Blackberry Shrub

This is such a great fruity but not-too-sweet summer cocktail. I saw the Bon App's Shrub Recipe and given my propensity for vinegar, I could resist. You can use any ripe summer fruit. I chose blackberries because they're Jamie's favorite. They were so light and delicious, and dangerous because you hardly taste the alcohol. Don't let the vinegar scare you. No one knew there was any vinegar in them until I told them how the cocktails were made. Can't wait to make them again, and try with another fruit! Maybe nectarines??

Plum Torte (aka best summer dessert)

My mom has always made plum torte at the end of the summer when the little sugar plums come out. (She said the New York Times used to run the recipe every summer but stopped several years ago.) It's bittersweet because I'm so excited for it, but it also means summer is coming to an end. I made one this weekend after finding the little plums at the farm stand. It's just the best - the batter is sweet and fluffy, the top is crusted with cinnamon sugar, and the plus are juicy and tart. It's also pretty simple. If you can find these plums, make this torte and watch it disappear. I love it with a little vanilla ice cream, or in the morning for breakfast!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

Invent your own ice cream

I've been trying to get down to Lulu and Mooky's for months. I was finally in the neighborhood last Thursday and after a delicious pork bun lunch at Baohaus, I indulged in some ice cream. It's a teeny hole in the wall on Allen Street (129, between Rivington and Delancey). When you walk in, you're met by two kitchen aids, a nice man behind the counter, and hand written signs on the wall filled with possible flavors. There are numerous kinds of fruits, then there are the go-to chocolates, vanillas, and staples of that ilk, and there are also herbs and spices like rosemary, cinnamon, and cardamom. You can invent your own, or you can pick from the Customer Combinations that others have already crafted. Once you pick your flavors, he mixes them into a little cup of cream and then pours the concoction into the kitchen aid. After all the flavors have blended, in goes liquid nitrogen, which causes the silver bowl to spill over with eerie Halloween fog. When the fog subsides and the potion seems done, you are presented with your own hand crafted cup of creamy, delicious (depending on your flavor combination) ice cream.
I mixed fresh cherries with almond extract and cinnamon, which resulted in an ice cream that tasted like cherry pie. My friend Pete got peanut butter, cardamom, and M&Ms. His tasted like a savory Indian treat with a nice sweet smattering of M&Ms.
You may not have the same obsession with ice cream that I do, but if you do get down there before this summer. They just opened in October and in the colder months, there's no wait, but I bet the summer will be lines out the door.

Also, I saw a sign that they cater and I would love to hire them for a summer cocktail party