Beverages

One of the great things about a trifle is that you make it ahead of time, so the cake can soak up the flavors of the custard, fruit, and syrup. It’s a perfect holiday dessert.

This full-bodied stew will bring the crowd running when you lift the lid. First, pieces of chuck are browned to develop their flavor, then they’re braised in a red-wine beef broth. Adding the potatoes and carrots toward the end of cooking keeps their character and color bright.

The reduction can stand in for some of the beef stock in French onion soup, pot roast, and beef stew, where it will add flavor and richness.

A life of piety and chastity has to call for something sensual occasionally. Yes, you can enjoy the seductive chocolate flavor and thick creaminess of this Italian hot chocolate without fearing the loss of other worldly pleasures, but this confection is sure to elicit a moan from all who partake. Drinking any of the great Italian-style hot chocolates is almost a religious experience. Over and over again, people who taste this drink for the first time say, "Oh, my God." Is that enough encouragement to give this one a try? Don't overlook the importance of the orange zest or the arrowroot. The oil from the zest gives the chocolate a fresh kick, and the arrowroot thickens the mixture.

Marble cakes are both homey and festive. A marble cake looks slick when you slice into it and reveal the delicate pattern created when the two batters are swirled together. My first experience working with this type of mixture came about as the result of a marbled chocolate terrine that appeared first in the pages of the old Cook's Magazine, and then in my chocolate book. Everything about it was right—the texture, the flavor, the quantity of mixture in relation to the mold—everything, that is, except the marbling. Even when I barely mixed the white and dark chocolate mixtures, what I got was a few streaks of dark and white, and mostly a muddy combined color. After several frustrating attempts, I realized that I had too much dark chocolate mixture and I recast the recipe so there was twice as much white chocolate as dark and the terrine marbled perfectly. So this marble cake is proportioned in the same way: Rather than dividing the base batter in half, I like to remove about one third of it and add the chocolate. Thanks to my old friend Ceri Hadda, who shared her mother's recipe years ago.

A "buck" is a traditional type of drink containing a spirit, lemon or lime juice, and ginger ale. Julie Reiner, the owner-mixologist of New York's Clover Club cocktail bar, serves this version during the holiday season. It has a Scotch whisky base (she prefers the light flavor of Famous Grouse, but you can use any brand) and a balanced mix of autumnal and winter flavors: pear, allspice (infused into a simple syrup before making the cocktail), ginger, and cinnamon. The recipe makes more allspice syrup than you'll need, but the extra will keep for up to three weeks and is delicious in glögg or a Tom & Jerry It can also be served as a nonalcoholic beverage, sans Scotch.

Camper English, a San Francisco–based writer, developed this adaptation of a classic drink recipe to showcase the use of absinthe. In this case, because absinthe has a very strong flavor, the recipe doesn't call for much. In fact, a large number of cocktails including the Sazerac, Corpse Reviver #2, and even some tiki drinks call for just a rinse of absinthe. It is always poured into the glass, swirled, and then discarded. But still, it adds a layer of complexity to the final cocktail.

Camper English, a San Francisco–based writer, adapted this classic drink recipe to showcase the use of absinthe. This is basically an easy way to transform the well-known Absinthe Drip into an iced drink. To make the basic Drip, simply add an ounce of absinthe to a glass, set a sugar cube atop a slotted spoon over the glass, and slowly drip icy-cold water over the cube until it dissolves. Those absinthe fountains that you see in old pictures are full of cold water, not absinthe, and allow boozers to dilute the drink to their preferred level. The absinthe in the glass will "louche," or turn cloudy. Add three to five times as much water as absinthe, to taste.

The Chrysanthemum can be found calling for varying proportions of ingredients in different recipe books—the brands of absinthe and vermouth chosen will greatly influence the drink's flavor profile.

Camper English, a San Francisco–based writer, developed this adaptation of a classic drink recipe to showcase the use of absinthe, but Ernest Hemingway gets credit for the recipe. His advice, circa 1935: "Pour one jigger absinthe into a Champagne glass. Add iced Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these slowly." We recommend drinking fewer than five. You may also try pouring the absinthe on top instead—some brands of absinthe will float for a time on the Champagne, and this makes for a nifty visual effect.

Camper English, a San Francisco–based writer, adapted this classic drink recipe to showcase the use of absinthe. Here, absinthe is paired with orgeat, an almond-flavored syrup. The egg white and cream give the drink a frothy, milkshake-like texture. (If salmonella is a problem in your area, omit the egg white or substitute pasteurized liquid egg whites.) In New Orleans, many people consider this a breakfast drink.

This adaptation of a classic recipe comes from Eben Freeman, bartender of Tailor Restaurant in New York City.

This deep, rich cake gets extra flavor from bittersweet chocolate, coffee, and crystallized ginger.

This adaptation of a classic recipe comes from Eben Freeman, bartender of Tailor Restaurant in New York City. Note that a Gibson is a Martini with a pickled onion instead of an olive as garnish.

Every year, I make homemade fruitcakes for friends and family. I bake the dense pound cakes studded with dried fruits months in advance, then wrap them in muslin. These cookies are similar to my fruitcakes—only they’ll take you a lot less time. For a fun presentation, the cookies are baked in bonbon-size baking cups.

This adaptation of a classic recipe comes from Eben Freeman, bartender of Tailor Restaurant in New York City.

This adaptation of a classic recipe comes from Eben Freeman, bartender of Tailor Restaurant in New York City. Freeman suggests you use anything but a maraschino cherry (as garnish) to avoid adding a cloying sweetness.

Vin Santo is an Italian dessert wine. If you can't find it, use sweet Marsala.

An impressive roast. Irish whiskey adds complexity to the gravy, which was inspired by steak au poivre. Plan to make and chill the stuffing one day ahead. There will be only a small amount of stuffing for each person, but it's so rich and flavorful that you won't need more.