Clear Ginger Cosmopolitan

We visited Alan Cumming at his eponymous bar in NYC Club Cumming, for a little mixology class. Here's one of their signature cocktails, the Wild Ginger.

Sufganiyot, or Hanukkah donuts, are traditionally filled with fruit jam, but this recipe switches it up a little with zesty-sweet ginger-lime curd, and calls for sugar dusted on top to balance the tangy filling. Get the recipe.

This effervescent cocktail blends sparkling wine with brandy, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and ginger for a festive drink perfect for holiday parties, from Thanksgiving through New Year's Eve. Get the recipe.

This is not your mother's sweet potato casserole (and that's a good thing). This version is only lightly sweetened, tender rather than gloppy or mushy, and accented with a hint of ginger. It's still topped with browned, gooey marshmallows, though, because some traditions are worth sticking to. Read more.

This comes together in about the time it takes to order takeout, and is miles more nuanced than your average Chinese restaurant's sweet and sour sauce. Ketchup, soy sauce, sugar, and rice or cider vinegar are boiled together with water (though pineapple juice makes for a tasty tropical twist), and thickened to the perfect dipping consistency with a little cornstarch slurry. Serve this with egg rolls, wontons, rangoons, and whatever other fried foods you want to perk up. Feel free to add some heat to the sauce with minced ginger, garlic, or chiles (or all three). Read more.