It's Opening Day At The Belmont Park!

Saddle up! It's opening day at Belmont Park in Queens and our Lisa Mateo is gearing up for the famous Triple Crown. She'll learn how to make the Belmont Breeze, the signature drink of the Belmont Stakes (Saturday, June 6) from its creator Dale Degroff the "King of Cocktails."

DeGroff is the founder and president of the Museum of the American Cocktail and author of The Essential Cocktail: The Art of Mixing Perfect Drinks. The drink is a nod to the 19th century tradition of serving whisky and mint drinks at the racetracks. DeGroff’s version uses bourbon as the base spirit and Dry Sack, a versatile medium dry Spanish sherry that imparts a soft fragrant nutty flavor. A mixture of orange, cranberry and lemon juices provides refreshing fruit flavors. (Check out the recipes after the jump).

The road to the Triple Crown of horse racing may start in Kentucky on May 2nd but the finish line is in New York with The Belmont Stakes on June 6th. If you don’t have tickets for the track, just throw your own "Day at the Races" party at home. Lisa will then learn how to throw a great Triple Crown Party and get a tour of the Winner's Circle.

You can watch the races at Belmont Park, 2150 Hempstead Turnpike, Elmont, NY 11003. For more information, visit the New York Horse Racing Association at www.nyra.com.

BELMONT BREEZE by Dale DeGroff
Original signature drink of the Belmont Stakes (June 6)

Ingredients (single serving)
1 1/2 ounces Bourbon
1/2 ounce Dry Sack Medium Dry Sherry
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup
Splash orange juice
Splash cranberry juice
5 mint leaves
1 mint sprig
1 orange zest

Preparation:
1. Assemble the first six ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well.
2. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with orange peel and mint sprig.

----------

Belmont Breeze (punch version) by Dale DeGroff

Ingredients (serves 12)
1 liter bottle of bourbon
12 oz. Dry Sack medium dry sherry
6 oz. fresh lemon juice
8 oz. simple syrup
8 oz. orange juice
8 oz. cranberry juice
8 oz. seltzer
8 oz. 7-up
Fresh strawberries, sliced
10 Sprigs of fresh mint

Directions:
1. Stir all the ingredients together in a large punch bowl.
2. Serve over ice and garnish with strawberries and fresh mint.

For more on Dry Sak, log onto www.kindredspiritsusa.com and for more information on Degroff, visit www.kingcocktail.com.

-------------------------

Lisa also caught up with Chef Doug Psaltis of Smith's in the West Village. For more on Smith’s log onto www.smithsnyc.com.

Smoked Lamb Ribs with Tzatziki and Cucumber-Fennel Salad
(Courtesy of Chef Doug Psaltis, Smith’s on 79 MacDougal Street, NYC)

Ingredients
2 racks of lamb ribs (Denver cut)
1 part paprika
½ part sumac
½ sugar
¼ cumin
¼ kosher salt

Directions
1. Mix all dry together
2. Season ribs with dry rub and let sit over night
3. Smoke the ribs for 4 hours till tender over fine maple wood and finish on the grill to serve.

For the Tatzaki
Ingredients
2 cups Greek yogurt
¼ lemon juice
1 grated cucumber
¼ chopped dill
2 tbl. Crushed garlic
Pinch of paprika
Pinch of salt

Directions
Mix all ingredients together and all to sit over night for maximum flavor.

----------

Cucumber-Fennel Salad
Ingredients
2 cups diced cucumber
2 cups diced fennel
½ cup chopped piquillo peppers
½ cup diced tomato
1 tablespoon lemon preserve
1 tablespoon chopped dill
½ cup olive oil

Directions
Mix all ingredients together, Making sure to add the dill at the last moment.