I am the first to admit to having mixed feelings about Valentine’s Day. This year, they may be more mixed than ever. The last time we raised a glass to […]
Cocktail Hour
COCKTAIL HOUR
Tinkering and Improvisation Yield a ‘Perfect’ Drink
The Martinez: not your grandfather’s Manhattan
Was it just last year at this time that I wrote about that frisson that comes with the first sip of a cocktail enjoyed while flying home for the holidays? […]
COCKTAIL HOUR
The Time Is Right for a Hangover Cure
The familiar-yet-bracing, possibly restorative Bloody Mary
I have no idea if, by the time this column is in your hands, dear reader, the election will be decided and accepted, or whether the streets will be on […]
COCKTAIL HOUR
What to Drink With Oysters
Crisp, refreshing, and mineral flavors
As OysterFest rolls around, it’s time to talk about what you should drink with those briny, sparkling Wellfleets. The classic wines to go with oysters have lively acidity and pronounced […]
COCKTAIL HOUR
Memories of Citrus Season Stir a Paloma
Mix grapefruit, tequila, and lime for a toast to Mexico
There have been years, like the ones when we had our restaurant in Provincetown, when I did not think a lot about the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, where […]
COCKTAIL HOUR
Blueberry Lemonade With a Bite
Summer fruit cocktails that aren’t at all cloying
The fleeting joy of summer is something we wait for all year here on the Outer Cape and, yet, it is almost gone before we know it. Right now, August […]
COCKTAIL HOUR
White Sangria Is the Essence of Summer
A drink for summer time-traveling to Spain
It was the year of the Chicken Dance and I was studying abroad in the old university town of Salamanca, Spain. Dictator Francisco Franco had been dead just a few […]
COCKTAIL HOUR
Taking a G&T Over the Top
Better tonic, muddled mint, and elderflower
Memorial Day, marking the unofficial start of summer, has come and gone this year in a way unlike any before: no crowds, no traffic, no large gatherings. Only the middling […]
COCKTAIL HOUR
A Sunday Brunch Standard, Spiced Up
The Bloody Mary gets a makeover as a martini in honor of moms
The possibility of facing a virtual Mother’s Day celebration certainly adds a layer of complexity to a day that, for many of us, already carries heightened emotions, from poignancy to […]
KITCHEN TABLE
The Faithful Asparagus
It takes years to grow but just minutes to make
The vegetable garden is in a spring shambles. But some parts of it are waking up all on their own. I can see from inside the house that the parsley […]
Cocktail Hour
Raising a Glass to New Orleans
The fun of the “quarantini” behind us, get serious with a Sazerac
To my mind, displays of humor during a crisis evince a certain resilience and creativity. I found the idea of the “quarantini” — a martini variation to drink under quarantine […]
PAIRINGS
Mussels Meet a Lively Match
A lively white wine with crisp acidity fits the bill with these mussels. Sauvignon blanc is always a good bet and it is widely available across the price spectrum. Sauvignon […]
PAIRINGS
Wines for an Almost-Anything-Goes Dinner
This midnight pasta recipe is basically a version of spaghetti aglio e olio — spaghetti with garlic and olive oil. The dish is said to have originated in Naples, though […]
COCKTAIL HOUR
The Manhattan
A winter drink with an amber glow
As winter settles in for the long haul, thoughts turn to the warming properties of brown liquors. Such tipples include Scotch whisky (blended or single-malt); Irish whiskey (on a tear […]
COCKTAIL HOUR
Cocktails by the Batch
A festive way to avoid bar chaos
There have recently been a spate of quasi-reverential articles in food and wine publications about making “batch cocktails.” Now “batch cocktails” are really nothing more than making drinks in quantity, […]
