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Category: Recipes

Irish Mule Cocktails & Green Tables in Celebration of St. Patrick

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The annual celebration of Ireland and its patron saint arrives each year on March 17th. For me, this brings back fond memories of attending the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City with my family, wearing green bows in my hair and having brunch at the Metropolitan Club, where we would later climb out onto the window sills to catch the last few moments of the parade. It was the one day of the year that we feasted on corned beef and cabbage, potatoes in a dizzying array of presentations and lots of dessert. The buffet was endless and the food coloring would turn our lips and tongues green, transforming us all into magical leprechauns. 

Since living in Palm Beach I haven’t gotten back to see the parade in many years, and the Metropolitan Club, sadly, no longer offers brunch in its beautiful west lounge, a ballroom out of the Gilded Age. Instead, I’ve hosted many gatherings—in school and at our home—for my daughters and their friends. Now that the girls are both away at college, I’m thinking of hosting a small dinner—not because I love green clover–covered crafts or recipes with green dye; those things don’t inspire me much. My motivation is that some dear friends, who happen to be Irish, have just moved quite close to us and this will be their first St. Patrick’s Day in Florida. For me, that’s a great reason to go green.

As Carolyn Roehm says, inspiration comes from anywhere and everywhere. In addition to wanting to host our friends, I recently found these wonderful plates at a local Tuesday Morning shop, and they encouraged me to revisit an old post on Carolyn’s blog, where she features a table set in various shades of green on a striped tablecloth. It’s as lovely as I recall. I adore the tablecloth and will certainly go to my local remnant shop for a similar (and less expensive) version. I’m dreaming of the perfect floral arrangement: white calla lilies, long stalks of bells of Ireland, and hydrangeas—a combination that will be a beautiful ode to Ireland with a little Hamptons Entertaining thrown in.

There will be no shamrocks or leprechauns on this table: the effect will be something festive yet sophisticated. I’ll welcome guests with an Irish mule recipe I discovered at the Hard Rock Cafe, have some Celtic music playing in the background, and serve a creative, healthful take on few popular Irish dishes—I’m all set! To add a touch of whimsy to the evening, I pulled out some boas and beads left over from a Mardi Gras party I hosted, and I willbutton my guest as they arrive with a “Kiss Me I’m Irish” pin—it’s like mistletoe at Christmas and all in good fun.

Buttery Cucumber Soup

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Over the summer, when my vegetable garden delivered an overabundance of cucumbers, we enjoyed them in myriad ways. We included them in our salads, of course, and added slices to our water pitcher: the pale green cucumbers floating in the pitcher looked so inviting and the flavor was really refreshing on a hot summer’s day. I had fun creating cucumber cups for all kinds of hors d’oeuvres, stuffing them with fish roe, salmon and crème fraiche, and the Hamptons Cucumber Cups with Crab Meat featured in Hamptons Entertaining. Cucumber juice made its way into a few cocktails and smoothies, and I pickled quite a few cukes in salt water (for our Polish Pickle Soup). Finally, we enjoyed this buttery cucumber soup that gets its creamy texture from avocados.  

Here in Florida, avocado season ended later than usual this year. Perhaps it was the unseasonably warm weather. So when a friend dropped off a basketful of locally grown, rich, buttery avocados, I happily pulled this recipe out! Low fat, vegetarian (when you leave off the yogurt garnish) and delicious hot or cold, it is the perfect soup for post-holiday eating.

Yield: Makes 8 cups 

Garth’s Fishook

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The Turks & Caicos islands are a little bit of paradise in the Caribbean and the Grace Bay Club is one of the loveliest resorts to be found there. Each year for the past few years, the resort has created pop-up dining experiences for their guests—unique restaurant concepts that last one season only. Kone is this season’s pop-up, following the success of Biere et Boules, and its predecessors Jar on Grace Bay and the original Stix on Grace Bay. All have been imaginatively curated by Wolfgang von Wieser, Group Director of Food & Beverage for Grace Bay Resorts, to deliver a unique perspective on contemporary Caribbean cuisine, serving exciting combinations of fresh fish, local flavors and traditional island comfort foods, along with some really creative cocktails.

