If you're wondering what Santa might like to go with his Chocolate Christmas Crinkles this year, I've got the perfect answer: a Manhattan.

It's a cocktail with everything. It's got a cherry, it comes in a great glass, it's pretty, and Mrs. Z looks amazing sipping one. Here's a recipe that never fails.

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces Redemption Rye
• 3/4 ounce Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
• 1 dash aromatic bitters
• 1 Woodford Reserve Bourbon Cherry (2 if you've been good)

Pour the rye, vermouth, and bitters into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well.

Strain into a coupe or martini glass and garnish with a cherry.

It's time for Thanksgiving, delicious turkey, your favorite pie, football and beer!

When it comes to beer, there’s no one better to talk to than our very own Heather Burns. Not only is she responsible for keeping The Zweben Team on course, Heather is and expert on all things beer. Heather and her husband Ray Darmstadt are the proprietors at the St. Gambrinus Beer Shoppe on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, NY.  Here are Heather's thoughts on the holiday and beer.

I look forward to that huge, comforting, sweet and savory Thanksgiving meal every year.  For me, a lot of what makes holidays so much fun with my family is our mutual appreciation of good drinks and good laughs.  We drink more wine than beer in my family, but I've never really thought wine tasted particularly good with Thanksgiving foods. 

The less acidic quality of beer is better suited to pairing with turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweets like cranberry sauce, and all of the fixings!  Plus, it's fun getting my parents in their 70s and 80s to taste different beers.  While Mom has decided she likes IPAs since they smell like flowers, my step-Dad is still digging in his heels over English ales.

If you would like to do something different this year and pair your Thanksgiving meal with beer instead of wine, I've got some great suggestions. 

If you know you prefer a lighter (colored) beer, this is a really terrific choice.  Allagash is one of my favorite breweries.  It's an established brewery in Maine and the Saison is their classic, farmhouse-style ale.  It's easy drinking, lightly bitter with a bit of spice.  This would go well with a variety of foods and is just a lovely beer for daily drinking!

If you are a Guinness drinker and would like to have something darker to pair with your meal, this Long Island brewery's porter is a perfect choice.  This is a delicious, rich beer with hints of roasted coffee, with a nice dry finish. It can easily pair with both the Thanksgiving meal and all of the holiday pies too!  

Heather Burns, St. Gambrinus Beer Shoppe, Brooklyn, NY

I like to mix up my pie apples. While a combination of Honey Crisp and McIntosh apples makes me, any combination of apples that you love to eat will be equally delicious.

You'll need dough for a two-crust pie. I like to make my own but, if making pastry seems too scary, you can use store bought dough.

Now for the good stuff. This pie filling is easy and delicious. There's a reason they say it's as easy as pie!

Ingredients:

• 6-7 medium apples
• 2 T lemon juice
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3 T flour

Method:

• Peel, core, and slice the apples. Toss with the lemon juice to prevent browning
• Add the sugar cinnamon, salt, and flour to the apples.
• Let them sit for at least 30 minutes to draw out the juices. 
• While the apples are macerating, preheat the oven to 400F.
• Pour the apples into your prepared pie shell and dot with butter.
• Place the top crust over the apples and crimp the edges.
• Don't forget to cut vents on the top crust!
• Place the pie on a cookie sheet before you put it in the oven to avoid any of the juices from hitting the bottom of your oven.
• Bake the pie for about 60 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the juices begin to bubble out.

Enjoy after dinner, for a late night snack, or have a slice for breakfast!

When it comes to a late night snack, we asked our resident beer expert and proprietor at St. Gambrinus Beer Shoppe, Heather Burns, what she would serve with our rockin' apple pie. Heather says we should pair our pie with an Allagash Curieux.  Allagash is one of the most respected, established craft breweries in the US, founded in 1995 and is located in Portland, ME.  This is a Tripel aged for 7 weeks in bourbon barrels and then blended with a fresh portion of Tripel. It’s smooth and slightly boozy with notes of coconut and vanilla.  Perfect to pair with apple pie a la mode!

Ingredients

• 6 ears of shucked corn, kernels removed
• 1 pint cherry or pear tomatoes
• 1/4 bunch Thai basil
• sea salt to taste
• cracked black pepper
• a pinch of crushed red peppers
• 4 oz. extra virgin olive oil

Method

• Shuck corn and cut kernels from the cob.
• Heat oil in frying pan over medium heat.
• Add corn and saute for approximately 4 minutes.
• Add tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Add basil, salt and pepper, crushed red pepper and saute until the basil is wilted.

This easy summer salad can be served warm or cold and I promise you, it will compliment almost any dish you're cooking on the grill. You'll have this recipe ready in a snap! Serves 4.

This recipe will feed four.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 sprig rosemary
• juice of 2 lemons
• Sea salt
• Cracked black pepper
• Pinch of crushed red peppers

Method

Place the chicken in a casserole dish, skin side up. Mix all of the remaining ingredients with the chicken and you're ready.

Roast at 350F, uncovered, for 45 minutes, then turn the oven to 425F and roast until golden brown (about 15 more minutes ).

Who doesn't love pizza? With a delicious crust and whatever fresh toppings that make you happy, you can create the perfect meal to celebrate the joys of fatherhood. Homemade pizza is as easy as 1-2-3. I love it, Carolyn loves it, and the kids want to marry it when they grow up!

1. The Dough

Don't drive yourself crazy. I love the pizza dough from Whole Foods. It's simple and delicious, and good for you too.

