Beverages

This recipe makes a little more ginger syrup than is needed for the sorbet and will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks. It makes an unexpected spring cocktail combined with muddled fresh strawberries, lime juice, and vodka and served over ice.

A laying hen is a different animal from the six- to ten-week-old supermarket fryers, roasters, and broilers we usually see. Laying hens are typically sold between one and three years old and create a different sort of stew, deeper in overall flavor but with less succulent meat. If you are using a laying hen, increase the cooking time to about an hour and a half, or until the meat is very tender. It will not be necessary to remove the breast meat during cooking as directed below.

I love any dish that can be made using water rather than stock. It’s a bit of useful laziness that can help establish the clean, pure flavor of the ingredient itself, whether it’s carrots or clams. One key is a slow, patient approach to cooking (or “sweating”) the onions and garlic, creating sweetness and depth. Homemade curry powder keeps well for a few weeks and warms up deviled eggs, beef stew, or hot buttered popcorn.

Make one of these sauces in the hot skillet after you have cooked chicken breasts or pork chops.

Make one of these sauces in the hot skillet after you have cooked chicken breasts or pork chops.