Chapter 5

Of course you can easily buy tea bags, but I’m a DIY kind of guy. I love to customize my own tea bags so my tea tastes exactly how I want it to. Tied with pretty kitchen twine, these make great gifts. The recipe is for individual tea bags, but you could also pile the ingredients into one big bag for a pot of tea.

Fill squares of cheesecloth with your tea blend. (A double layer will keep smaller ingredients from falling through.) Tie each tea bag closed with unflavored dental floss or thin kitchen twine.

1. Using a vegetable peeler, peel off just the zest of the lemon and orange, avoiding the bitter white pith. Cut the zest into thin julienne. Spread half of the lemon and orange zests on a microwave-safe plate. Heat at high power in 30-second intervals until the zest is dry, 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining zests.

2. On a work surface, spread out eight 3-by-3-inch double-layer squares of cheesecloth. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the green tea leaves and 2 teaspoons of the citrus zest on each square. Wrap the cheesecloth around the tea blend and tie closed with unflavored dental floss or thin kitchen twine.

3. To serve, cover the tea bag with boiling water and let steep for 3 to 5 minutes.

MAKE AHEAD The tea bags can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

3 More Tea Blends

Tie these blends in cheesecloth, then steep the tea bag in hot water for 3 to 5 minutes.

LEMON-MINT TEA I like to steep this caffeine-free combo double-strength, then serve it over ice in the summer. To make it, I dry mint sprigs and lemon peels in the microwave at high power in 20-second intervals.

CINNAMON-SPICE TEA I love this blend in the winter. The spices are warming and perfect for the holidays. The star anise and clove are accent flavors, so a tiny amount goes a long way. To make it, I combine broken cinnamon sticks, cracked star anise and a whole clove.

HIBISCUS GREEN TEA The hibiscus gives the tea a delicate floral flavor and the most gorgeous ruby-red color. The tea is delicious hot or iced. To make it, I mix dried hibiscus flowers with whole green tea leaves and dried lemon and lime peels.

Like you, my biggest fear when roasting a turkey is that it’s going to be bland and dry. This tip is guaranteed to deliver a juicy, delicious bird every time. You drape the breast and legs with a cheesecloth that’s soaked in melted flavored butter. Basically a turkey shawl! Once the bird is in the oven, I don’t even have to touch it. All the butter and flavorings in the cloth will seep down into the turkey and baste it. After roasting, you’ll see the turkey is golden with beautifully crisp skin.

STEP 1 Dampen a double-layer length of cheesecloth with water and squeeze it dry.

STEP 5 After roasting, carefully peel the cheesecloth off the turkey and discard.

1. Season the turkey inside and out with salt and pepper. Transfer to a rack set in a roasting pan; bring to room temperature.

2. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the citrus zests and juices, garlic and minced thyme; let cool slightly. Transfer half of the citrus butter to a small bowl and refrigerate until spreadable, 20 minutes.

3. Run your fingers under the breast and thigh skin to loosen it, then spread the chilled butter under the skin and over the breast and thighs. Stuff the turkey cavity with the thyme sprigs and citrus wedges. Dampen an 18-by-18-inch double layer of cheesecloth with water and squeeze dry. Soak the cheesecloth in the remaining citrus butter and drape it over the breast and legs; pour any remaining butter on top.

4. Roast the turkey for about 30 minutes. Add the stock to the roasting pan and continue to roast for about 1 hour and 45 minutes longer, rotating the pan a few times, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in an inner thigh registers 165°.

5. Carefully peel the cheesecloth off the turkey. Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and let rest for 30 minutes. Skim the fat off the pan juices and transfer to
a gravy bowl. Carve the turkey and serve with the pan juices.

1. Season the turkey inside and out with salt and pepper. Transfer to a rack set in a roasting pan; bring to room temperature.

2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the vinegar, chipotles, minced garlic, dried oregano and chopped thyme; let cool slightly. Transfer half of the chipotle butter to a small bowl and refrigerate until spreadable, about 20 minutes.

3. Run your fingers under the turkey breast and thigh skin to loosen it, then spread the chilled butter under the skin and over the breast and thighs. Stuff the turkey cavity with the head of garlic, the lime wedges and the thyme and oregano sprigs. Dampen an 18-by-18-inch double-layer piece of cheesecloth with water and squeeze dry. Soak the cheesecloth in the remaining chipotle butter and drape it over the breast and legs; pour any remaining butter on top.

