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon each: baking soda, salt

1 cup vegetable shortening

2 cups buttermilk

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) melted butter

 1 large sweet potato, baked til soft and mashed with a fork

 1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon clove

1/4 teaspoon ginger

Instructions

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a small bowl; set aside. Sift flour sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices into a large bowl; cut in shortening and mashed sweet potato with a pastry cutter or your hands. Add buttermilk and yeast mixture. Stir until thoroughly moistened, but do not over blend.

Transfer dough to a floured board; sprinkle with flour if needed. Knead 2 minutes. Roll out or pat dough to 1/2-inch thickness; use a 2-inch biscuit cutter to cut out biscuits. Transfer to an ungreased baking pan. Let rise 45 minutes.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush biscuits with melted butter. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Makes about 30 to 36 biscuits.

The White Russian lacks in an interesting origin, there are no great tales to tell or ironic anecdotes to be passed around the bar. It simply made an appearance in a California magazine sometime in the 1960s and has been consumed ever since. Most people find the drink to be one of a few things, too sweet, too creamy or too dangerous, the combination of the first two leading to the third. The sugar content in a White Russian is guaranteed to give you a hefty hangover if consumed in excess and the cream of course can just sit in your stomach, weighing you down, and the dangerous part? They taste so familiar, like an alcoholic coffee milkshake or liquid candy, that it is easy to forget how strong they truly are. That is why it is best to have one, and only one, as dessert.

The original recipe calls for vodka preferably Russian vodka, hence the title, coffee liqueur and cream over ice. But there are of course, a hundred good substitutions and additions that can be made to keep this retro-drink current. Why not try substituting Bailey’s Caramel for the cream? Use the Godiva Cappuccino instead of Kahlua? Soy milk? A little fresh spices? All of these can take the drink past the scenes of bowling alleys, limo rides or bad family parties and make you truly appreciate a drink that is an icon of pop culture.

Best White Russian Recipe

2 ounces Vodka 
1 ounce Coffee Liqueur 
1 ounce Light Cream
1 ounce Irish Cream
cinnamon

Pour vodka and coffee liqueur and Irish Cream over ice cubes in a rocks glass. Finish with light cream, dust with cinnamon and serve.

The name of the cocktail dates farther back than the cartoon featuring Tom cat and his favorite rodent foe Jerry, but credits the name to a book written in 1820 by Pierce Egan, titled Life in London: The Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn, Esq. and His Elegant Friend Corinthian Tom. The book chronicled the riotous adventures of two characters, Tom and Jerry, through short satirical stories that brought slang like “three sheets to the wind” from the conversations of sailors to the general public. The book was a smash hit, with many imitations popping up in the years to come as Tom and Jerry solidified their mark on pop-culture history. Mischievous and perhaps less than saintly characters and adventures were donned with new nick names; Tom and Jerry.

The first association with Tom and Jerry and alcohol was in 1832 at a shop in London referred to as a Tom and Jerry Shop, or beer shop. During this time, the drink showed up at holiday parties across London and back in the United States with several famed bartenders claiming credit. Since its creation, Tom and Jerry Eggnog has created a wide following; one that has only slowed in recent years. Should you not have had a Tom and Jerry before, chances are that were you to ask an older family member if they’ve had one the answer would be yes. In the 1950s, punch bowl sets were made specifically for Tom and Jerry’s. Each bowl with matching glasses made its way on the holiday party circuit bringing warm frothy drinks to housewives and their guests, predominantly popular around the Great Lakes. These discontinued treasures vary in color, style and size, and can be easily found in antique stores and online auctions. There is a bar just off of Houston, in NoLIta called Tom and Jerrys that displays an impressive collection of punchbowls, paying homage to Christmas treat year round. Consider this winter-warming nog for your party this year and bring a little retro to your holiday season. As journalist Damon Runyon wrote in 1932, “This hot Tom and Jerry is an old time drink that is once used by one and all in this country to celebrate Christmas with, and in fact it is once so popular that many people think Christmas is invented only to furnish an excuse for hot Tom and Jerry…”

Tom & Jerry
serves 10

5 eggs, separated
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup brandy, warmed
1 cup dark rum, warmed
1 tsp quality vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Warm Whole milk and coffee (Some people substitute hot water, but coffee and milk add an unreal dimension)

In a large, clean bowl beat the egg whites. Add the powdered sugar gradually, beating until the whites begin to form stiff peaks. In a separate bowl, beat the yolks, vanilla, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg until combined. Carefully fold the yolk mixture into the egg whites.

Serve each drink by placing half a shot of brandy, half a shot of rum, and as much warm milk and coffee into the mug as you like. Top with frothy egg batter, garnish with fresh grated nutmeg and serve.

