The Negroni is one of my favorite cocktails. It has a complex flavor - bitter, yet sweet... fruity, yet herbal - that belies the ease of making it. With its festive ruby red color, this cocktail would be a fabulous choice for your next holiday party.

Negroni

serves 1

1 oz gin
1 oz sweet vermouth
1 oz Campari
orange peel, for garnish
ice

Pour gin, vermouth, and Campari into a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir until well combined and chilled, and then strain into a cocktail glass. I think this drinks looks very elegant in a coupe glass. Garnish with orange peel.

Note: This drink is a great candidate for making a large batch before a party. To make 8 drinks, mix together 1 cup gin, 1 cup sweet vermouth, and 1 cup Campari and stir in mixing glass with ice. Strain into 8 cocktail glasses, or strain into a pitcher and keep chilled until ready to serve.

I love the fresh tart-sweet taste of key lime pie any time of year. It is cooling in the summer, and a mood-lifter in the winter. This key lime tart features an easy crust that practically makes itself in a food processor, and an even easier filling. It is a great candidate for making ahead of time when preparing your big holiday feast.

The one thing that makes this dessert a little more labor intensive is the key lime juice. You need to squeeze a whole heckuva lot of key limes to get a half cup of juice. I bought a 1 pound bag from my grocery store and found that I needed to squeeze almost all of them. The tool that I have and love, which makes juicing lemons and limes a breeze is this hand juicer. I definitely recommend it as part of your arsenal.

Do you have to use key limes? No, feel free to use regular limes, and nobody will judge you. I would stick to fresh juice though.

Key Lime Tart with a Pecan Coconut Crust

Serves 6-8

For the crust:

• 8 whole graham crackers
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), melted
• 1 cup pecans
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

For the filling:

• 1 tablespoon lime zest
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (most of a 1 pound bag of key limes)
• 2 whole egg yolks
• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
• whipped cream, for topping
• lime zest, for topping (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9-inch tart pan lightly with baking spray.

To make the crust: In a food processor, process the graham crackers until finely ground. Add sugar and melted butter and pulse a few times to combine. Add the pecans and pulse until coarsely ground. Add coconut and pulse 3 or 4 times.

Press into your prepared tart pan, spreading it evenly with your fingers and pressing firmly both on the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake for 5 minutes, and then set aside and let cool while making the filling.

To make the filling: Mix lime zest, lime juice, and egg yolks in a large bowl. Add sweetened condensed milk and beat until smooth and thick (it won't take long). Pour the mixture into your crust and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool completely at room temperature. Then refrigerate for at least an hour before slicing and serving. Top with whipped cream and lime zest, if using.

Adapted from The Cafe Sucre Farine and Pioneer Woman.

It is downright blustery outside which means only one thing: soup weather. This flavorful tomato and white bean soup is rich tasting and quite filling, perfect for fall and winter.  It is also made up of ingredients that you are already likely to have in your pantry. Make it vegan by using vegetable broth.

What I love about this soup is that the canned whole tomatoes are caramelized in the pan before the other ingredients are added. This caramelization gives an amazing depth and a little natural sweetness to the soup. I used dried beans, but if you were pressed for time, you could use canned. (I would add them near the end of the cooking time however, so that they didn't get too mushy).

Tomato and White Bean Soup

Serves 6. 

For the beans:

• 1 cup dried white beans (cannellini, great white northern, navy)
• 1 onion, quartered
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 bay leaves
• kosher salt

For the soup:

• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon (or more) crushed red pepper flakes
• kosher salt
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 bunch swiss chard, stems removed, leaves torn into pieces

Beans:
Add dried beans, onion, garlic, and bay leaves to a large pot. Cover with water by about 2 inches. Bring to a simmer, add a few pinches of kosher salt and then reduce heat so that it is barely simmering. Continue to cook until beans are creamy (35-45 minutes). Discard bay leaves.

Soup:
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high. Add the drained whole tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt. Let the tomatoes cook undisturbed until they caramelize on one side, about 5 minutes. Break up the tomatoes with your spoon, scraping up the bottom of the pan and stirring for about 5 minutes until tomatoes are caramelized all over. Transfer tomatoes to a plate.

Heat two more tablespoons of olive oil in the same pot over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in vinegar and tomatoes. Drain beans and add to pot along with the broth. Simmer for 30 minutes or so. Season with salt to taste. Just before serving, stir in the chard and cook until wilted.

Adapted from Bon Appetit.

The crust is super buttery with a pleasant toothsome crunch from the addition of some cornmeal and the coarse sugar scattered over the top. I used a jar of really beautiful small-batch blackberry jam - one that was really fruity with big juicy chunks of berries. You could use any jam really, as long as it was nice and thick and not runny. I loved how the full flavor of the blackberries balanced out the buttery crust.

BLACKBERRY JAM TART

Serves 8.

• 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup stone ground cornmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 jar of blackberry jam (around 10-15 oz)
• coarse raw sugar, for sprinkling on top

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. In a large bowl, beat together the room temperature butter and sugar until well combined. Mix in the egg, egg yolk, and almond extract.

2. You will use about two-thirds of your dough to line your tart pan, and the other one-third for the topping. Transfer the one-third of dough to a lightly floured surface and roll into a log about 2-inches in diameter. Wrap it into plastic wrap and refrigerate it until you are ready for it.

3. Take the remaining two-thirds of your dough and press it evenly into and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom.

4. Spread the jam over the dough.

5. Remove the log of dough from the refrigerator and slice into thin disks. Lay them over the jam in concentric circles. Sprinkle coarse raw sugar generously over the top (at least two tablespoons).

6. Bake at 375 F for about 20-25 minutes, until your crust is a lovely golden color. Let cool completely before slicing.

Adapted from David Lebovitz

 CIDER & BOURBON COCKTAIL

Makes 1 drink

• 2 oz rye whiskey, such as Bulleit
• .5 oz ginger liqueur, such as Domaine de Canton
• 1.5 oz apple cider
• apple cross section, for garnish
• 1/2 cinnamon stick, for garnish

Mix whiskey, ginger liqueur, and apple cider together in a mixing glass full of ice. When chilled, pour into lowball glass with ice. Garnish and enjoy.

ELDERFLOWER OLD FASHIONED

Makes 1 drink.

2.5 oz bourbon
.5 oz St. Germain elderflower liqueur
A few dashes of bitters
1 lemon twist, for garnish

In a mixing glass, stir together bourbon, St. Germain, and bitters with ice. Strain into a lowball glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with lemon zest.

from Saveur