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.

Good Taste: Horseradish Cream with Baked Potato Chips

Let’s just get this out of the way: I think about food a lot. Maybe the past six-and-a-half years, first as a senior editor and then as a columnist for Bon Appétit magazine, is to blame? Or is it the embarrassing number of condiments multiplying in my fridge, begging to be used, that are responsible? Whomever—or whatever—the culprit, one of the huge benefits of working from a home office is being able to sneak into the kitchen and make a satisfying snack or lunch to inspire the work that lies ahead. In fact, LIFEWORK editor Cerentha Harris and I often talk food (right after we talk design, of course) and so we thought we’d start a feature called Good Taste in which we share delicious recipes for office snacks and lunches at home. Here’s the first in this habit-forming series—and don’t say we didn’t warn you!

It turns out that one of my favorite restaurant bar snacks translates brilliantly to the home office. (Minus the Makers Mark Manhattan, of course.) If you’ve ever been to Jar restaurant in Los Angeles, you know what I’m talking about: housemade potato chips with horseradish cream. Totally addictive. Chef Suzanne Tracht shared the recipe with Bon Appétit a couple years ago, and it has been a staple ever since. At home, I make it a little more virtuous by using low-fat organic sour cream and Kettle Brand Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper Baked Potato Chips (with 65% less fat; 120 calories per 20 chip serving!). Though admittedly, Kettle’s Krinkle Cut Salt &  Fresh Ground Pepper chips are worth the caloric splurge.

The horseradish cream keeps well in the refrigerator for several days, so you can make it for friends on a Saturday night and hide a little in the fridge for yourself to revisit on a Monday afternoon. Bon appétit!

Spicy Horseradish Sauce and Black Pepper Potato Chips

Adapted from a recipe by Suzanne Tracht for Bon Appétit.

Yield: 2 cups

1 16-ounce container organic low-fat sour cream

1 tablespoon extra-hot prepared white horseradish (such as Atomic) or regular prepared horseradish

1 tablespoon whipping cream

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon (scant) hot pepper sauce

1/2 teaspoon (scant) Worcestershire sauce

Kettle Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper Baked Potato Chips

Whisk all ingredients in medium bowl. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover tightly; chill. Re-whisk before using. Serve with Kettle Brand Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper Baked Potato Chips.