Recipes for Your Summer Food & Drink Menus

Summer officially began on June 21, and it's time to highlight refreshing cocktails and dishes on your menus.

Lightspeed Commerce, a POS technology provider, recently released new data on the Top 10 Drinks for Summer. The data was collected from bars and restaurants nationwide. The cosmo is a clear winner in most markets, with the negroni and margarita in the top three as well. Check out the national top 10 list:

1. Cosmo
2. Margarita
3. Negroni
4. Martini
5. Old Fashioned
6. Moscow Mule
7. Spritz
8. Mojito
9. Paloma
10. Mimosa

If you're looking for even more inspiration for your summer menus, we've got recipes for a few of these cocktail favorites and a number of fresh summer dishes below!

 

Summer Cocktail Recipes

Strawberry Basil Margarita 

Ingredients:

1.75 oz NEFT Vodka

.75 oz lime juice 

.5 oz strawberry reduction

.25 oz basil simple syrup 

2 dashes orange bitters 

Directions:

Shake all ingredients with ice vigorously. Double strain into rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with strawberry and basil leaf. 

 

Chelsea Flower Show

Ingredients:

50ml Silent Pool Gin

25ml Gewurztraminer wine

25ml Merlet Strawberry liqueur

Directions:

Stir all ingredients together with ice and double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.

 

Blackberry Bramble

Ingredients:

2-3 blackberries

1/2 oz simple syrup

3/4 oz fresh lemon juice

1.5 oz Milam & Greene Port Finished Rye

Directions:

Muddle 2-3 blackberries in a shaker. Add 1/2 oz of simple syrup, 3/4 oz FRESH lemon juice, and 1.5 oz Milam & Greene Port Finished Rye. Shake on ice and pour over fresh crushed ice and garnish with blackberries and a sprig of fresh mint or basil. 

 

Tiki Highball Recipe

Ingredients: 

2 oz. Wonderbird Spirits Gin No. 61

¼ tsp Agave Syrup

¼ oz. fresh lime juice

1 slice habanero pepper

2 cubes grilled pineapple (plus wedge for garnish)

3 mint leaves (plus sprig for garnish)

Carbonated Water

Directions:

Combine agave, lime juice, habanero, and cubes of pineapple in a mixing beaker and muddle. Add gin, stir, and strain with a fine mesh strainer into Collins glass. Add ice, top off with carbonated water, and garnish with a wedge of pineapple and sprig of mint.

 

Three Berry Daiquiri

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz. Bacardi Superior

3/4 oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur

3/4 oz. The Perfect Purée Yuzu Luxe Sour blend, thawed

1/2 oz. egg white (optional)

1/4 oz. lime juice

2 blackberries

2 strawberries

8 blueberries

Directions:

In a mixing glass, muddle 1/2 the berries. Add all additional ingredients (excluding 1/2 non muddled berries), into the mixing glass on top of muddled berries. Add ice and shake. Using a tall glass, add non-muddled berries in bottom of the glass and add ice halfway. Add additional berries on top. Strain liquid into tall glass.

 

California Love 

Ingredients:

2 oz Las Californias Cítrico

1.5 oz Ginger Kombucha

0.75 oz Lime Juice

0.25 oz Simple Syrup (optional)

Mint Leaves

Directions:

Add Las Californias Cítrico, kombucha, lime juice and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously. Strain over fresh ice and garnish with mint.

 

Brancott Twist

Ingredients:

3 oz Brancott Estate Sauvignon Blanc 

0.5 oz Monin Passionfruit Syrup (optional) 

1 oz Pineapple Juice  

1 Slice jalapeño  

0.5 oz (half) Lime (cut into wedges) 

Directions:

Add half lime and a slice of jalapeño to cocktail shaker, press with muddler until juice of fruit has been released, add Brancott Estate and pineapple juice to cocktail, add ice to cocktail shaker and top cocktail shaker with large rocks glass, shake cocktail 3-4 times, open shaker and pour drink back into rocks glass, top glass with ice if necessary.  

 

Cantera Paloma

Ingredients:

2oz Cantera Negra Silver

.5oz fresh lime juice

5oz Mexican Squirt

Tajin and sugar for rim

Directions:

Build over ice in a Collins glass rimmed with tajin/sugar mix (3 parts tajin to 1 part sugar). Stir and garnish with a grapefruit slice.

