Makes 2.
The Modern's Red Square
This borscht-and-vodka combination was inspired by the Russian artist Kazimir Malevich's painting Black Square and Red Square.
Beet-and-wine mixture:
6 red beets
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 white onion, sliced
2 cups red wine
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon cumin seed
1 sprig each of rosemary, thyme, sage and basil
1 quart water
Beet chips (for garnish)
For the beet-and-wine mixture: Scrub the beets and toss with enough salt, pepper and olive oil to season and coat. Place in a roasting pan with 1/4-inch water and cover. Roast at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. Cool and peel the beets. Place them in saucepan with the remaining ingredients and boil over medium heat until the mixture is reduced by about half. Strain and chill.
For each drink:
2 ounces Stolichnaya vodka
3 ounces beet-and-wine mixture
Shake in a cocktail shaker and strain into a clear martini glass. This should be a spicy, borschtlike vodka drink with a deep ruby color. Garnish with a beet chip.
The Modern's Study in Agave
This one is somewhere between a margarita and a mojito.
2 ounces Herradura Añejo
16 fresh curry leaves, chopped fine
1 teaspoon white sugar
Maldon sea salt
In a cocktail shaker with ice, combine the Herradura with the sugar and the curry leaves. Shake vigorously, strain into a low rocks glass or margarita glass. Sprinkle a bit of Maldon sea salt over the top, leaving the crystals whole and large.
Jay McCarthy's Cactus Ritas
Margaritas have long been among the most innovative cocktails in the country, though they receive little notice outside the Southwest. This marinated prickly-pear drink resembles Monica Pope's ratafia cocktails, except it's made with tequila. Chef Jay McCarthy invented it in the early 1990s at the Zuni Grill on San Antonio's River Walk. The Zuni Grill once sold as many as 1,500 of these blood-red margaritas a day.
10 large purple prickly-pear fruits
Crushed ice
1 bottle (750 ml) tequila plata
1/2 bottle (1-1/2 cups) Cointreau
10 limes
Peel each prickly-pear fruit and put the peeled fruit in a large glass jar. Pour in the tequila so that the fruit is completely submerged. Seal tightly and allow to sit for three to four days.
For each margarita, remove one prickly pear. To remove the seeds, mash the flesh through a large-mesh strainer into a bowl. Discard the seeds. Put the strained fruit into a blender. Add 1/2 cup crushed ice, two shots (two ounces) of the prickly-pear-flavored tequila, one shot (one ounce) of Cointreau and the juice of 1 lime. Blend until slushy and serve in a large martini glass.
Makes 10.
Sazerac
To experience America's oldest cocktail in its original form, use cognac and absinthe. Absinthe made with wormwood was outlawed in the early 1900s, but legal versions are now available. They taste just like anisette. Peychaud bitters are native to New Orleans but available in Houston at Spec's.
1 shot cognac, rye or bourbon
1 crushed sugar cube
3 dashes Peychaud bitters
4 dashes Angostura bitters
1 dash of Herbsaint, Pernod or absinthe
Fill a shaker with ice cubes, and add the brandy, rye or bourbon. Rinse a chilled old-fashioned glass with Herbsaint, Pernod or absinthe. Drop the sugar cube into the glass and shake the bitters over it. Add the chilled liquor and stir until the sugar dissolves. Garnish with a lemon twist. Traditionally served neat, but also excellent on the rocks.
Makes 1.
Watermelon Cooler (adapted from Raising the Bar by Nick Mautone)
The frozen watermelon cubes are a great idea. Nick Mautone says this drink is even better than wine with great barbecue. But be forewarned, he thinks hot dogs are barbecue. (I wonder what wine he drank with his hot dogs before he discovered watermelon coolers.)
1/2 small watermelon
8 ounces simple syrup
4 ounces fresh lemon juice
4 ounces fresh lime juice
Ice
12 ounces dark rum
8 ounces vanilla liqueur
12 mint leaves
To prepare the watermelon, cut off the rind and discard. Cut the flesh into one-inch cubes (you should have about four cups) and place them in a colander set inside a bowl. Stir the cubes gently to extract as much juice as possible without breaking up the cubes. You should have at least eight ounces of juice. Put the watermelon cubes in a plastic bag and freeze for at least half an hour.
