I fell in love with Pfeffernusse cookies at my first real job at a German Deli in Atlanta while in my freshman year of high school. We sold them only during the holiday season, but I would crave them year-round. I loved the warmth from the spices and the firm, chewy texture. I tried a few recipes that I found over the years and was never quite satisfied with the outcome, so I made some adjustments and tweaks in my little kitchen “workshop” and finally came up with a recipe that has all the right notes. I was also happy to find out that by adding a little extra ginger and chilling overnight, this dough is perfect for creating cut-out gingerbread cookies to decorate! 

A good Bloody Mary is a thing of beauty. Flavorful, colorful, and more substantial than your average cocktail, this sippable standard has intrigued and challenged many a bartender, myself included. As a fledgling craft mixologist, I experimented quite a bit with Bloody Mary formulations, working hard to get all the flavor points into perfect alignment. My roommates and I hosted brunches to showcase and refine our beverage inventions, always searching for ways to take this classic cocktail to new levels of deliciousness.

Every late summer, I go down to a friend’s farm in Southern Oregon to help harvest and preserve the hot peppers they grow there. We smoke the jalapenos in a homemade smoker, then preserve them in jars in an AMAZING adobo sauce that we prepare from scratch. The result is a flavor profile that can transport you to a summer night barbeque even in the dead of winter: rich, hot, and smoky with hints of balancing sweetness.