At Kone, I enjoyed an authentic Turks & Caicos lobster with green beans and an avocado chicken salad updated with a peppered ricotta. Another memorable dish was the Greek salad, deconstructed and delicious. But I was really missing the farro falafel they once served at Biere et Boules, and a most unforgettable cocktail called Garth’s Fish Hook, which I first enjoyed after two hours of paddle boarding—battling the winds to get back to shore. The flavors were so simple, uncomplicated, and purely refreshing.

The bartender, a talented intern named Charles Grontier, was kind enough to give me the recipe, one created by Garth Brown and no longer on the menu, which inspired me to share it here. While I love the pop-ups and their ongoing creativity, some things are worth preserving!

Yield: Makes 1 cocktail

Salsa de Maracuyá

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A friend in Austria recently introduced me to a local version of Planter’s Punch, the classic rum cocktail. To my surprise, the recipe substituted passion fruit for the traditional grenadine syrup and, even more unusual, referred to it as maracuyá in the ingredients, rather than passionsfrucht. Maracuyá is one of my favorite tropical fruit delights—its juice can be drunk on its own or used in ceviche marinades as well as in cocktails, including the Maracuyá Sour, a variation of the Pisco Sour (a popular and potent drink served in Peru). This fruit is particularly wonderful in desserts, especially when paired with butter and sweet cream, as in Victoria’s Coconut Passion Fruit Raspberry Layer Cake, featured in Hamptons Entertaining.  

Maracuyá is a word I first heard in Peru, and then again in Paraguay where it described the fruit as used in mousse, cheesecake, and ice cream. In Mexico, I learned to eat maracuyá by loosening the seeds from the shell, adding a little chili powder and lime juice, and then slurping it out of its shell. It’s a method that delivers an addictive burst of hot, sour, and sweet flavors all at once and, when served chilled, is quite refreshing. You really can’t have just one! In Thailand, maracuyá is served au naturel, split in half and simply eaten out of its skin with a spoon.

Several years ago, our Columbian cook introduced my family and me to her favorite restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, Las Orquideas, where we shared an authentically wonderful Pollo a la Plancha en Salsa de Maracuyá (Grilled Chicken in Passion Fruit Sauce). The entire family fell in love with this dish and while traveling in South America, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic we requested it often but were always met with a look of dismay. That is why we decided to learn to make it at home—and we do so often!  

I was so excited to hear my Austrian friends refer to this flavorful fruit as we do—maracuyá—and I learned that this little round berry (yes, I was surprised, too!) is called chinola in the Dominican Republic and known as parcha in Puerto Rico. Call it what you will (as Shakespeare said, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”), I’m sure you will enjoy our version of Salsa de Maracuyá as much as we do. We like it poured over boneless, pounded grilled chicken breasts paired with a simple green vegetable. I also serve a garlic-infused rice or jalapeño bread alongside; after all you need something to soak up all that delicious sauce once the chicken is gone! 

Plates by Richard Ginori; glasses by Diane von Furstenberg; placemats and napkins by Windy Hill; napkin rings by Kim Seybert.

Yield: Makes 2/3 cup

Testarossa Cocktail

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One of the most coveted positions in the food and beverage industry is certainly that of a professional bartender. It’s such a social job—and it can be quite glamorous. Sure, it looks like fun, but don’t be fooled! It is very demanding, especially during the holiday season. I’m fascinated by the many talented mixologists I’ve met in unique and exciting venues and have been impressed with their willingness to share their most popular recipes. With my iPhone in hand I’ve recorded a few of my favorites doing what they do best: creating memorable cocktails with a little showmanship and a lot of love.