5. Carefully peel the cheesecloth off the turkey. Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and let rest for 30 minutes. Skim the fat off the pan juices and transfer to a gravy bowl. Carve the turkey and serve with the pan juices.

1. Season the turkey inside and out with salt and black pepper. Transfer the turkey to a rack set in a roasting pan and let come to room temperature.

2. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the soy sauce, sesame oil, minced scallions, sugar, grated ginger and crushed red pepper; let cool slightly. Transfer half of the flavored butter to a small bowl; refrigerate until spreadable, about 20 minutes.

3. Run your fingers under the turkey breast and thigh skin to loosen it, then spread the chilled butter under the skin and over the breast and thighs. Stuff the turkey cavity with the whole scallions and sliced ginger. Dampen an 18-by-18-inch double layer piece of cheesecloth with water and squeeze dry. Soak the cheesecloth in the remaining flavored butter and drape it over the breast and legs; pour any remaining butter on top.

5. Carefully peel the cheesecloth off the turkey. Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and let rest for 30 minutes. Skim the fat off the pan juices and transfer to a gravy bowl. Carve the turkey and serve with the pan juices.

Line a small bowl with a 5-by-5-inch single-layer piece of cheesecloth. Add ¼ cup of confectioners’ sugar. Tie the cloth closed with unflavored dental floss or kitchen twine. Use to dust cookies, cakes or hot chocolate.

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the 2 cups of flour with the almond meal and ¾ teaspoon of salt. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the butter with the granulated sugar at medium speed until creamy. Add the vanilla and 1 teaspoon of the lime zest and beat until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until smooth. Pat the dough into 2 disks, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour.

2. Preheat the oven to 350° and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Working in batches if necessary, roll out the dough ¼ inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Using a 2-inch round cutter, stamp out cookies as close together as possible. Using a smaller decorative cookie cutter, stamp out the centers of half of the cookies. Transfer the whole cookies to 1 prepared baking sheet and the cutout cookies to the other. Reroll the scraps and stamp out more cookies. Refrigerate the cookies until well chilled, about 30 minutes.

3. Bake the cookies in the upper and middle thirds of the oven for 17 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned around the edges and just firm; shift the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking. Let cool on the baking sheets.

4. Dust the tops of the cutout cookies generously with confectioners’ sugar. In a small bowl, whisk the raspberry jam with the remaining 1 teaspoon of lime zest, the lime juice and a pinch of salt. Spoon 1 teaspoon of the jam mixture onto each whole cookie, cover with the sugar-dusted cookies and serve.

Not only does this retro cheesecloth hack get you loads of juice without a reamer, it’s fantastic for juicing citrus that’s too large for a standard reamer, like oranges and grapefruit. And the best part? The seeds stay in the cheesecloth, so you don’t have to strain or pick them out.

Wrap citrus halves with a damp double layer of cheesecloth. Squeeze to release juice without any pulp or seeds.

1. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and ⅓ cup of water and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Let the simple syrup cool completely.

2. Wrap a tangerine half with a damp double layer of cheesecloth and squeeze over a medium bowl to release all of the juice. Repeat with the remaining tangerine halves. You should have 1½ cups of juice. Discard the cheesecloth with the seeds and pulp.

3. Whisk the gin, lime juice and cooled simple syrup into the tangerine juice. Pour the mixture into six 6-ounce popsicle molds and freeze until firm but not solid, about 1 hour. Insert popsicle sticks and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a small roasting pan, roast the lemon quarters with 3 of the bay leaves for about 20 minutes, until the lemons are softened and browned in spots.

2. Line a medium bowl with a large double layer of damp cheesecloth. Scrape the lemons, bay leaves and any pan juices into the lined bowl and let cool slightly. Wrap the cheesecloth around the lemon mixture and squeeze firmly to release as much juice as possible; twist the cheesecloth occasionally while squeezing. Discard the cheesecloth and solids.

3. Transfer the juice to a large pitcher. Add 2 cups of water, the simple syrup and the vodka; stir well. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. Pour the drink into 6 ice-filled collins glasses. Top each drink with 3 tablespoons of club soda and garnish with a lemon wheel and bay leaf.

NOTE To make simple syrup, combine 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Let cool completely before using. Makes about 1½ cups.