Beverages

When the temperature is particularly frigid, only the promise of a cup of this steaming hot spiced coffee will get me up the mountain for a day of skiing. Fortunately, it is just as inviting on a damp rainy day!

If you love fried calamari, you’ll really like having a new way to serve squid. The soup is thicker than a cioppino but not quite a chowder, and it’s nice and light. My husband, Todd, loves this soup because it’s spicy and the calamari gives it a meaty quality. Don’t add the calamari until right before you’re ready to serve, though, or it will become rubbery.

Pomegranates and cranberries are both widely available in the fall, making this the perfect cocktail for any holiday party.

In Seattle, where I first had a version of this drink, martinis come garnished with a sprig of Douglas fir. Thyme syrup contributes a similar herbaceous zing, and little balls of apple are a whimsical touch. This is a great cocktail.

Here’s why I love this dish: it looks gorgeous on the plate, and it’s much more sophisticated than the simplicity of the ingredients would suggest. It’s a two-biter with lots of strong layers of flavor: first the bite of the cheese, then the crisp lemony tang of the apple and the sweet jammy aftertaste of the figs. Together, the combination is amazing. Use the fig jam on anything from pancakes to pork chops.

You won’t find any caramel sauce like this at your local market. Letting the sugar cook until it reaches a deep amber color gives this sauce an incredibly rich flavor that really holds up in your shake. Adding a few tablespoons of dark rum will only intensify the flavor, but if you are serving it to kids or alcohol isn’t your thing, leave it out . . . the sauce will still be amazing.

What can I say about this one? Sometimes the best things in life are the simplest, and a thick and creamy vanilla milkshake is definitely one of those things. The fresh vanilla bean will give you a shake flecked with tiny dark specks of recognizable vanilla, but its true and intense flavor is a quality far greater than cosmetic. Basic but never boring, the vanilla shake can also be doctored up in dozens of ways. I’ve included a couple of my favorite variations below.

Don’t laugh . . . it works, and it’s good. The key is to make sure that your marshmallows are really toasted to a deep golden brown color on all sides to get the most flavor. Don’t walk away from the oven because the marshmallows brown quickly. Would a dollop of “Fluffy” Whipped Cream (page 154) on top be overkill? I think not! In the mood for S’mores? Just blend the toasted marshmallows into the Double Chocolate Milkshake (page 134) and add a few tablespoons of crushed graham crackers on top of the whipped cream.

This might be one of the more esoteric shakes in this book, but I hope you find it intriguing, not off-putting. The extra step of roasting the pineapple is well worth your time. Roasting concentrates the pineapple’s flavor and intensifies its sweetness as the heat of the oven caramelizes the fruit’s natural sugars. Tart lemon sorbet is added to balance that sweetness and for its icy texture. Using pineapple juice gives this shake a depth of flavor and refreshing quality that milk wouldn’t provide.

I am one of the few people whose mother never packed a Fluffernutter sandwich in their school lunch box. You know what? That’s okay. The thought of peanut butter, marshmallow, and banana “sandwiched” between two slices of squishy, flavorless bread was not so appetizing to me even as a child. However, when you get rid of the bread and add some ice cream and milk to those three ingredients, it’s a totally different story. If only my mom had filled my lunch-box thermos with this shake.

Every time I visit Venice, Italy, one of my first stops is Cipriani for their signature Bellini cocktail, a wonderful mixture of fresh peach puree topped with cold sparkling Champagne. To make my milkshake version kid-friendly, just top it off with a splash of seltzer water.

A perfectly baked golden buttery crust filled with rich lemon custard and topped with a light and fluffy meringue is pretty much heaven. Well, now you can have your pie and drink it, too. Top this one off with a large dollop of “Fluffy” Whipped Cream and garnish it with a vanilla cookie for crunch. Yum! Are you in the mood for a Key lime pie? Substitute Key lime curd, lime zest, and lime juice for the lemon.

I like mint–chocolate chip ice cream, but I think this shake with the same combination of flavors hits it out of the park. Even forgetting the scary, unnatural green color, most commercial mint ice creams taste a touch artificial. Steeping fresh mint leaves in milk and adding that to vanilla ice cream perfumes the shake with a bold yet refreshing mintiness. This recipe makes enough mint-flavored milk for two 16-ounce shakes (or four 8-ounce shakes). If you’re going to go to the trouble, you may as well make enough to share. The milk will keep for several days in the refrigerator. I have never liked the way chocolate chips mix—or, rather, don’t mix—into shakes. You can never get the pieces through your straw! I speckle this shake with chocolate by slowly pouring warm melted chocolate into the whirring blender; when it hits the cold ice cream mixture, the chocolate hardens into small drinkable flakes.

A black and white milkshake is a chocolate milkshake made with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. Think of this as a more delicate version of a chocolate milkshake.

I love the nuttiness and crunchiness that toasted and chopped almonds add to this milkshake. Just a tiny drop of almond extract is needed to enhance the flavor of the nuts; it should veer toward subtle as opposed to overwhelming. Though the basic recipe is delicious as is, you can also take some liberties, and I have given a couple of suggestions for doing so below. I am partial to the Chocolate Almond Coconut Milkshake, which tastes just like one of my favorite candy bars.

This is my homage to what I consider to be one of the best candy bars on the planet: Fran’s Coconut Gold Bar created by Fran’s Chocolates in Seattle, Washington. The bar consists of bittersweet chocolate wrapped around a creamy coconut–white chocolate ganache center. It’s off-the-charts good! To achieve that contrast between the bitter dark chocolate and the sweet coconut ganache in a milkshake, I combine a double chocolate shake with a mousse-like coconut whipped cream and layer this shake like a parfait. All you need to do is dig in your straw and stir for a little bit of heaven.

What could be better than a chocolate milkshake? A double chocolate milkshake made with premium chocolate ice cream and chocolate syrup. You can turn this into a malted by adding the malt powder or into a chocolate soda milkshake by adding a splash of seltzer water.

This milkshake is so simple but so incredibly amazing and rich. I put this on the menu at Bobby’s Burger Palace and I have one every time I am there.

This is my take on my favorite frozen coffee drink from that endlessly popular coffee chain—you know the one. As with most things, the homemade version beats the store-bought hands down. Top yours with lots of freshly whipped cream and, if you are really looking for a jolt, a smattering of chocolate-covered espresso beans, and the mass-market variety doesn’t stand a chance.