Alcohol

Jasper Soffer, bartender at the Mulberry Project in New York City, created this simple-to-prepare seasonal cocktail for our story Spring Cocktails Perfect for Brunch. The rhubarb simple syrup, Soffer explains, is simultaneously sweet and tart, not unlike a rhubarb-apple crumble or a strawberry-rhubarb pie. If you want to make this drink outside rhubarb's short early-spring season, frozen fruit makes a great substitute.

Martin Cate, owner of the rum-centric Smuggler's Cove bar in San Francisco, shares his spiced rum recipe below. The secret: Start with good rum, and don't overinfuse the mixture.

To make perfect rings of fresh pineapple slice in 1/2"-thick circles, then round off the edges and punch out the core with 3 3/4"- and 1 1/4"-diameter cookie cutters, respectively.

Ben Clemons, bartender at Bar 308 in Nashville, created this sage- and lime-infused cocktail for our story, Spring Cocktails Perfect for Brunch. Cocchi Aperitivo Americano is an Italian aperitif wine beloved for its citrus, herbal, and bitter flavor profile. It's becoming easier to find, but if you can't locate a bottle, Clemons recommends substituting Lillet Blanc.

Sure, you can mix it with cola, but we prefer our spiced rum in a proper cocktail like the Kona Swizzle, a floral riff on the classic Queen's Park Swizzle, Created by New York city bartender Brian Miller.

Sean Traynor, bartender at The Windsor in Phoenix, Arizona, created this crisp, beautifully hued cocktail for our story Spring Cocktails Perfect for Brunch. Sparkling wine is often used to top off a drink, but in this case Traynor mixes it with the rest of the ingredients in the cocktail shaker. The reason? He's using it more for its acidity and flavor than effervescence. For pure peach flavor, Traynor insists on a true peach-based liqueur, so put away the peach Schnapps; he recommends Sathenay Crème de Pêche de Vigne Liqueur, Rothman & Winter Orchard Peach Liqueur, or Massenez Crème de Pêche.

Matt Wallace, bartender at Harvard & Stone in Los Angeles, created this potent fruit-filled punch for our story Spring Cocktails Perfect for Brunch. The combination of pineapple, orange, and lemon plus the crisp, dry bubbles from the Champagne really wake up your palate after a long winter, he says. The citrus and sugar base is called oleo-saccharum, and is common in older punch recipes. Wallace says it's an excellent way to add a subtle citrusy perfume to the final drink, and requires time but very little labor.

Kyler Serfass, manager of Brooklyn Homebrew, shared this recipe as part of Epicurious' homebrewing primer and how-to videos. Cascadian dark ales, which are also called India black ales or Black IPAs, are dark hoppy beers that are growing in popularity among homebrewers.

This is a decadent dish that is very popular with my family at Christmas-time, when pasta with seafood is a holiday tradition for Italians. For others, though, it’s a reminder of summers on the Cape or in the Hamptons. Whatever memories it may conjure for you, we can all probably agree that it is a rich, sophisticated dish that puts a smile on the face of anyone who tastes it.

If you’re cooking for someone special, you won’t find many dishes more romantic than this one. It looks sophisticated, tastes rich, and makes a real statement. It’s one of my standbys when I want to make a cozy dinner for me and my husband.

This might be the Italian answer to Seafood Newberg: chunks of crab and clams in a rich cream sauce tossed with wide noodles. If you really like clams, it’s worth checking to see if you can buy fresh chopped cooked clams at your fish market; the pieces tend to be a little bigger and meatier, with a more subtle, briny flavor than those in cans. The cream sauce is tinted a pretty pink from the tomatoes.

If you love seafood stew, this is the dish for you. It’s bright and colorful from the greens and the tomatoes, with lots of great sauce to dip your bread in.

When orzo, rice-shaped pasta, is cooked like risotto, it becomes soft and creamy. It’s a wonderful foil for pork, as well as chicken or seafood, and you can change the seasonings to match the protein. A drizzle of herby vinaigrette over the pork and orzo gives an extra zing of flavor.

When I have time and want a full-flavored pasta dish that reminds me of Sunday dinners at my grandfather’s house, this is the recipe I turn to. It will definitely impress your friends and family.

The colors in this pasta—the orange of the squash and shrimp against the black eggplant skins—always remind me of Halloween, which is why I often serve it for that holiday. Actually, it’s a perfect dish for any celebratory fall meal.

The literal translation of ditalini is “small fingers,” and I’m partial to this small, short shape because I like the ingredients in a pasta dish to be all roughly the same size—including the pasta. You can substitute any other small short-cut pasta you have on the shelf.

I love the intensely sweet, chewy flavor of sun-dried tomatoes, and mixed with tomato paste they create a sauce with a very concentrated flavor that doesn’t require the long cooking of a traditional tomato sauce. Softened with a bit of goat cheese, this is a creamy sauce that just barely coats the pasta without weighing it down.

This may seem like a lot of garlic, but because it’s roasted it only contributes a mellow, nutty flavor that goes beautifully with the salmon. Capers and lemon zest add some brightness to the dish, which is a perfect light spring meal.

You don’t often see recipes for seafood pastas that incorporate vegetables other than the occasional chopped tomato, but broccoli adds a lot of body, color, and substance to this pasta dish. I love broccoli, but if you don’t, feel free to substitute your favorite green vegetable. It’s a great quick, elegant meal.

This is a mildly flavored dish; the peppers virtually melt into the sauce during the long, slow cooking. In my family this is served as a side dish for pork or lamb.