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Orange Delicious

 

Course: Drinks
Keyword: Fruit, Hacks, Non-Alcoholic, Orange Delicious, Summer

Orange Delicious

Two parfait glasses of homemade, creamy Orange Julius.
ACTIVE TIME: 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours 10 minutes
Yield: 2 servings
A frothy orange milkshake just like those sweet drinks you used to find at the mall.
In 1926, a Mr. Julius Freed opened an orange juice stand in Los Angeles, only to find that although his product was excellent, business was not. One of Freed’s associates, a chemist by trade, decided to experiment with orange juice augmentation formulas, and through said finagling formulated a familiar orange milkshake concoction that is with us to this day.
This recipe first appeared in Season 12 of Good Eats.
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  • 8 1/2 fluid ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 2 teaspoons orange zest
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Specialized Hardware

Blender
Two parfait glasses of homemade, creamy Orange Julius.
ACTIVE TIME: 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours 10 minutes
Yield: 2 servings

Procedure

  • Pour 6 1/2 fluid ounces of the orange juice Make sure you zest your oranges before collecting the juice. into an ice cube tray and freeze until solid, approximately 2 hours. Store the remaining 2 fluid ounces juice and the zest in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
  • Combine the frozen juice cubes, reserved orange juice and zest, milk, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla in a blender and blend until smooth and slushy, 30 to 45 seconds. Serve immediately.

Cheerwine Sangria

Course: Drinks
Keyword: Cheerwine Sangria, Cocktails, Entertaining, Hacks, Summer, Wine

Cheerwine Sangria

Cheerwine sangria and quartered oranges in a glass pitcher.
ACTIVE TIME: 5 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 4 hours 5 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Cherry-flavored soda puts a Southern spin on this classic Spanish cocktail.
While on tour in 2017, I ate my weight at an excellent Spanish tapas joint in Durham, N.C. called Mateo. I washed it all down with a couple of pitchers of Cheerwine Sangria, which is one of those ideas that’s so brilliant that it actually hurts me to not have thought of it. While I respect them far too much to actually ask for the recipe, that doesn’t stop me from trying to hack it from memory. I think this gets pretty darned close.
Of course, you can and should use fresh fruit as desired and as is available, but I wanted to start from a democratic baseline, so I went with frozen fruit, which I always have on hand. As for the wine part, any Spanish blend will do, but Rioja is especially appropriate.
For those not in the know, Cheerwine is a wild cherry-flavored cola out of Salisbury, N.C. It used to only be available in the South, but it’s slowly spreading due to the interest in heritage soda pops. If you can’t find it locally consider ordering online. Do not…I repeat, do not use cherry Coke.
Drink responsibly, of course, which means, hide the car keys.
This recipe first appeared on altonbrown.com.
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  • 1 bottle red wine, Spanish blend
  • 4 fluid ounces triple sec or other orange liqueur
  • 2 fluid ounces brandy
  • 1 teaspoon cherry bitters
  • 1/2 cup frozen peaches, chopped
  • 1/2 cup frozen mango, chopped
  • 8 to 10 basil leaves, roughly torn into large pieces
  • 1 orange, quartered
  • 1 orange, thinly sliced
  • 2 (12-ounce) bottles Cheerwine, chilled
Cheerwine sangria and quartered oranges in a glass pitcher.
ACTIVE TIME: 5 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 4 hours 5 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Procedure

  • Combine the wine, triple sec, brandy, cherry bitters, frozen peaches and mango, and basil in a large pitcher and chill at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
  • When ready to serve, skim the basil off the surface with a spoon or small strainer.
  • Divide the fruit from the pitcher into 8 large wine glasses and top each with 4 fluid ounces of the wine mixture, followed by 3 fluid ounces of Cheerwine.
  • Finish by squeezing an orange quarter into each of the glasses (I usually let the drinkers do this) and garnish with an orange slice.
  • Drink and repeat, responsibly of course, which means hide all the car keys.

