Good Taste: Rosemary Lemon Fizz

It’s Friday—and if your work week went anything like mine, you are ready for a little reward. Here is a favorite recipe adapted from Gourmet that is every bit as delicious in its nonalcoholic form for an afternoon treat as it is with a splash of vodka for a more grown-up version at the end of the day. The herbal note from the rosemary makes this an excellent drink to serve with food—whether snacking on Marcona almonds drizzled in olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt or sipping alongside a slow-roasted pork shoulder with herbs.

Rosemary Lemon Fizz

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar

1 large rosemary sprig, plus additional for garnish

2 tablespoons vodka (optional)

Chilled soda water

In a small saucepan, bring lemon juice, sugar and large rosemary sprig to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Simmer an additional two minutes and allow to cool completely, about an hour. Fill two glasses halfway with ice. Divide lemon-rosemary syrup among two glasses. Add vodka if using. Top off with club soda and garnish with rosemary sprig.

Good Taste: Roasted Almonds with Rosemary and Fleur de Sel

The second most requested recipe—after the lethal Pomegranate Champagne Punch—at our annual holiday party is for these salty spicy sweet roasted almonds. I find they also make a dandy midweek snack, and are even better the following day. The original recipe calls for dried rosemary, which works superbly, but when fresh is on offer I love the piney sweetness it adds to the mix. And don’t be afraid to up the cayenne a dash if that’s how you roll.

Roasted Almonds with Rosemary and Fleur de Sel

Adapted from a Bon Appétit recipe, December 2003

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1 large egg white

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons fleur de sel

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 cups whole blanched almonds (if not available, substitute whole raw almonds with skins on)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line rimmed baking sheet with foil. Spray foil with nonstick spray. Whisk egg white in medium bowl until foamy. Add sugar; whisk until frothy. Whisk in rosemary, fleur de sel, and cayenne. Add nuts; stir. Transfer to baking sheet, spreading nuts in single layer. Bake until golden, stirring every 8-10 minutes, about 25 minutes. Cool completely on sheet.

Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; store at room temperature.

Snack Time

The Milan Furniture Fair always tosses up a a coterie of quirky designs. I’ve been pouring over the Milan coverage in preparation for my trip to New York with Herman Miller’s ICFF team. I wonder if these Slim Chips will make their way over from Europe. Designer Hafsteinn Juliusson created these flavored chips from edible paper. No idea what they taste like but they’d make an interesting mid-morning snack! Via Dezeen.