Cold meals / dishes - quick and easy recipes - page 74

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.

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.

A home-churned frozen dessert is the most comforting of simple pleasures. Here, things get a healthy twist with peanut butter–flavored frozen yogurt. All you do is whisk together some plain yogurt, a bit of heavy cream for body, sugar, peanut butter, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Scrape it into the bowl of your ice cream maker and churn about 20 minutes. Like all frozen desserts you make yourself, you need to let this recipe set up in the freezer.

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.

For a creamy, naturally sweet, healthy, easy frozen dessert that can satisfy your ice cream cravings, we recommend this two-ingredient ice “cream.” There isn’t any cream in this recipe, or much of anything else besides bananas. But the fruit is full of natural sugars and has a creamy texture that works well when frozen and blended. After you master this basic recipe, you can play around with adding other ingredients to it, such as nut butter, cinnamon, or cocoa powder.

Martin Cate of Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco uses a Collins glass for this tropical classic, and garnishes it with a sprig of mint and a wheel of lime. Like the many maligned Mai Tai recipes floating about in the cocktail ether, the originator of this tiki classic has been muddied, with accounts naming Don the Beachcomber and others fingering his rival, Victor “Trader Vic” Bergeron. Either way, Vic’s version is the one that lingers as the canonical formula.

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.

For a kinda fancy, totally different sweet treat, these chocolate-covered ice cream bites will grab you at the first nibble. The recipe only requires three to four ingredients, and no cooking is required, besides a little microwave action. The hardest part is the time it takes to freeze and refreeze these little delectables. Well, and making sure it doesn’t melt as you work could prove a little tricky. You know what would make these bites even better? Homemade ice cream instead of the store.

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.

Yay, cake with rainbow-colored sprinkles! It’s like birthday in a cup anytime you want to celebrate that it’s, well, a Tuesday. You know what would go great before this totally rad milkshake? Another simple delight: Pizza Dough Dogs. Or if we’re going all carnival-style, Corn Dogs.