Of all the bartenders I’ve met, Guenther Kohlweiss is certainly one of the most talented, creative, and professional. He is the Chef de Bar at the Hotel Krone in Lech, Austria, and has been there for as long as I can remember.  Every year when we arrive for the holidays my family and I look forward to seeing Guenther. He’s so friendly, always happy and eager to make us feel at home. Beyond being a terrific bartender, he is one of the greatest hosts I’ve had the pleasure to know.

A long-standing member of the prestigious ÖBU (Österreichischen Barkeeper Union), Guenther shares with us the recipe for his famous Testarossa cocktail. The light, citrus flavor of prosecco, which is Italian sparkling dry white wine, makes this pretty drink even more festive, without the expense of Champagne.

Guenther serves 150 to 200 of these delicious raspberry cocktails a day during high season, and because testarossa literally means red head in Italian, I can’t help but wonder if he named this drink after the famous Ferrari or a special red-haired beauty.

It’s the perfect holiday cocktail. Cheers! 

Yield: Makes 4 cocktails

Country Style Garlic Soup with Poached Egg

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This soup was one of my father’s favorites and we shared it often in late August when the garlic in my Hamptons garden was fragrant and flavorful and the sage irresistible. It was our go-to breakfast on many Sunday mornings and just setting the bowl in front of my dad would cause a broad smile to spread across his face as he enjoyed the aroma’s he loved – the co-mingling of garlic and sage. He was a proponent of garlic’s medicinal properties and believed in its ability to boost the immune system which is why this soup always made its way back to my table right about this time of year, mid-December. My parents would arrive here in Florida for the season, and first on the agenda was a trip to the green market where we would pick up the best garlic, a crusty baguette, farm-fresh eggs and a sage plant for my garden. Mom, Dad and I would make one final stop for coffee, and with our to-go cups in hand head home for a late breakfast.  

I can always rely on this soup to boost my mood and I love that it requires only a handful of ingredients, most of which will already be on hand at my house or in my herb garden.  When the garlic is fresh and fragrant I make it as I’ve set out here with water rather than stock, giving the garlic the duty of flavoring the broth. When working with less fragrant garlic I cook the soup with ½ water and ½ chicken stock. The swirling technique you’ll see in the recipe is one I learned in the South of France and will help prevent the egg white from feathering out into the pan.  I use this method when I’m poaching a few eggs and serving the soup right away.  For bigger crowds, I poach the eggs, move them to an ice bath and refrigerate them until I’m ready to serve. Simply reheat them in the warm garlic broth before serving.

My dad had favorites – here it was certainly the garlic and the eggs, but I love the fragrance of sage.  Oftentimes I would put a few sprigs in our napkin rings and delight in the stories and jokes it would evoke. Dad would slide the sage out and ask “are you in need of some sage advice?” He would tell me how sage was a memory enhancer and anti-inflammatory, and then with a mischievous grin promptly tuck a sprig behind his ear and drop one into his bowl. He’d take his first spoonful of soup, savoring the flavors, then in his best “female voice” with his head cocked to one side – to show off his hair accessory – he’d say “no more bread for me, I’m watching my girlish figure.”

Yield: Serves 4

Hamptons Poached Pears

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The leaves are ablaze in hues of red, yellow, and orange and there’s a nip in the air that calls for our favorite, coziest sweater. It’s fall, perhaps my favorite time of the year. Yet as I celebrate all the delightful bounty this gorgeous season has to offer, I can’t help but feel slightly melancholy. Fresh berries and the abundant variety of produce that summer offers are now just sweet memories. The only fruits in my garden that appear to be ripefully happy and truly inspiring are pears and apples. Thankfully, I adore both. 

What better way to celebrate fall’s splendor than to reach for tried and true recipes? The Chocolate Apple Cake recipe I shared in my last post is my family’s favorite. Hamptons Poached Pears are an easy but elegant approach to the other star of the season, and one that I’ve made for years.

