A fig cocktail for fall and winter. Photo
courtesy Linnea Johansson.

The recipe makes one cocktail.

FIG & MAPLE FIZZ

Ingredients

Preparation

1. Muddle the fruit and syrup in a shaker, or add fig jam (which will add more sweetness to the cocktail). Add the lemon juice and vodka.
2. Add ice and shake well. Strain into a glass and top with ginger beer.
3. For garnish, dip a slice of honey comb into maple syrup and place atop the cocktail. (We didn’t want to create a potential mess of honeycomb dipped in maple syrup, leading to guests with sticky fingers, so we used a plump little fig, notched on the bottom and set on the rim.)

Find more of our favorite cocktail recipes in our Cocktails & Spirits Section.

While there are conversion tools online, you won’t need to run to the computer if you have a measurement magnet on the fridge.

This handsome and easy-to-read brushed stainless steel magnet (see photo) easily converts cups, fluid ounces, tablespoons, teaspoons and milliliters.

You can also use it to hold your shopping list on the fridge. And it’s a truly useful gift for friends who cook.

You can buy the magnet online for $11.90.

Chocolate milk for adults: Delicious! Photo
courtesy Adult Beverage Company.

Take a look at Adult Chocolate Milk, a liquid confection made from real cream. While the company positions it as an alcohol-infused chocolate milk, to us it’s more of a creamy chocolate milkshake. Either way, no complaints.

Adult Chocolate Milk may be one of the first products manufactured as the result of a Facebook post.

A couple of years ago, one of the company’s founders updated her Facebook page to say, “Tracy is enjoying some Adult Chocolate Milk.” Friends began inquiring about the recipe, or where they could buy a bottle. Another friend, with experience in management and manufacturing, read the post and became Tracy’s business partner.

Now, we can all enjoy some Adult Chocolate Milk! It’s only 40 proof, half the alcohol of conventional spirits. (Straight spirits are at least 80 proof, or 40% alcohol.)

We drink it from a brandy snifter. The nose is a combination of cream and vodka with a hint of cocoa. On the palate it’s a creamy spiked milkshake, subtly flavored with chocolate. It’s very smooth, to the point where you’ll need to hide it from kids.

The company won’t disclose all of the ingredients, but we imagine that an infusion of chocolate liqueur creates the subtle, chocolaty flavor. Whatever the secret, it tastes great: comfort food in a glass.

We love sipping Adult Chocolate Milk straight, but you can also use it as a base for cocktails, such as:

 
Get the recipes and more information at AdultChocolateMilk.com.

Adult Chocolate Milk is distributed by W.J. Deutsch & Sons Ltd., and is available at selected retailers, including some Costco stores. To find a retailer near you, write to info@adultchocolatemilk.com or telephone 1.949.371.6455 during business hours, Mountain Standard Time.*

The suggested retail is 17.99 to 19.99 per bottle. Order a case for holiday gifts!

Find more of our favorite spirits in our Cocktails & Spirits Section.
*Arizona does not observe Daylight Savings Time. It remains on Mountain Standard Time year-round. Thus, in the winter months it is in the same time zone as Mountain Time states. In the summer months it is on the same time as Pacific Daylight Time states.

Make a turkey pot pie. We usually do from-scratch cooking. But a turkey pie made with some prepared ingredients (cream of chicken soup and crust, for example) is easy and fun. You don’t have to spend time making a roux for the filling and reducing chicken stock.

Our recipe doesn’t use a bottom crust, which gets soggy under the large amount of creamy filling. Instead, you get the equivalent of a deep dish pie with a crisp top crust.

You can use the same recipe for chicken pot pie.

Head to the turkey pot pie recipe.

Do you know your turkey and chicken parts? See the diagram on the bottom of this page, along with a glossary explaining the different parts of the chicken/turkey and how to use them.

Find more of our favorite chicken and turkey recipes.

Make up a large batch of this tasty apple cider cocktail and keep it in the fridge to grab as needed. Serve it cold, or warm it in the microwave (30 seconds at a time, stirring in between) or on the stove top.

Here’s the easy recipe, per serving:

 
Optional garnishes: a slice of apple and/or a cinnamon stick. If you have apple schnapps (liqueur), you can add it to the mix (1/2 ounce per drink) or bring the bottle to the table and let guests add their own.

We purchased a half-gallon of apple cider, poured 1/3 of it into another container and replaced it with Jameson Irish Whiskey. We added rum to the second container, also in a 3:1 proportion of cider to spirits.