Rise and Grind Cocktail

 

Course: Drinks
Keyword: Brunch, Cocktails, Entertaining, Rise and Grind Cocktail, Whiskey

Rise and Grind Cocktail

Rise and grind cocktail in a stemmed glass garnished with a maraschino cherry, orange peel, and a skull swizzle stick.
ACTIVE TIME: 15 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 15 minutes
Yield: 1 cocktail
This is one of my favorite cocktails, a perfect balance of sweet and bitter, caffeine, and ethanol.
In 2016, I partnered on a breakfast-inspired burger with the fine folks at Umami Burger. They thought we should come up with a cocktail to go with it — this is what I’d call the “home edition” of that drink.
The secret is the cola syrup, which balances the medicinal funk of the Fernet Branca, a bitter liqueur or “amaro” and quite possibly one of my favorite potable fluids.
The folks at Umami prefer Real Sugar Pepsi, but I’m from Atlanta so I’m pretty sure using anything besides Coke is against state laws.
This recipe first appeared on altonbrown.com.
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  • 1 (12-ounce) bottle cola
  • 1 cup demerara sugar
  • 1 1/2 fluid ounces rye whiskey
  • 1/4 fluid ounce Fernet Branca
  • 1/4 fluid ounce cola syrup
  • 1 1/2 fluid ounces cold brew coffee
  • 2 dashes coffee bitters
  • 2 dashes black walnut bitters
  • Maraschino cherries and and orange twist, for garnish
Rise and grind cocktail in a stemmed glass garnished with a maraschino cherry, orange peel, and a skull swizzle stick.
ACTIVE TIME: 15 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 15 minutes
Yield: 1 cocktail

Procedure

  • Make the cola syrup: Bring the cola to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the demerara and cook until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and cool completely before using. Store the syrup in an airtight container in the fridge.
  • Combine the liquors, cola syrup, cold brew, and bitters in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir until well chilled. Strain into a chilled martini glass and serve with a maraschino cherry and the orange twist.

The J. v. D. Cocktail

 

Course: Drinks
Keyword: Cocktails, Hacks, Rum, Summer, The J. v. D. Cocktail

The J. v. D. Cocktail

Painkiller cocktail with rum, coconut cream, and pineapple juice in a glass
ACTIVE TIME: 5 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 5 minutes
Yield: 1 cocktail
So, this is a fairly famous cocktail in the Caribbean, but I can’t use its more popular moniker (Painkiller) because it’s actually owned by a fairly powerful liquor company. So, I’m naming this version after the island upon which I first enjoyed it, Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands.
I can attest to its anesthetic qualities because after four of them I fell off my stool onto my face and felt … absolutely nothing. But before I arrived at oblivion, I did notice that it tasted really good. So does this one. Just be sure to cut yourself off at three.
This recipe first appeared on altonbrown.com.
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  • 2 fluid ounces dark rum
  • 4 fluid ounces pineapple juice
  • 1 fluid ounce mango juice
  • 1 fluid ounce coconut water
  • 1/2 fluid ounce Campari
  • Freshly grated nutmeg, for garnish

Specialized Hardware

Boston-style cocktail shaker
Painkiller cocktail with rum, coconut cream, and pineapple juice in a glass
ACTIVE TIME: 5 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 5 minutes
Yield: 1 cocktail

Procedure

  • Add the rum, pineapple juice, mango juice, coconut water, and Campari to a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake for about 30 seconds.
  • Strain into a tiki glass filled with ice and top with freshly grated nutmeg. Cocktail umbrella optional.

Green Gimlet Cocktail

 

Course: Drinks
Keyword: Cocktails, Entertaining, Gin, Green Gimlet Cocktail

Green Gimlet Cocktail

Green Gimlet Cocktail with gin, lime syrup, and tonic in a coupe-style glass and finished with a splash of soda
ACTIVE TIME: 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 10 minutes
Yield: 1 cocktail
As far as I’m concerned, Raymond Chandler is the finest writer of detective fiction the world has ever known. And his novel The Long Goodbye is, to my mind, the finest detective novel he ever penned. In it, the protagonist, Phillip Marlowe (the quintessential noir gumshoe), takes to drinking with a burned-out rogue by the name of Terry Lennox. The following ensues:
“We sat in the corner bar at Victor’s and drank gimlets. ‘They don’t know how to make them here,’ he said. What they call a gimlet is just some lime or lemon juice and gin with a dash of sugar and bitters. A real gimlet is half gin and half Rose’s Lime Juice and nothing else. It beats martinis hollow.”
Thus spake Chandler. And yet, I kinda like my version better.
This recipe first appeared on altonbrown.com.
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  • 1 lime-flavored ice pop, frozen
  • 1 1/2 fluid ounces London dry gin
  • 1/2 fluid ounces sweetened lime syrup, such as Rose's
  • 1 teaspoon small-batch tonic
  • Soda water
Green Gimlet Cocktail with gin, lime syrup, and tonic in a coupe-style glass and finished with a splash of soda
ACTIVE TIME: 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 10 minutes
Yield: 1 cocktail

Procedure

  • Bisect the ice pop and muddle half in a mixing glass with the gin, lime syrup, and tonic. Pour into a coupe-style glass, finish with a splash of soda, and garnish with the other half of the pop. Kids will want to drink this. Don't let them.

