I bought around 2.5 lbs of fresh ginger for $2.37 at the 99 Ranch Market in Chinatown as the basis for these drinks. I love exploring different ethnic grocery stores; they not only have great prices, but their produce is really good too. This ginger was super fresh and the skin wasn’t hard and dessicated like some of the pieces that you find in regular grocery stores.

Peel the ginger and then run it through your juicer. In case you don’t have a juicer, the recipe says you can find fresh ginger juice at health stores, although I would also check out some ethnic grocery stores too. If you have a juicer, I recommend juicing the ginger on the highest level and to periodically clean the blades if you juice a lot of ginger like I did. The ginger was quite fibrous and kept on building up in the blades. 2.5 lbs of fresh ginger made around 20 ounces of ginger juice. What I didn’t end up using to make the simple syrup, I stuck in the freezer for another day that calls for some cocktails.

Drain the ginger juice with a strainer and then put 1 cup of the ginger juice into a saucepan with 3/4 cup of sugar. Heat them up until the sugar dissolves into the ginger juice to create a simple syrup. This syrup forms the basis for both the Ginger Ale and the Ginger Bulleit Limade.

The New York Times recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of ginger syrup mixed with 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice topped off with ice and enough club soda to fill a tall glass. While the result is very tasty and refreshing, it tastes a bit too limey to be called real ginger ale. So I upped the amount of ginger syrup for a bit more ginger kick. The fresh ginger syrup is quite spicy much like raw ginger in food, so be sure to not go overboard if you don’t like a little heat in your drinks. Each glass costs around 50 cents to make.

While the little ones enjoy the Ginger Ale, adults can make their own spicy treat by adding a little Bulleit Bourbon. Mix ginger syrup and fresh lime juice to taste and then add a slug of Bulleit to the glass. Mix with some ice and then top off with club soda and a lime garnish. Each glass costs around $1.50 depending on how stiff you like your drinks. Enjoy the holiday!

On with the food!

We started off with a couple types of bruschetta from Italian Easy: Recipes from the London River Cafe. This is a great cookbook that’s full of fantastic recipes that are, as you would infer from the title, easy to make. It’s got dozens of bruschetta ideas in the front, and I picked mozzarella with chilis and then fennel and salami, both pretty easy. Start with some good bread, and cut it into 3/4 to 1-inch slices. Just before you want to serve, grill the slices, or if you must, toast them some other way, then when they’re done, rub one side with a peeled clove of garlic. Then, add your toppings. I like to put all my slices on a big plate, then put the toppings over them, rather than building each individual piece. It’s a lot easier, and just put a serving utensil alongside the dish, and everybody will figure things out. Each serving only cost 91 cents too.

For the mozzarella and chili topping, first grab some arugula and toss it in some lemon juice (I like to chop the arugula a little bit so it’s easier to eat), and chop up some red chilis (I like Fresno peppers or red jalapenos). When your bread is ready, sprinkle over the arugula, then put your cheese on top (I usually slice the mozzarella, then break it up with my fingers), and then toss some chili over everything.

For the fennel and salami topping, start by putting some water on to boil, and squeeze some lemon juice into it. Next, slice your fennel bulbs horizontally into half-inch or so slices, and break the slices up into their individual pieces, being sure to discard the hard central bits from the slices towards the bottom. Once your water is boiling, put in the fennel and let it boil for just a few minutes until it’s soft, then drain in a colander. If you’re doing this in advance, I’d recommend running cold water over the fennel to stop it cooking, then if you’re doing the bread on the grill, put it on the grill for a few minutes while the bread is toasting to heat it up and give it some color. Once you’re all set, put the fennel over the bread, then top it with some salami and/or prosciutto. Anything is fine to use here; we had some spicy salami we picked up at a farmer’s market in Carlsbad, California last weekend.

Finish both of them by drizzling over a little olive oil and some salt and pepper, then enjoy. By the way, these go really well with a cold glass of Bulleit Lemonade, our official summer drink.

I have to admit, I was a little skeptical of the Lentil and Sweet Potato Salad that Alex got from Gwyneth Paltrow’s site GOOP, because, frankly, it sounded like hippie food. But I actually really enjoyed it, and it got a big thumbs up from both of our guests. It took a little time to cook the lentils and sweet potatoes, and then to let them cool, so definitely do this one in advance. We didn’t have any maple syrup in the pantry, so we used some honey instead and it worked great. This recipe is so reasonable at 57 cents per serving.

You’ll also want to make your salsa verde for the salmon ahead of time, not just to get it out of the way, but because you want the flavors to have some time to meld together and intensify. This is a great sauce that works well with lots of different grilled meats, and it’s pretty easy. I like to chop my herbs by hand, but you could just as easily throw it all in the food processor, just don’t overdo it and get the herbs too fine. First, take a clove or two of garlic, and put them in your food processor or chopper with 3 anchovy fillets, about a table spoon of capers, and a tablespoon or so of red wine vinegar. Add in a little Dijon mustard (start small, you can add more later — I overdid this some in mine, and it was a little overbearing) and whiz it up. Grab a nice handful of flat-leaf (Italian) parsley and about half or a third as much mint. I also but a few basil leaves in, and they weren’t out of place. Then chop these by hand or in your food processor, and mix in your first set of ingredients along with some olive oil. Again, take care with the oil: you want the sauce to be loose, but not overly oily. Tuck it away in the fridge for a few hours, then bring it out and let it warm to room temperature for serving.

The Grilled Zucchini with Mint and Red Chili is pretty straightforward: grill your zucchini, then top it with some chopped mint and red chili and a bit of olive oil. For this, we just sliced the zucchini in half, but next time, I’ll slice it a bit thinner. This zucchini recipe equals 95 cents per serving.

The salmon is pretty simple, too: put some salt and pepper on it, then grill it, and squeeze some lemon juice over it. You don’t want anything fancy, since you’re going to use the salsa verde you made earlier. The salmon and salsa verde was the most expensive dish of the night, but still only cost $2.81 per person.

I was really pleased with how everything turned out. None of the flavors were too heavy, so it was nice for the hot weather, but everything was quite filling. Plus the whole meal cost only $5.24 per guest. Next time you’re facing the prospect of another barbecue full of uninspired meat and side dishes, try this menu for something a little different.

This still life with Bulleit shows you all that you need to make the perfect Bulleit Lemonade. We just think Bulleit is an outstanding and tasty bourbon, but you can use any kind of bourbon that you have in your liquor cabinet, or even some whiskey if you are so inclined. We like using fresh lemonade as the mixer, but I’m also interested in making this cocktail with frozen lemonade concentrate for a more slushy effect.

Start with a pint glass or any other tall glass, and muddle a few leaves of mint in the bottom of the glass (basically push down and twist on the mint with the back of a spoon so the oils from the leaves are released). The mint leaves are ultimately optional in case you don’t have any on hand, but I like their fresh taste in the cocktail.

Pour in enough Bulleit to taste and then add lots of ice. Top up the glass with the lemonade mixer and finish with a slice of lemon. More importantly, sit back and enjoy the goodness that is Bulleit Lemonade at $1.75 a serving which is steal compared with what you would pay for this drink in a bar or restaurant.