 

Summer Food Recipes

 

Garden Noodles

Ingredients:

10 ounces udon noodles

 

Sesame sauce-

1 cup sesame noodles

1/2 cup tamari

1/4 cup white sugar

2 TBS Sriracha

2 TBS mirin

1 TBS rice vinegar

1 tsp salt

 

Vegetables (should measure out to one cup total):

Mushrooms, diced

Corn

Shallots, diced

Bok Choy, diced

Jimmy Nardello peppers, diced

Okra, diced

 

Garnish:

Sesame seeds

Green onion

Poached egg

Directions:

Boil a pot of water to cook the udon noodles. Clean your vegetables before cutting them into sizes that are easy to eat. In a pan, heat up your oil and start cooking the vegetables. For this recipe, I started with the mushrooms since they take the longest. I then added the shallots until they became translucent, and then added the remaining ingredients. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper to taste. To make the sauce, place all of the ingredients into a blender (or a pot if you have an immersion blender) and blend until smooth. I LOVE spicy food, so I tend to double or triple the Sriracha. You can also replace the sriracha with sambal or any chili condiment that you prefer. Once the sauce is finished and the vegetables are cooked, you can boil your udon noodles. There are a variety of udon noodles at your local Asian market. They even sell frozen, pre-cooked ones that just need to be thawed. If you are boiling your noodles, just follow the suggested cooking time, then drain your noodles and add them to the pan with your cooked vegetables. Once your noodles and vegetables are incorporated, turn off the heat and add a 1/4 cup of the sauce to the pan. Mix until everything is coated. Taste it, and if you want more sauce, then add it! Plate in two separate bowls, and garnish with sesame seeds, green onions, and a poached egg.

 

Fiery Red Apricot Wing Sauce

Ingredients:

3/4 cup The Perfect Purée Apricot Puree, thawed

1/2 cup sambal oelek (red chili garlic sauce)

1/2 cup Tabasco Chipotle Pepper

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 tbsp. worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp. cider vinegar

2 tsp. kosher salt

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients together and bring to a boil and adjust seasoning as needed. Drop wings or tenders into warm mix and toss in bowl or in sauté pan and serve. 

 

 

Farrotto 

Ingredients:

2 cups farro

3 tablespoons butter

1 shallot, small diced

1 cup white wine + more for deglazing

2 quarts vegetable stock

1 cup asparagus

1 cup peas

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup grated pecorino

4 eggs

Baby spinach:

2 pounds baby spinach

1 yellow onion

2 cloves garlic

2 cup heavy cream

Blackened crema ingredients:

I cup crema or creme fraiche

2 tablespoons blackening spice

Balsamic reduction:

2 cups balsamic vinegar

1 cup brown sugar

Thyme, black peppercorn, bay leaf

Directions:

For the farro, soak farro in one quart of water overnight. Strain the farro. Melt butter in a wide saucepan and sweat shallot. Add the farro and toast in the butter for 1 minute on medium heat. Deglaze the pan with white wine and reduce au sec. Add vegetable stock to the farro in small increments, stirring regularly until farro is tender.

For the 64 degree egg, poach four whole eggs in a water bath with an immersion circulator at 64 degree celsius for one hour then place in a water bath.

For the baby spinach, blanch the spinach and squeeze out all the liquid. Sweat the onion and garlic in butter until soft and add the cream. Cook on low for 5 minutes, then slightly cool. Place cream and 3/4 of the blanched spinach in blender and puree, then fold in the remaining spinach.

For the blackened crema, combine crema or creme fraiche with your favorite blackening spice.

For the balsamic reduction, combine all ingredients in a pot and simmer until thickened.

To finish the dish, saute the asparagus and peas in butter until tender. Add minced garlic and cooked farro. Deglaze with more white wine and reduce au sec. Add the spinach puree and heat through. Garnish with the 64 degree egg yolk, crema, grated pecorino and balsamic reduction.

 

The Proper Whiskey Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Proper No. Twelve Whiskey

1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper

1 tbsp Garlic Powder

1 tbsp Onion Powder

1/2 tbsp Salt

3 cups Ketchup

1/3 cup Cider Vinegar

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup Packed Brown Sugar

1/3 tsp Hot Pepper Sauce

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a large sauce pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat and let sauce simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over wings or ribs and enjoy!

 

Peach, Heirloom Tomato, Burrata Salad

Ingredients:                                                                   

4 heirloom tomatoes (2 medium and 2 large multicolored - dark green, yellow or red)

3 fresh ripe medium peaches

Half fennel bulb 

Fennel fronds from one bulb

1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil (plus more for drizzling) 

4 oz white balsamic vinegar 

Kosher salt to taste 

16oz burrata

1/4 cup dry buckwheat 

Juice from a half Meyer lemon 

Zest from a half Meyer lemon 

Maldon salt to taste 

Directions:

Cut heirloom tomatoes into ½-inch wedges. Cut fresh ripe peaches into ½-inch wedges. Clean fennel under cold water, dry with paper towel. Shave fennel with a vegetable peeler. Lay fennel fronds on a paper towel.  Mix tomatoes and peaches in a large mixing bowl add olive oil, vinegar and salt to taste. Gently tear burrata and arrange in salad. Add fennel shavings, buckwheat, lemon juice and lemon zest. Drizzle extra olive oil and season with Maldon salt. Garnish the top of salad with fennel fronds and serve.

 

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