Bloody Mary 2.0

 

Course: Drinks
Keyword: Bloody Mary 2.0, Brunch, Cocktails, Entertaining, Vodka

Bloody Mary 2.0

Pickle brine Bloody Mary cocktail with celery and pickle garnish
ACTIVE TIME: 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours 5 minutes
Yield: 4 cocktails
Brunch's favorite savory cocktail...but better.
May I humbly suggest that you make a double batch of the tomato juice and freeze half of it as ice cubes? No one wants a watered down Bloody Mary. And I like to garnish mine with a Slim Jim stir-stick, but maybe that’s just me…
Celery bitters are available at better liquor stores and, of course, on the interwebs.
This recipe first appeared on Season 13 of Good Eats.
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  • 32 fluid ounces tomato juice
  • 8 fluid ounces pickle brine
  • 3 fluid ounces clam juice
  • 2 fluid ounces lemon juice
  • 1 fluid ounce Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce
  • 1 teaspoon instant coffee
  • 8 fluid ounces vodka
  • Celery bitters
Pickle brine Bloody Mary cocktail with celery and pickle garnish
ACTIVE TIME: 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours 5 minutes
Yield: 4 cocktails

Procedure

  • Add the tomato juice, pickle juice, clam juice, and lemon juice to a small pitcher and stir until well combined.
  • Add the Worcestershire, horseradish, hot sauce, and coffee crystals to the remaining juice mixture, and stir until the coffee dissolves. Pour half of the tomato juice mixture into an ice cube tray and freeze, 1 to 2 hours. Refrigerate the remaining juice mixture for at least 1 hour.
  • Pour the vodka into 4 highball glasses filled with tomato juice ice cubes. Fill the remainder with the tomato juice mixture. Top with celery bitters just before serving.

Miami Mule

 

Course: Drinks
Keyword: Cocktails, Entertaining, Miami Mule, Miami Mule Recipe, Summer, Vodka

Miami Mule

Refreshing Miami mule cocktail with ginger beer and lime
ACTIVE TIME: 5 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 5 minutes
Yield: 1 (8-ounce) cocktail
So, obviously a tropical take on a classic Moscow Mule. Not that anything’s wrong with just vodka and ginger beer. But this version allows me to use grapefruit bitters, which are some of my very favorite bitters, period.
This recipe first appeared on altonbrown.com.
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  • 2 fluid ounces vodka
  • 1/2 fluid ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 fluid ounce blood orange juice
  • 6 fluid ounces ginger beer, not ale
  • 4 dashes grapefruit bitters
Refreshing Miami mule cocktail with ginger beer and lime
ACTIVE TIME: 5 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 5 minutes
Yield: 1 (8-ounce) cocktail

Procedure

  • Fill a highball or Collins glass with ice. Pour in the vodka, lemon juice, and blood orange juice. Top with the ginger beer and grapefruit bitters. Serve with a swizzle stick.

Quick Preserved Lemons

Course: Sauces & Condiments
Keyword: Condiments, Make-Ahead, Preserves, Quick Preserved Lemons

Quick Preserved Lemons

Quick Preserved Lemons in wedges
ACTIVE TIME: 15 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 8 days
Yield: 1 pint
Bonafide Indian and North African dishes more often than not contain preserved lemon, a semi-exotic ingredient than can be easily procured at your local megamart. But, we're going to make our own. Why? Because homemade is better.
Expect peak flavor and texture after about a month. As long as they’re kept refrigerated preserved lemons should keep indefinitely.
This recipe first appeared in Season 1 of Good Eats: The Return.
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  • 4 lemons, scrubbed and dried, plus the juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/4 cup kosher salt

Specialized Hardware

16-ounce canning jar
Quick Preserved Lemons in wedges
ACTIVE TIME: 15 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 8 days
Yield: 1 pint

Procedure

  • Trim the ends off the lemons. Slice each lemon into 8 wedges, removing any seeds as you go. Reserve as much of the juice as possible.
  • Layer the lemon wedges in a wide-mouthed, 16-ounce canning jar, covering each layer with salt. Pack the jar as tightly as possible, pressing down to release the lemons' juice as you go and leaving about 1/4 inch of headspace in the jar.
  • Cover the wedges with the reserved lemon juice from the cutting board and the ends. If your lemons do not release a significant amount of juice, top off the jar with the juice of another lemon.
  • Stash in the refrigerator for 4 days, then flip the jar over and age another 4 days before sampling. The peel should be nice and soft. Rinse before using.