Pisco has a naturally smooth flavor, one that many don’t associate with its high alcohol content, thus leaving first time drinkers a little more intoxicated than they expect. Keep this is mind should you be ready to consume your first Pisco Sour, which blends sour and sweet to smoothen the liquor even more. You may be weary of adding an uncooked egg white to your cocktails, but trust that a Pisco Sour is not authentic without.

Pisco Sour

sugar syrup (recipe follows)

lime juice, preferably key-lime juice

Peruvian Pisco

1 egg white

Crushed ice

Angostura bitters

Sugar syrup:

1 part granulated sugar

1 part water

Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and simmer until sugar is completely dissolved.  Cool before mixing into cocktails

For 4 Servings of Pisco Sour:

Place 1 part lime juice, 1 part Pisco, and 1 1/2 parts sugar syrup in a blender along with a cup of crushed ice and 1 egg white.

Blend until you see the meringue form (the contents will turn a frothy white).

Pour into a pitcher or individual rocks glasses and garnish with a few dashes of bitters

South of the border some would consider it to be superior to the Bloody Mary, while still being a true variation. Micheladas are, traditionally speaking, beer, tomato or clamato juice with hot sauce, lime, and salt. Like in a Bloody Mary, tomato juice serves the purpose as the mixer, truly blending well with the carbonation of beer, the acid of lime juice and the brine of salt. Not to mention, tomatoes naturally lend themselves kindly to the introduction of heat of any kind making it not just a beer cocktail, but one that is balanced by all the basic elements: sour, spicy and savory.

MiChelada you-chelada?

Some believe the name Michelada comes from the Mexican slang phrase, “Mi chela helada” which translates to “my cold beer.” Regardless of the name’s origin it can be rest assured that should you venture to our southern neighbor you will see micheladas beneath most beachside cabanas and in the hands of locals. Different parts of Mexico will prepare the drink differently, each region having their own version on the classic. Some places specifically serve Cheladas, which omit the tomato juice.

Like the Bloody Mary, and the Red Eye (consisting of beer, tomato juice and an egg,) the Michelada is known for lessening the results of a hangover. Though it may not be a proven fact, you will be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t believe in it’s hair-of-the-dog like abilities. Despite it’s morning rescues, the Michelada makes appearances all day long when you’re visiting Mexico as it is just as delicious in the afternoon with good torta or in the evening with a fantastic pozole.

What’s the best way to make a Michelada? While some people swear by the addition of Worcestershire sauce, I prefer to leave the salt on the rim and add Maggi seasoning, a distant relative of soy sauce. Maggi maintains the same saltiness of soy sauce, but is derived from wheat and originally from Switzerland. It tends to have a much richer flavor, one that some liken to the flavors of steak and protein. It is commonly used in Mexico, South American and European countries in place of soy sauce. Another enhancement is, of course, the beer. Traditionally, micheladas are made with a light mexican beer; think Modelo Especial or Corona. If you’re not opposed to a little punch in the morning, try it with an amber ale to add a little depth.

Recipe for the Perfect MiChelada

1 12 ounce beer (amber ale or Mexican beer of choice)
1- 1 1/2 teaspoon Maggi seasoning
1 teaspoon hot sauce of choice, vinegar based is recommended
2 limes juiced
2 cups clamato (clam juice cocktail)
ice cubes

Combine all ingredients except for beer in large cocktail mixer. Mix thoroughly and pour into two salt rimmed glasses. Add in beer. Garnish with lime.

Where saloons once stood, new businesses opened and the bar moved underground or behind a mock-store front. Passwords, handshakes and codes granted access to the lively scene. Hotspots were  called speakeasies as it was necessary for guests to keep a low-profile upon entrance, keep quiet and “speak easy.” Beer and wine took a back seat to hard liquor which was easier to transport and hide. Women were suddenly allowed to enter as patrons and the cocktail was born when it became necessary to mix alcohol with something to make it more palatable.  Lawmakers and temperance movement supporters had hoped Americans would live more simple, moral lives, but with bootlegging, moonshine and the emergence of the speakeasy, alcohol and easy-living spread like wildfire. New York boasted over 100,000 speakeasies, including the original Red Roosterin Harlem. What was once named the Stork Club of Harlem, modeled after a similarly named establishment in midtown, the original Rooster’s one time owner George Edwin Woods kept his clientele list small and exclusive, limiting his list to true Harlem celebrities and some of the communities most beloved members, like Willie Mays and Adam Clayton Powell.

Flash forward to 2011. We are long past the rules and regulations of Prohibition, but the trend is back. The latest fad in bar-gimmicks is the speakeasy. Look no farther than Drinks International’s release of the Top 50 bars in the world with Please Don’t Tell, the East Village’s getaway tucked inside a hotdog shop, coming in at number one. Surrounded by tasteful taxidermy and ultra-friendly staff and sipping on way above average cocktails, you’re welcome to nosh on celebrity-chef inspired hotdogs not available at the attached Crif Dogs. It is a promise that you won’t be disappointed.

