Cooking with Mint

 

Sage Bee’s Knees Cocktail

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup cold water
  • 1 1/2 ounces gin
  • 1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 ounce honey syrup
  • fresh sage leaves divided
  • ice

RECIPE PREPARATION

  • For the syrup, bring equal parts honey and water to a simmer in a small saucepan until honey dissolves. Let cool to room temperature before using.

    TIPSyrup can be made up to 2 weeks in advance — store refrigerated in an airtight container until ready to use. If you want stronger sage flavor, add a sprig of sage to the honey as it cools (discard before storing).

    Combine gin, lemon juice, syrup, and 2 sage leaves in a cocktail shaker and stir to dissolve honey syrup. Fill shaker halfway with ice and shake until thoroughly chilled, about 10 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Smack the remaining sage leaf between your hands over the glass, drop into the drink and serve.

Fast Pumpkin-Sage Lasagna

INGREDIENTS

  1. 4 1/4 ounces walnuts, coarsely chopped (1 cup)
  2. One 15-ounce can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
  3. 8 sage leaves, minced
  4. Sea salt
  5. 1/2 teaspoon chile flakes
  6. Freshly ground pepper
  7. 1/2 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
  8. 3 garlic cloves, minced
  9. 13 ounces ricotta (1 1/2 cups)
  10. 2 eggs
  11. 12 lasagna noodles

RECIPE PREPARATION

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 425°. Place the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 minutes, or until they are light brown and fragrant.

Step 2

In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sage leaves, sea salt, chile flakes, 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper, white balsamic vinegar, garlic and 1 cup of water.

Step 3

In another medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup of the ricotta, the eggs, 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper and 1/4 cup water.

Step 4

In a 9-by-11-inch ovenproof baking dish, spread 1/3 cup of the pumpkin and cover with 4 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the pumpkin and 1/3 of the ricotta. Continue to layer the lasagna, sprinkling all of the walnuts in the middle layer. Dot the top of the lasagna with the remaining 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese.

Step 5

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes. Uncover the baking dish and spoon the pan juices over any noodles that are not in the liquid. Bake for 10 minutes, until the noodles are soft.

Step 6

Remove the lasagna from the oven and set it aside to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

 

Sage-Scented Shortbread

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh sage leaves or 2 teaspoons dried sage
  • 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch-thick pieces, room temperature

RECIPE PREPARATION

  1. Blend first 4 ingredients in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, process until dough comes together. Divide in half. Shape each dough piece into log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Chill until firm enough to slice, about 30 minutes.
  2. Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Cut each dough log into 1/3- to 1/2-inch-thick rounds; place on sheets. Bake 10 minutes. Reverse sheets so bottom sheet is on top rack of oven and top sheet is on bottom rack. Bake until cookies are golden, about 15 minutes longer. Cool on racks.