Quick meals - quick and easy recipes - page 158

This delicate frosting has a nice cream cheese flavor and just enough sweetness to complement any cupcake or cake without overwhelming it. We even use it to top our Zucchini and Pine Nut Muffins. Make-ahead note: The frosting will last up to 1 week when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Our classic Irish coffee recipe comes from Dutch Kills, an equally classic bar in Long Island City, New York. The warm, revivifying cocktail was said to be popularized in the 1940s by Joseph Sheridan, a chef in the port city of Foynes, Ireland. In 1952, Irish Coffee was introduced to San Francisco by the Buena Vista Cafe. Sheridan’s recipe was written with the effortless poetry of the Irish: “Cream—rich as an Irish brogue; coffee—strong as a friendly hand; sugar—sweet as the tongue of a rogue.

New York food and beverage expert Nick Mautone turned us on to this cocktail, a blend of sparkling wine with brandy, warm spices, and a touch of brown sugar. It’s the perfect opening to a memorable Thanksgiving, a sophisticated and seasonally-driven cocktail for a Christmas get-together, and an ideal prelude to the cork-popping moment when the New Year rings in at midnight.

Here’s a head-clearing daytime cocktail with a double dose of ginger. First, make our Ginger-Infused Vodka (it needs to infuse at least overnight, preferably longer, so plan accordingly). Then slip a couple of ounces of it in a cocktail shaker, along with tomato juice, fresh horseradish, Worcestershire, Tabasco, lime juice, the usual battery of Bloody Mary spices, and—and here’s what makes this Bloody really remarkable—another hit of ginger, in the form of freshly grated root. Shake, pour ove...

San Francisco mixologist Erick Castro taught us how to make this easy holiday punch. It’s a flexible recipe that works with almost any base spirit. Here we use genever, blended with orange curaçao, simple syrup, bitters, sparkling water, lemon juice, sparkling wine, and a touch of grated nutmeg. Garnish with pineapple slices and whole star anise before serving. You’ll need to make a batch of Rich Simple Syrup and freeze a large block of punch ice before you begin.

In this refreshing and unexpected cocktail-party appetizer, elegantly concave leaves of Belgian endive become easy-to-pick-up vessels for a delicious mixture of diced feta and pear, seasoned with lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper. It’s easy, healthy, and sets your guests up for the meal (or more substantial appetizers) to come.

A favorite pancake recipe of mine. This recipe went through vigorous testing to create an amazingly fluffy and light pancake. The olive oil addition is what creates such a moist cake. Olive oil can be replaced by melted butter, or even browned melted butter, for a richer flavor. Add fresh fruit or citrus zest to your completed batter to create other versions of this beauty.

This is a smoothie with a secret: a handful of fresh spinach leaves, a powerful source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber (in addition to the blueberries’ fiber and antioxidants) that provide tons of nutrition without tasting that way. It’s great for adults and kids alike. Serve with a spoon and scoop of Granola for a more filling, crunchy treat.

For many, being a teenager in the ’80s meant hanging at the mall and consuming as many cups of Orange Julius as possible. As a nod to this frothy, orangey drink, which remains one of the best takes on a smoothie ever, we created this recipe, a fancier homemade version of the original. For more healthy inspiration, check out our Fruity Smoothie, Healthy Blueberry Smoothie, and Apple-Lemon-Ginger Juice.

Greek yogurt gives this healthy smoothie a gently tangy edge, a great boost to your morning. To make it vegan, use almond milk in place of regular milk and replace the yogurt with coconut milk. We suggest making with our Granola recipe as a more filling option with an added crunch.

A fizz is one of simplest, most refreshing tall drinks we know. There’s something about the mix of gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup topped off with fizzy water that expresses the soul of the cocktail. Here, we give it a pink twist—a little boost of deep red grenadine syrup—that turns the classic fizz into a blushing sipper perfect for Valentine’s Day or other romantic occasions. Try pairing with our fresh Red Velvet Cake recipe to really impress your date. Game Plan: Try it with our easy, h...

Super-healthy antioxidant açaí berries are the beautifully purple center of this delicious breakfast bowl or afternoon after-yoga pick-me-up. It’s actually a two-part recipe. First, you blend up a straight-up smoothie, with unsweetened açaí purée (we like the one from Sambazon), frozen banana and peach slices, apple, honey, coconut milk, and—for extra body and protein—a bit of natural almond butter. The second part is what goes on top, a freestyle mix of whatever texture.

Inspired by Abby Sciuto, Chief Forensic Scientist on the CBS series NCIS, this milkshake cocktail has something dark lurking in its depths. In this case that’s bourbon: half an ounce blended with vanilla-bean ice cream and cream stout beer. It’s sweet, cold, and indulgent enough for dessert, adult enough for after-dinner sipping. Milkshake cocktails are also a great choice for an afternoon around the pool, or that grown-up burger barbecue for anyone who wants something thicker.

At Grand Army Bar in Brooklyn, New York, Damon Boelte’s clever twist on the Americano turns the traditional aperitivo into a Franco-Italian shandy. Where the standard Americano pairs equal parts bitter Campari with sweet vermouth, the Perfecto splits the sweet in half with two different vermouths — brutish Carpano and the fruitier French Dolin Rouge — to create a more nuanced sweetness. The traditional topper of soda water is then replaced with pilsner beer.

Matcha is all the rage, and we’re finding new ways to incorporate it into our cooking and baking, besides just matcha tea. Why are we so mad about matcha? Well, it’s green tea, but times 10. Matcha is the ground-up whole leaves, so you get more of all the antioxidants, caffeine, and other good-for-you stuff. And, it doesn’t hit you hard with a burst of energy and then a crash, like coffee can do. It’s more of a long, slow influx of energy. A little goes a long way.

Time can be short in the morning, and you know breakfast is important. With overnight oats, you slap it together the night before and have it ready in the fridge to grab quickly and eat on the go. It’s a balanced, nutritious, homemade breakfast that’s delicious too: There’s fiber, protein, probiotics, calcium, and fresh fruit in this recipe. So much better than store-bought cereal.