The first time I tasted a poached pear was at the Moulin de Mougins, the famous restaurant in the south of France founded by Roger Vergé. I was lucky enough to enjoy the experience when Chef Vergé was still in the kitchen. 

Cooked fruits and compotes are among the simplest of French family treats to prepare. To poach any fruit, you simply cook it slowly, usually on the stovetop, covered in a hot liquid. Most times the liquid is simple sugar syrup infused with herbs and spices or vanilla beans. Equally popular, especially for pears, is to use a lovely red wine for the poaching liquid, as I’ve done here. 

Poaching is a great way to showcase flavorful fruits that don’t need elaborate preparation, so you want to start with excellent quality fruit for the best results. Bosc pears, with their spicy flavor and crisp flesh, are the best variety to use. As for the wine, I’ve seen both light bodied and full bodied red wines recommended for poaching; I used a Francis Coppola Merlot. You don’t have to choose an expensive wine, but do use one that you would be happy to drink—it is, after all, half the recipe. (Do not use cooking wine.)

In the Vergé kitchen I was taught to core the fruit from the bottom so that the stems stay intact and the pear looks whole on the plate. I sometimes choose this method—it makes a beautiful presentation that celebrates the natural beauty of the fruit’s shape. But I’ve also seen many guests splash red wine onto themselves as they tuck into their dessert and so I choose a different preparation for most of my dinner parties: the pears are poached whole, then cored and sliced with an apple cutter before serving.

At the Moulin de Mougins, poached pears were presented with small dollops of the freshest, sweetest crème fraîche I had ever tasted. In typical Vergé style, the flavors of the ripe pear and red wine took center stage and married perfectly with just the right amount of cool, sweet cream. Light, fresh, and truly elegant! 

For more formal dinners I make a homemade whipped cream and pipe it onto the plate. You could also use crème fraîche or Greek yogurt. Today, since I’m celebrating the sweet, natural flavor of tree-ripened pears from my garden, I’ve chosen a simple mint garnish. Mint is still growing wildly in my kitchen garden. Its fresh, sweet flavor complements the pears perfectly and it adds a fresh, dark-green contrast to the flower-shaped dessert plates I’m using. (The tartufo ice cream dessert was available for the children too young for the wine-infused pears.)

Yield: Serves 6 to 8

Moscow Mule

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When a dear friend of mine announced he would celebrate his 55th birthday, his gorgeous wife immediately arranged to mark the occasion in a most memorable way, inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby. She created an unforgettable party just as Jay Gatsby would have: with music made for dancing, decadent food, and champagne that flowed all night long.  While the bubbly is essential for any Gatsby party, it was the vintage cocktails and guests’ costumes that really set the scene.

Gorgeous flappers in strappy sandals and synchronized swimmers entertained the guests and, as the Jazz Age dance music played in the background, it was easy to think you had stepped back in time. Ever since the most recent film adaptation was released, the Roaring Twenties have made a comeback in everything from fashion to design to event planning. After this birthday bash I was motivated to create a small vintage-inspired cocktail party of my own.

For more inspiration I turned to Palm Beach Entertaining, where the design team known as Badgley Mischka invited us in to a vintage Hollywood-themed party they were hosting.  Mark Badgley and James Mischka don’t need an excuse to celebrate; sometimes they host parties “just because.” Their affairs are as glittering and elaborate as the dresses they design. Their recipes were perfect for my cocktail party and included a cold tomato soup, gravlax, raw oysters with cocktail sauce and steak tartare.  My absolute favorite recipes are the vintage cocktails: the Side Car and Moscow Mule.  

I decided to serve the Moscow Mule at my gathering, poured into silver mugs. It was an unseasonably warm evening and the silver added a nice chill in the hand. Copper is the more traditional presentation for this drink, and will impart warmth and richness to any autumnal celebration.

