Before corporate America overwhelmed New York City with its massive amounts of money, shallowness, and brainwashing, the Big Apple was a very lively and dangerous place. Historically, no other city housed such a menagerie of characters, lowlifes, gangsters, and crooks, whose activities gained them a healthy prominence and romantic fame. One of those guys was Jacob “Jack” Rosenzweig, aka Jack Rose. Born in Poland, this famous gambler of the day grew up in the late 1800s in Connecticut and later moved to New York City, where he opened a gambling den, Second Avenue. Although he was not of the caliber of Lucky Luciano or Meyer Lansky, he became very popular when he turned state’s evidence against Lieutenant Charles Becker, a crooked cop linked to bookies and gambling houses around town. Due to Jack Rose’s testimony, Becker was convicted and received the death sentence. Jack in turn became a hero for the common man. The Jack Rose cocktail was created in his honor in 1912 or 1913, using applejack as the dominant ingredient. It remained a crowd-pleaser throughout the Prohibition era because apple brandy was easy to bootleg and was considered one of the safest spirits of the day. We love the version with our homemade grenadine and believe that it makes a fantastic contribution to this Prohibition-era classic.
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
This pasta has some really big energy about it. It’s so extra, it’s the type of thing you should be eating in your bikini while drinking a magnum of rosé, not in Hebden Bridge (or wherever you live), but on a beach on Mykonos.
Caramelized onions, melty Gruyère, and a deeply savory broth deliver the kind of comfort that doesn’t need improving.
This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.
This classic 15-minute sauce is your secret weapon for homemade mac and cheese, chowder, lasagna, and more.
A dash of cocoa powder adds depth and richness to the broth of this easy turkey chili.
This is the type of soup that, at first glance, might seem a little…unexciting. But you’re underestimating the power of mushrooms, which do the heavy lifting.
I should address the awkward truth that I don’t use butter here but cream instead. You could, if you’re a stickler for tradition (and not a heretic like me), add a big slab of butter to the finished curry.