Turkey Tipple!

Try these scumptious cocktail recipes for a Thanksgiving that will make you forget all about how annoying your in-laws are!

Created by Master Sommelier Fred Dexheimer, both cocktails (appropriately enough) make luberal use of Wild Turkey Bourbon. 

And if you're not feeling bold enough to mix them up yourself, you can try them at Hill Country (30 West 26th Street) through Sunday. (NB: They're not open on Thanksgiving day.)
 
 

"Smashed Pumpkin" (above left)
1 oz Wild Turkey 101
1/4 oz almond liqueur
1/4 oz cinnamon schnapps
2 oz pumpkin pie filling
1/2 oz heavy cream
 
Puree or froth pumpkin pie filling with heavy cream.  Mix with other ingredients in a shaker with ice; shake well and strain into a martini glass. Rim with crumbled graham crackers and a cinnamon stick; top with a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg.

 "Pass the Turkey" (above right)
1.5 oz Wild Turkey 101
2 oz apple cider
1 tbs cranberry jelly
1 sprig fresh sage
1 sprig fresh thyme
 
Muddle sage and thyme with apple cider.  Add ice, top with Wild Turkey and cranberry jelly.  Shake well, strain over ice in a glass rimmed with turkey jus and breadcrumbs.
 
"Gosh Yam It" (not pictured)
1.5 oz Wild Turkey 101
1.5 oz sweet potato puree (see below)
1.5 tsp maple syrup
 
Cook yam/sweet potato in microwave with a small amount of butter, then add to blender to puree.  Mix puree with Wild Turkey.  Heat syrup in microwave, add to Wild Turkey/puree mixture, shake with ice and pour into glass.  Garnish with a toasted marshmallow.
 

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at New York Insider!



Recipe for Special Occasion

Take a talented cookbook author, a food-festival impressario, a pair of highly regarded Food Network stars and a country western band, gather them together in a Texas barbecue restaurant in Manhattan and what have you got? A recipe for a truly special occasion. Which is all the more ironic, because the reason for the alignment of these winning ingredients was the launch of a cookbook subtitled Recipes for Everyday Occasions.

Thrown by New York Wine & Food Festival organizer extraordiniare Lee Schrager, the party honored his good friend Katie Lee, whose book is the latest in her Comfort Table series. In addition to Food Network stars Giada De Laurentiis and Guy Fieri, a passel of journalists, friends and publicists popped in to the Flatiron district resto Hill Country to congratulate the always-gracious Lee and to sample recipes from her book, including such feel-good foods as sliders, macaroni and cheese and super-chocolatey brownies. Suffice it to say, there were many happy faces in the room, helped no doubt by the copious and yes, comforting cuisine.

For more pics of the party, click here.