If you've never had the aperitif known as Lillet Rouge, you'll want to know that it's fruity, complex, and satisfying in its own right. Essentially a red wine that's fortified with a dash of quinine, as well as orange and other fruit liqueurs, it can be enjoyed over ice with an orange slice for an ultra-simple tipple. But it shines even brighter when paired with sweet and spicy ginger beer. Add a wedge of grapefruit, and you've got an unbeatable combination of ease and excellence.
Bold name aside, this aperitif is light and refreshing. At 18 percent alcohol, Lillet Rouge is a natural fit for day drinking, as it'll offer a subtle buzz without knocking you off your feet.
Steeping ginger tea at home is a practically effortless process, since it only calls for two ingredients: sliced ginger root and hot water. There's no need to buy prepackaged, dry ginger tea when you can make the fresh, fuss-free version. While you can scrape the skin off the ginger with a spoon if you'd like, I leave the root as is and rely on a fine mesh tea filter to prevent the papery ginger skins from getting into the tea. Talk about easy!
Here's a quick tip in terms of buying ginger: if you have access to Asian markets, then buy your ginger there. The ginger will be plump and fresh from the high turnaround, and it will be sold at a fraction of the price. This large piece would have cost me upward of $10 at an organic supermarket, but it only cost me 50 cents at my local Chinese grocer. 
If you've ever had the misfortune to slice into a fresh knob of ginger only to find a bland, unappealing, and fibrous gray ring within, you may have surmised that ginger (like most produce) has a defined season. From 
With a dainty name like the gingersnap, one might assume that this cocktail is best reserved for ladies' night, but think again. Smooth and spicy, this warming wintery tipple manages to steer clear of syrupy-sweet territory thanks to a heavy-handed dose of bitters and is an all-around crowd-pleaser, perfect for sipping throughout the holiday season. 
If you need further convincing, it's one of those rare-gem restaurant recipes (an adaptation from a cocktail served at 
When it comes to baked goods, looks can occasionally be deceiving. Take this cranberry-swirled gingerbread cake: slightly unassuming in appearance, it's an unlikely contender for crowd favorite when placed side by side with luscious pies, or an 
That is, until the first bite is consumed. The batter, deeply spiced and spiked with bittersweet molasses, is a strong contender for my favorite gingerbread tasted to date. A hefty swirl of sweet-tart cranberry sauce simply gilds the lily, firmly placing this cranberry-swirled gingerbread in my cake hall of fame.
Despite its unconventional nature, chances are, this year it'll have a place at my Thanksgiving table, and many more times throughout the season to come. I urge you to look beyond aesthetics and do the same.
San Francisco Summer weather is notoriously fickle; brisk and gray, with temperatures rarely peaking above 70 degrees, our city's weather has even been the fodder of a rather infamous saying: "The coldest Winter I ever spent was a Summer in San Francisco." That said, every once in a while we're blessed with a warm streak, and almost as if overnight, the parks fill near to the brim with crowds picnicking and basking in the ephemeral rays of sunshine. 
While I'm hardly one to pooh-pooh the pleasant weather, there is a marked downside. It's almost unheard-of to have air conditioning (or heat for that matter) in this mild-weathered city, so when temperatures occasionally spike, the interior of my apartment, and many of my peers', quickly becomes oppressively hot. Now, rather than let my inner Oscar the Grouch qualities shine forth, I choose to be proactive and indulge in a variety of frozen treats and frosty beverages — it's only practical, right? 
With its ease of preparation and delicate texture, 
Monday through Friday, without fail, you'll find me digging into a bowl of piping-hot oatmeal. Hearty, comforting, and ready in a pinch, it's my go-to weekday breakfast. That said, come Saturday, I like to break away from the basics and whip up something a bit more indulgent and whimsical. Golden and puffy — almost as though defying gravity — dutch babies fit the bill, and then some.
Almost a cross between a popover and a traditional pancake, dutch babies might seem more impressive than their flapjack cousins, but they are actually lower-fuss, with the oven doing most of the heavy lifting. And while I relish more intensive weekend cooking projects, the first thing in the morning, low exertion with a big payoff is far more enticing. 
Have you tried our recipe for 
I'm a bit of a cocktail fanatic, which means that I place almost as much weight on the strength of a restaurant's bar list as its menu when making dining-out decisions. That said, the fancy creations I crave often come with an equally precious price point, so I'm always looking for a way to replicate my favorite boozy treats at home. For this reason, I prefer keeping the basic accoutrements on hand for concocting a simple cocktail when a craving hits. 
I turn to simple syrups to flavor and sweeten cocktails, and when I'm looking for a particularly punchy ginger kick, I often pull out a bottle of my homemade ginger simple syrup. And while ginger simple syrup's most obvious application is in the cocktails I crave, I've managed to find a whole host of secondary uses.