My guests of honor loved the Moscow Mule! It is glamorous, easy to make, and all about the presentation.  Using high-quality vodka and a spicy ginger beer makes this classic taste as good as it looks.  

Raw Oysters served with chilled Vodka.
Steak Tartar
Fred Tanne, the birthday boy who inspired my gathering
Michael Lawrence presents the birthday cake
Laura Moore and Fred Tanne greeting guests
JoAnna Myers, Annie Falk, Michael Falk & Stephen E. Myers
The birthday boy with his synchronized swimmers

Yield: Makes 1 cocktail

The Skinny Wedge

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If you follow my pinterest board, Krazy for Kale, or if you’ve seen the many Instagram photos of my Hamptons Gardens then you know I’m a bit of a designer salad fan. I fall for everything green from the speckled, delicate baby lettuces to Asian greens, like kokabu and tatsoi.  It’s the contrasts and textures I love most. In Southampton, Sant Ambroeuse’s Insalata di Carciofi (thinly sliced raw artichokes with arugula salad and sliced Parmesan) is the salad I crave throughout the summer, but on really hot days, when even the beach offers no relief, all I can think about is an Iceberg Wedge.

Unlike the Caesar or the Waldorf salad, the wedge is an orphan – no restaurant claims to have created it.  Back in the 1960s when no one had ever heard of arugula or radicchio, let alone kale, it was the ultimate salad for elaborate dinner parties and upscale restaurants.  The always satisfying, iconic wedge salad is crisp, refreshing and serves as the perfect foundation for the melding of delicious flavors from smoky bacon and savory blue cheese to sweet tomatoes and herb infused bread crumbs.

While it has never been touted for its nutritional value Iceberg lettuce is composed of even more water than other types of lettuce – perhaps, that’s why it is one of my late August go-to “greens.”  My European friends would argue that it is not a green at all and often refer to Iceberg as “fast-food lettuce” or the “lazy salad,” but even they look forward to it when I serve The Skinny Wedge with Yogurt and Roquefort Dressing featured in Hamptons Entertaining. I’m glad the wedge is making a comeback and I absolutely love this recipe, one my friend Marie Samuels serves often and shared with me for my book.  Her tabletop was just as creative and artistic as her menu that day. 

I’ve been known to swap the bacon out for fried shallots or homemade herb infused croutons cut into fine little cubes. Whatever you choose to top off this delicious salad the satisfying crunch and show-stopping presentation will surely be a hit!

The Skinny Wedge with Yogurt and Roquefort Dressing

Yield: Makes 8 servings

Watermelon Lemonade

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Over the winter, on an especially hot and steamy Florida morning, I visited one of my favorite farmer’s markets in Fort Lauderdale in search of the perfect watermelon; big, ripe and juicy.  My daughter’s lacrosse practice had ended early, it was just too hot to be on the field, and the thought of refreshing watermelon was enough to entice her to join me.  The plan was to spend the day indoors, where it was much cooler, testing no-cook recipes for my book, Hamptons Entertaining.

The air was thick with the fragrance of ripe fruit and tart lemons and luscious strawberries were piled high. Inspired, we decided it would be great fun to make lemonade – the perfect refreshment for a party she would be hosting the next day.  As we gathered our ingredients I shared memories of picking watermelons with my father.  It was a time of dreamy innocence, when his stories evoked images of plump cherubs feasting on hunks of juicy watermelon as they lounged on puffy pink-stained clouds. 

Soon we found two large, round melons, no flat sides or blemishes and superbly ripe with the promise of sweetness.  Under the weight of our bounty, we staggered out of the market, giggling and bumping into one another with our prize picks. The moment we bit into the first chuck of fleshy melon we knew we had chosen well.

At the party, the watermelon lemonade went fast!  As guests enjoyed themselves, I took my first sip.  It was so wonderful; this divinely plump, refreshing fruit grounded me in the present moment – A most delicious place where memories are made. 

Yield: Makes 25 to 30 servings