Margarita-ish

 

Course: Drinks
Keyword: Cinco de Mayo, Cocktails, Entertaining, My Classic Margarita, Summer, Tequila, Tex-Mex

Margarita-ish

Alton Brown's Margarita Recipe
ACTIVE TIME: 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 10 minutes
Yield: 1 cocktail
Yes, I know a "real" margarita has orange liqueur in it, but sometimes I want something a bit lighter and yes, lower in alcohol. That way, I can drink more of them! Kidding...or am I.
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  • 2 fluid ounces 100% agave silver/blanco tequila
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 lime
  • 1/2 small Hamlin or Valencia orange
  • 1 tablespoon light agave syrup
  • 3/4 cup (3 to 4) ice cubes

Specialized Hardware

Boston-style cocktail shaker
Alton Brown's Margarita Recipe
ACTIVE TIME: 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 10 minutes
Yield: 1 cocktail

Procedure

  • Pour 1/2 fluid ounce of the tequila into a small saucer. Spread the kosher salt in a separate small saucer. Dip the rim of a wide-rimmed glass into the tequila. Lift out of the tequila and hold upside down for 10 seconds to allow for slight evaporation. Next, dip the glass into the salt to coat the rim. Set aside.
  • Halve the lime. Cut a thin slice for garnish and set aside. Juice lime and orange into a measuring cup through a sieve. You should end up with approximately 2 fluid ounces of juice.
  • Pour juice into a Boston-style cocktail shaker, add the agave and remaining 1 1/2 fluid ounces of tequila and any remaining on the saucer. Add the ice to the shaker, cover, and shake for 30 seconds. Strain the mixture through a cocktail strainer into the prepared glass, garnish with reserved lime slice, and serve immediately.

Hot Cocoa: Reloaded

 

Course: Drinks
Keyword: Chocolate, Drinks, Hacks, Holidays, Hot Cocoa Mix, Winter

Hot Cocoa: Reloaded

Hot cocoa in a white mug sitting on a black napkin.
ACTIVE TIME: 15 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 35 minutes
Yield: 5 1/2 cups mix for 22 servings of cocoa
By simply toasting the milk powder before adding it to the hot cocoa mix, we can capture a wide array of flavors, including caramel, toffee, and malt. Basically, one extra step creates the best cup of hot chocolate ever. Just trust me.
And don't forget the homemade marshmallows...
Note: If, like me, you only have kosher salt, simply blend a few tablespoons to a fine dust in a spice grinder.
This recipe first appeared in Season 1 of Good Eats: Reloaded.
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  • 2 1/2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon fine salt (see note)
  • Pinch ground cayenne pepper, optional, plus more to taste
  • Hot water, for serving

Specialized Hardware

Digital kitchen scale
Coffee/spice grinder
Hot cocoa in a white mug sitting on a black napkin.
ACTIVE TIME: 15 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 35 minutes
Yield: 5 1/2 cups mix for 22 servings of cocoa

Procedure

  • Heat oven to 300ºF. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
  • Spread milk powder in a thin, even layer the prepared sheet pan and bake until golden brown and crumbly, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Odds are good the milk powder will be stuck together in lumps and if that's the case, simply pulse it in a food processor a few times. (Toasting the milk powder is technically optional but personally, I think the flavor is worth it.)
  • Transfer the toasted and cooled milk powder to an airtight plastic container and add the sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, fine salt, and cayenne, if using. Cover and shake to thoroughly combine. Tightly sealed, the powder will keep nearly indefinitely in the pantry.
  • For one serving, heat 3/4 cup (6 fluid ounces or 175 ml) of water to a boil, then remove from the heat. Spoon 1/4 cup of the cocoa mix into a heavy mug and whisk in 1/4 cup (2 ounces or 60 ml) of the water to create a paste. Slowly whisk in the remaining hot water. Let sit about 30 seconds because otherwise you'll scald your face while attempting to chug the deliciousness.
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