Let the dough sit out at room temperature for about 20 minutes and then roll the dough out on an olive oil coated cookie sheet.

2. The Toppings

Spread 4-5 ounces of good tomato sauce on that beautiful dough.

Cover with grated mozzarella cheese. I like it cheesy, so I use about 6-8 ounces.

Add your favorite topping and don't forget the salt and pepper!

3. The Bake

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375F for 20 minutes. Turn the heat up to 425F and bake until golden brown, about another 10 minutes.

Enjoy the best pizza you've ever eaten! The kids and you are gonna love it. I promise.

When a nice Jewish boy from Jersey and a Latina diva meet and fall in love, it's the magic of blending those two cultures that makes life so wonderful. We have taken what we love of the traditions from our childhoods and celebrate both Easter and Passover at our Eastover dinner.  

As a chef, I don't usually use a recipe, but Carolyn thought this pot roast recipe from Jeanne Thiel Kelley sounded pretty good. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint! This pot roast will be gracing our table this Eastover.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil 1 (3-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed 
1 teaspoon kosher salt 
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
2 cups coarsely chopped onion 
1 cup dry red wine 
4 thyme sprigs 
3 garlic cloves, chopped 
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium beef broth 
1 bay leaf 4 large carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces 
2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces 
Fresh thyme leaves (optional)

Method:

Step 1
Preheat oven to 350º.

Step 2
Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chuck roast with salt and pepper. Add roast to pan; cook 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove roast from pan. Add onion to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender.

Step 3
Return browned roast to pan. Add the red wine, thyme sprigs, chopped garlic, beef broth, and bay leaf to pan; bring to a simmer. Cover pan and bake at 350° for 1 1/2 hours or until the roast is almost tender.

Step 4
Add carrots and potatoes to pan. Cover and bake an additional 1 hour or until vegetables are tender. Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf from pan; discard. Shred meat with 2 forks. Serve roast with vegetable mixture and cooking liquid. Garnish with thyme leaves, if desired.

*you can also fry the potatoes in the same pan that you seared the beef in and then add to the meat and sauce, when you are ready to serve.

I like to serve this with a dry red wine.

Ingredients:

• 2 each 2-3 pound chickens
• 1 bunch celery
• 2 white sweet onions, peeled and quartered
• 8 carrots
• 1 bunch curly parsley
• 1 head chopped fennel
• 1 cup peeled garlic
• 1 lb. dried pasta- your choice
• 1lb. sliced smoked bacon
• 1lb. fresh shucked green peas
• 2 cans sweet corn, or 5 ears shucked sweet corn
• 2 cans cooked white beans

Method:

• Cut chicken into quarters and rinse with cold water.
• Place the ends of the celery and carrots, the heart of the fennel, and all of the white onions into a pot along with the chicken and the parsley.
• Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes.
• Remove the chicken from the broth and cool.
• Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove all the meat from the bones. Throw the bones and skin in the garbage and shred the chicken.
• Remove all of the other vegetable pieces from the broth.

You now have the perfect base for your soup!

• Add the chopped carrots, celery,  and fennel to the broth and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the sweet peas, sweet corn, and white beans. (*note: If you are using canned corn and beans, rinse them with cold water in a strainer.)
• Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
• In a separate sauté pan, render sliced and chopped bacon until crispy. Discard half the fat and then add the crisp bacon and fat to the soup.
• In a separate pot of salted boiling water, cook the small pasta pieces, strain an then add to the soup. (*note: If you are not eating all of the soup in one sitting, just add a small amount of cooked pasta to the soup and save the remaining pasta in a separate bowl for the next time you serve the soup. Otherwise, the pasta will continue to grow, get mushy and soak up all of your soup.)
• Season with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper and add the shredded chicken.

Serve with roasted olive oil soaked sourdough bread and a good bottle of dry white wine!

Enjoy!

Nothing makes Thanksgiving dinner better than steaming turkey gravy poured over the bird and creamy mashed potatoes. That said, I know that every year there are people around the country crying over lumpy gravy.

Gravy is as easy as pie. I'll share with you how to make perfect turkey gravy to go with a juicy bird you can cook in hour. This recipe makes about 2 quarts of gravy.

Ingredients:

• 2 Spanish onions
• 1 stalk of celery
• 6 carrots
• 6-8 lbs. of turkey necks, wings, and legs
• 4 oz. olive oil
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• Fresh black pepper and sea salt to taste

First, you'll need to make the turkey stock. You can do this ahead the day before and keep it in the fridge. You can also buy it in the grocery store, but it's so easy to make and I promise that you won't regret the results.

Making the Turkey Stock

Rough chop the carrots, celery and peeled onions, aka the mirepoix.

Place vegetables in a roasting pan with a touch of olive oil and roast at 375F until golden brown.

Place turkey bits in a roasting pan with a touch of olive oil and roast at 375F until gold brown. If you make the turkey like in the video below, ask the butcher for the bones and roast those.

Place the mirepoix and bones into a large stock pot and cover the ingredients with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 60-90 minutes.

Strain the beautiful broth into a bowl and discard the bones and vegetables. They have served their purpose!

When you're ready to make your gravy, it'll be a snap.

Making the Gravy

Put the delicious stock you made into a pot and bring it to a simmer.

In a small sauce pot, heat the vegetable oil and whisk in the flour. Cook until it gets a nutty aroma and then whisk into your delicious turkey broth this will then the broth to make your gravy.

Make sure you add all of the drippings from your turkey roasting pan!!!

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Now, as an added bonus, here's how I cook a 20 pound turkey in about an hour.