All New Square Foot Gardening

It’s not your mother’s Piña Colada! Sophisticated, flavorful, with fresh ingredients and the perfect hit of booze, a sloshie is a high-octane slushie—the ideal summer drink that’s a far cry from the cloyingly sweet blender cocktails of yore.

Written by Jerry Nevins, cofounder of Kansas City’s Snow & Co.—named the #1 frozen cocktail bar in the United States—Sloshies features more than 100 innovative refreshers guaranteed to jazz up (and cool down) backyard parties, barbecues, or any gathering with family and friends. And they are so easy to make: Based on a simple granita technique, sloshies require little to no special equipment. Just mix the ingredients, stick them in the freezer, and wait until they’re slushy.

There’s the tart: the Whisky Smashed, a frozen mint julep; the cucumber-kissed Limey Bastard; and the Sunshine Boulevard, a stone-cold shandy starring beer, vodka, and citrus juice. The sweet: the alluringly exotic Blue Roses (featuring a bouquet of curaçao, vodka, and rose hip liqueur). The spiced and herbal: including a Manhattan with rye-infused cherries, and the Proud Mary—yes, that’s a frozen Bloody Mary. Plus drinks with floral notes, like the Midnight Orchard, a beguiling combination of whiskey, elderflower, bitters, and maraschino, and a few nonalcoholic granitas to refresh the palate.

The book includes recipes for the syrups and infused liquors that many of the drinks are built upon, plus information on garnishes, serving suggestions, and other finishing touches.

Over two years in the making, with Batali searching for truly delicious dishes from all corners of the US, this definitive cookbook features the best America has to offer. With over 250 simple recipes celebrating the treasures of the state fairs and the dishes of the local rotary clubs and ethnic groups. Batali has interpreted these regional gems with the same excitement and passion that he has approached traditional Italian food.

Covering the Northeast/New England, the Mid-Atlantic, the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, the Heartland, the Southwest, and the Pacific Coast, this book will share everything from the BBQ styles of Texas, the Smokeys and the Carolinas, to the seafood soups from yankee Boston to the spicy gumbos of the Gulf Coast and the berry pies of the Pacific Northwest.

All the dishes are very simple and do-able–from Philly Cheesesteaks to Marionberry cobbler. And while Batali uses recipes passed down through the generations, he also shares hints on what he would add to the recipe to take the flavor up a notch.

This is THE American cookbook you will want to own.