Penicillin

This is my Friday drink after a tough week -- not for the faint of heart but if you are love scotch whisky but want to have it as a fancy cocktail with a mix of sweet, sour and packing some heat while not drowning out the scotch, this is your drink.

It will like Penicillin cure almost anything or at least make you forget it happened. This is also a drink (like the Lexington Kiss), I first had at the W Hotel Lexington Street in NY, which was my go to hotel for many years in NY. I was a good no frills business hotel with a nice vibe and great bar and bar food.

---

Ingredients

2 oz of good single malt scotch whisky (ideally one thats not too peaty, that part comes later)

1 oz simple syrup

.5 teaspoon of lavender honey

About 5 slices of freshly peeled ginger (cut them like discs across the root)

1/2 a lemon juiced

1/4 oz of Islay scotch whisky

Candied ginger discs

In a cocktail shaker put the fresh ginger pieces and muddle them with a muddler until the juice collects above the ginger fibers. Pour in the single malt whisky and stir well, now add the honey -- its a little messy but with some persistence you can get it off the spoon and into the mix. Add the simple syrup and lemon juice. Fill the shaker with ice and shake vigorously.

Put a large cube of ice in an old-fashioned glass.

Now pour the drink with a double filter into the glass (i.e. with the cocktail shakers own filter as well as a tea strainer type filter so that the fine bits of ginger don't get into the drink). Spear two candied ginger pieces with a bamboo or other cocktail pick and add to the glass.

Now sit back and be prepared to forget the week and start the weekend.

Just the basics

I love to cook. The reason is that I truly believe cooking does not have to be some overly complex affair with rare and hard to find ingredients that scare everyone into thinking cooking is not for them. While of course once in a while it is great to be able to make a dish that may require hours of prep and all sorts of exotic ingredients (like my mom's chicken biriyani), most of the time we are too busy and too pressed for time to plan, prepare and cook such elaborate meals.

I thought I would therefore share some simple dishes that are quick, delicious and basic. You probably already know how to cook these but sometimes with cooking its as much about the how as the what. Most recipes tell you what to put in but now how to make it taste amazing.

Scrambled Eggs

Everyone should know how to make great scrambled eggs. Here are two basic styles that always come out well.

Basic Scramble

In a small bowl, break 4 eggs, add about 4 tablespoons of full cream milk, whisk the mixture thoroughly. In a small saucepan (preferably non-stick), pour about a tablespoon of good quality extra-virgin olive oil. Let the oil get hot, pour in the mixture, and quickly with a soft rubber or wooden spatula, start pulling the edges of the cooked eggs to the center so the softer liquid parts flow out to the sides, do this a few times and continue doing it -- don't walk away or you will over cook or burn some portions and others will be raw. Once everything is cooked and slightly moist (not watery), turn the flame off AND remove the pan from the stock and immediately put in in a serving dish.

Tips: If your scramble has water in it at the end, it means you added too much milk or added fat free or other milk so use a smaller quantity of milk. If the scramble is not moist, you may have let it cook too much. Remember the egg will continue to cook when you remove it from the heat, so don't cook it until it is fully dry.

Omlette Scramble

Pretty much the same as above but before whisking the eggs, add finely chopped scallions and about a quarter of a small tomato (if it is very ripe, dry the tomato pieces with a paper towel). For an Indian twist, add chopped green chilies (be careful if you are sensitive to chili, a single half chili may be enough for most, also chop it into minuscule pieces). For a Mexican twist, add some salsa (but drain any water). Don't overdo the veggies or else the water from the veggies will make your scramble a soggy mess or have uncooked parts to the scramble, also chop any veggies very finely for the same reason.

Just Eggs

Do you wonder why eggs in a restaurant don't always come out the way you want, well, the truth is many don't know how to make perfect eggs. Eggs can easily be overcooked, undercooked, burned etc. so it's a bit of an art that you learn with practice.

For sunny side up eggs, heat olive oil (about a tablespoon) in a small saucepan at high heat, wait until it is hot and then gently break 2 eggs into the pan. With a spatula, quickly but gently score the big mass of gelatinous stuff near the yolk so it starts to flow out to the edges.

If needed lift up the pan and tilt or swirl as needed until the uncooked egg white gets to the edges, filling any gaps. Now reduce the heat and let it cook. If you don't like your eggs runny, put a lid on the saucepan -- but not for too look otherwise you will just have a fried egg as the yolks will cook through. Cook until the edges are slightly brown/crispy and the center is firm, now slide it on to a plate and serve.

If you want a fried egg, just do the above but once the eggs are firm but not fully cooked, flip the eggs over with a spatula and cook for a minute or two and then slide the eggs on to a plate and serve.

If you want to look like a master chef, flip it in the pan -- the way to do this is to first loosen the eggs (once they are mostly cooked and firm at the edges), make sure the entire egg slides on the pan if you try to move it. Now lift the pan from the flame, make a swift forward motion with the pan, the eggs will fly off the pan but due to curved edge of the saucepan will flip backwards, now you have to just catch it before it splatters on your stove! Try it when no one is looking and you have a few eggs to spare and some time to clean, you'll be glad you did!

For an omlette, follow the Omlette Scramble recipe but use a little less milk and then cook it at medium heat like your are making scrambled eggs but don't keep scrambling, after a few minutes when the insides and outsides are slightly cooked, fold one side over the other and gently press it down so any liquid leaks out, then flip the folded eggs gently to cook the other side. Keep heat low or you may have an overcooked outside with a soggy inside, also don't go too crazy with the veggies, the veggies should be about a quarter of the volume of the eggs.

Lexington Kiss

As I traveled frequently to New York for business, I used to stay at the W hotel on Lexington Avenue, to avoid wasting a whole day traveling, I would leave San Francisco early afternoon and reach New York at 9:00 or 10:00 PM and by the time I got to my hotel and checked in it was often 11:00 PM or even later. Most hotel bars are either closed by then or don't serve food. I usually wanted both a drink and something to eat, I didn't usually want to head out -- being NY of course a city that never sleeps, there are always options if you are willing to walk a few blocks. NY weather of course can be iffy and so that was not always an option.

I would usually head to the bar and it was there that I discovered a drink called the Lexington Kiss. It was just a great balance of sweet and sour and made from my favorite cocktail spirit -- bourbon. I fell in love with the drink and would often order that and either sliders and fries (they had the best with 3 small sliders -- beef, lamb and chicken) or if I wanted to be a little healthy I would order some hummus and pita to go with it.

Given how frequently I visited NY, the bartender at the W got to know what I liked and usually would start the drink as soon as I sat down, so one day I asked him what was in it and he wrote it down on a napkin and I decided to try it at home.

Sadly the W Lexington became the Maxwell when Marriott bought Starwood hotels (apparently Marriott required differentiating owned properties vs franchised and the W Lexington was Franchised), it also so happened that around that time, our offices moved closer to Union Square so I switched to the W Union Square instead but alas they did not have this drink.

I had the recipe though so I have been making it at home:

Ingredients

1.5 oz Good bourbon -- I usually use Bulleit. I sometimes will use Rye as it is a little less sweet and works just as well

.05 oz Simple Sugar

1 oz Disaronno Amaretto

Juice from half a Lime (or 0.5 oz)

Maraschino Cherries

1 tbsp Passionfruit Puree (I use a brand called "The Perfect Puree")

Pour the Bourbon, Amaretto, Simple Sugar and Lime juice, and Passionfruit puree into a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously until all the ingredients have mixed thoroughly and the passion puree is not in chunks. Pour into a glass with a block of ice. Spear two cherries and place on (or in) the glass and enjoy!