There are other speakeasies scattered throughout Manhattan and other US cities and ironically nobody is talking in low whispers when discussing these nooks and crannies. Since we live in the era of social media, many speakeasies no longer rely on a hidden existence but instead keep their clientele on a short list, take only reservations, turn people down selectively or try their best to keep their doors visible to only those “in the know. ” Many bars deliver the cocktail drinker to a completely different atmosphere, usually presenting a peek at what a true speakeasy might have been like. Raine’s Law Room on 17th street looks and feels like the swanky prohibition era apartment of your family lawyer, complete with a kitchen-island bar, and handlebar mustached maitre d. While it is a grand, wonderful feeling to sip on something fizzy and cozy up in a booth like the ones at Raine’s or PDT, it is even more satisfactory knowing well that the group ahead of you was turned down entrance.

It is not merely ultra exclusivity that keeps patrons coming back and seeking out new speakeasies. Many are the home for intricately crafted cocktails at the hands of the most capable mixologists. Take the drink menu at Violet Hour in Chicago for example. Cocktails range from new variations on the Manhattan to unfamiliar concoctions made with tequila, brandy and port. That’s right…a port cocktail. PDT just released their first cocktail book, which ranges in giving advice on stocking a complete bar to cocktail recipes that ebb and flow with the seasons. A few weeks back on my first visit, I sipped on a cocktail that paid homage to the tv show Boardwalk Empire and tasted like saltwater taffy, as well as an autumn inspired cocktail that was made with butternut squash puree. Ah! The decadence.

With the reemergence of the classic cocktail, it is a wonderful thing to see the rejuvenation of a nearly century’s old institution. Celebrating the classics and revitalizing atmospheres that once were lost, is a classic American tradition. Next time you’re headed out for a night of revelry and rabble rousing or if you’re just looking for a one of a kind cocktail, consider your closest speakeasy. Of course, that is assuming you know where to find one.

Most cocktail historians would tell you that the drink was first stirred in 1921 at Harry’s New York Bar, a Paris hotspot for ex-pats like Hemingway and Gershwin, by a man named Fernand Petiot. The original recipe was half tomato juice and half vodka and it wasn’t until Petiot brought the drink stateside, to The King Cole Bar at The Saint Regis NYC, that the spices of Tabasco, Worcestershire, horseradish, lemon, lime and pepper were added. Originally, the libation was called both the Red Snapper and Morning Glory before the name Bloody Mary stuck. While most people would assume the drink is named for the legendary Queen Mary I, known as Bloody Mary, some believe the tale that it was named for a woman named Mary at the Bucket of Blood Club in Chicago, as Petiot stated multiple times that it reminded him of her.

Then there’s the other story of origin; that which chronicles the creation of the drink as a hangover cure by famed movie producer George Jessel. Jessel even recounts the creation in his autobiography, insisting that he and friends came up with the drink in 1927 in Palm Springs Florida, and the name came when Mary Warburton, of Wanamaker’s Department Store fame, spilled one on herself and declared herself a Bloody Mary.

Like most cocktail origin tales, neither story can be proven to be the first true drink mixed, Jessel surely is the reason of its appearance on the Sunday brunch menu as he was the first to claim its cure for the morning hangover from Saturday night’s indulgences. As far as its nick-name “hair of the dog,” the expression refers to curing a hangover with more booze, but comes from the term “hair of the dog that bit you” which dates all the way back to Shakespearean times. Sure, the colloquial phrase wasn’t originally referring to alcohol. The literal meaning was to treat the wound of a rabid dog bite by placing a hair from the tail of the dog in the wound the next day.

But let’s get back to the booze. The wonderful thing about a Bloody Mary is that tomato juice and vodka can be mixed with nearly anything. Most commonly, the drink can be seen spicy and served with celery, but mix it up! Don’t be afraid to go beyond horseradish and Tabasco. Oh and did you ever think of trying a Bloody Mary with Gin?Here’s my favorite recipe:

Morning Glory Bloody Mary
2 1/2 cups tomato juice
4 ounces vodka–try something extra smooth or try Hendricks or Tanqueray 10 Gin
Sriracha hot sauce to taste
3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh horseradish
1 jalapeno, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon wasabi

Juice of half a lemon
1/2 teaspoon of salt, celery salt is preferred
A drizzle of good quality extra-virgin olive oil

3-4 cocktail onions
4 green olives
2 cucumber spears

Directions
Combine all ingredients except olives, onions and cucumbers in a pitcher. Stir well. Pour mix into two glasses with ice and garnish each drink with one cucumber, one cocktail onion and two green olives