This week’s recipes: Israeli couscous and refreshing cocktails

Barbara Golding emailed me to tell me how much she loved an Israeli couscous dish:

“We had dinner at the Vertical Wine Bistro in Pasadena last week and loved the couscous. Could you provide the recipe?�

Vertical Wine Bistro’s dish features large, pearly couscous flavored with chopped fresh herbs and garlic and a touch of bright tang from lemon juice and vinegar. It’s rounded out with complex notes from the Moroccan spice blend ras el hanout. The dish is perfect made ahead of time to give the flavors time to marry before serving.
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And Jessica Gelt shares another Destination: Cocktail with the La Futura from Mr. Chow:

“The famous Chinese restaurant Mr. Chow is known for being particularly celebrity friendly. So it comes as no surprise that the bar uses a celebrity-made tequila called Casamigos in its twisty take on a modern margarita called La Futura. The tequila comes courtesy of George Clooney and Rande Gerber, who claim that many tequila-fueled nights led them to try to make a super-smooth tequila perfect for being consumed neat without the aid of lemon or salt. We suggest making this drink by pouring a finger of the tequila for sipping before mixing the allotted amount in with fresh lime juice, tart pineapple juice, ginger liqueur and agave syrup. The resulting cocktail is both sweet and savory with the satisfying burn of fresh ginger.�

This week’s recipes include:

• Mr. Chow’s La Futura
• Vertical Wine Bistro’s Israeli couscous

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