The New York Times - USA (2020-11-15)

THE NEW YORK TIMES, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2020 D 5

DAYS SPENT AThome have moved
even the most muddled people to

organize. The spice rack now
displays alphabetically ordered
bottles in neat rows. The closet
has sections for formal and infor-

mal wear, subdivided by season.
Pots and pans are arranged by
type; the silverware drawer is a

model of organizational excel-
lence. But the garage is still over-
flowing with who-knows-what,
piled here, there and everywhere.

Time to organize.

Separate the chaff
from the wheat.

It’s best to attack the garage early

in the day, so you can temporarily
store things outdoors while you
work. Arm yourself with a number
of empty trash cans and trash

bags and get to work. After mov-
ing vehicles out onto the driveway,
dig into the piles of junk and valu-

ables. Weigh the worth of each
item ruthlessly. If your garage is
overflowing with years of accumu-
lated stuff, you can assume much

of it is useless. (Not having used
something for years qualifies it as
useless.) Discard things no one

could possibly want and bag
things someone else might want
for a later garage sale or donation.
Containers of garden supplies

and automotive chemicals that are
near empty or whose expiration
date has passed should be dis-

carded, as should paint cans con-
taining remnants left over from a
remodel of years ago. Most of this
will have to go to a hazardous-

products waste site. Ditto old tires
and car batteries. Some munici-
palities host hazardous waste

days for drop-off, while most
metro areas have at least some
waste-disposal sites that are
accessible year-round.

It’s cleanup time.

Before you begin returning your

keepers to the garage, do a thor-

ough cleanup of the briefly empty

space. For the floor, use a product

meant for cleaning oil-stained

concrete and work it in well. If you

have a power washer, put it to use

here. If not, work in the cleaning

solution using an old broom and

rinse with a garden hose.

An epoxy garage floor coating

can dress up your space, and now

would be time to apply it if you

choose. It looks good, wears well

and resists stains. However, shiny

coatings can be slippery when

wet. Most require 24 hours of

drying time before they can with-

stand foot traffic, and vehicles will

have to remain outside for several

days. Figure several hundred

dollars in materials if you epoxy-

coat a two-car garage floor your-

self. Having it done professionally

costs about $1,500.

Add storage.

Because vehicles occupy the

center of most garages, look to the

walls, ceiling and perimeter to

store the things you decide to

keep. Shelving is a good place to

start. If some of the things you’ll

be storing on shelves are heavy, a

sturdy steel unit is a good choice.

This type of shelving is available

from many online suppliers in a

range of sizes. A heavy-duty four-

shelf unit, 77 inches high by 72

inches wide, runs about $200. For

that price, makers claim that the

shelves will hold up to 2,000

pounds. If you don’t plan to store

heavy equipment, lighter-duty

shelving can be found for less than

$100. (And used is even cheaper.)

Store products on the shelves in

an orderly manner. For example,

you might designate one section

for garden products, another for

automotive needs, a third for

electrical parts, a fourth for paint-

ing supplies and a fifth for clean-

ing products.

Don’t forget the walls

and ceiling.

Many of your tools and toys can be

stored out of the way on the walls

and ceiling. A variety of hooks,

racks and shelves meant to be

installed in garages are available.

Hooks installed in ceiling

rafters are great for hanging

bicycles, particularly those that

are rarely used, but getting the

bikes up there is no easy task for

all but the young and strong. Use

two hooks, one for each wheel if

you want the bikes to hang high

and out of the way. You can hang a

bike with its front wheel on a

sturdy single hook, but if it’s not

right next to a wall it will be in

the way.

Wall-mounted bicycle racks are

easy to install and may allow for

locking of the bike, but they don’t

conserve as much space as a

ceiling mount. Typical wall racks

sell for about $90. A sturdy wall-

mounted hook and a bungee cord

or cable looped through the front

wheel gets the job done for

peanuts.

Rails meant to store large tools

can be screwed into the garage’s

wall studs. Some are fitted with

clamps that hold a broom, spade,

hoe or rake. Other rails are

equipped with hooks that sur-

round the tool’s handle, keeping it

in place against the wall. Odd-

shaped tools like lopping shears

can also be hung from the rails.

Ladders and light garden appli-

ances like fertilizer spreaders can

also be hung on the wall using

stout brackets or hooks.

Light it up.

Garages are typically built with

one or two ceiling-mounted light

fixtures meant for single incan-

descent bulbs. They provide little

light, rendering the space dark

and gloomy.

Until just a few years ago, ga-

rage owners desiring better illu-

mination would install a multi-

bulb fluorescent fixture in place of

each single-bulb lamp. That pro-

vided much better lighting. But

fluorescent bulbs are not a sound

environmental or financial choice,

and some are no longer available.

You could replace them with an

LED-tube light fixture, which

would provide more light and use

much less energy. LED tubes

usually last 20 years or more.

They are more expensive than

fluorescent tubes but pay for

themselves in energy savings.

But an LED cluster fixture is a

simpler solution, because it can be

screwed into an existing single-

bulb socket.

The fixtures are fitted with

hundreds of tiny LED bulbs on

three or four cast-aluminum heat-

sink panels. Each panel can be

adjusted to direct the light (they

are often known as deformable

fixtures). You can buy them in

versions from 60 watts up to 160

watts, and makers say a 60-watt

LED fixture is four times brighter

than a 60-watt incandescent bulb

but uses no more energy.

The fixtures sell for about $15 to

slightly more than $50. The most

powerful and expensive models

come with a motion sensor that

can detect movement and switch

the lights on and off.

All the better to show off your

newly organized garage.

NADIA HAFID

There is supposed to be room for cars, and you’re probably never going to use

that old paint. Here’s how to bring order to your home’s last messy place.

BY PAUL STENQUIST

You’ve Organized

Everything Else,

Now Try the Garage

WITH THE DAYSgrowing colder and alfresco dining

still the norm, bars and restaurants are likely to offer

more hot cocktails this winter. One cold-weather

treat is spiked hot chocolate — a drink just as warm-

ing when made at home.

For David Kaplan, co-founder of the bar group

Death & Co, sipping hot cocoa brings him back to his

childhood in Jackson Hole, Wyo. The boozy version,

he said, “is one of those things that’s so fun because

there’s still a slight level of sophistication while being

completely comfortable and nostalgic. The sophis-

tication comes with how geeky you are with the

chocolate and how it’s prepared.”

Will Talbott, bar manager at the Standard High

Line hotel, prefers to use Valrhona, a premium

French chocolate. The 66 percent dark chocolate

pellets he uses are “bitter but not too bitter, sweet but

not too sweet,” he said.

Brad Thomas Parsons, the author of several spirits

books, likes to add a splash of Braulio, an amaro

made in the Italian Alps. The liqueur’s “warming

aromatics and distinctive taste instantly evokes an

après ski sensation,” Mr. Parsons wrote in an email.

Below, Mr. Kaplan, Mr. Talbott and Mr. Parsons

share their favorite recipes for a boozy hot chocolate.

Don’t forget the whipped cream.

NIGHT WATCH

(FROM DAVID KAPLAN)

YIELD: 1 DRINK, WITH GANACHE LEFT FOR MANY MORE

1 ounce Del Maguey Chichicapa Mezcal

½ ounce Clear Creek Pear Brandy

1 teaspoon Green Chartreuse

½ ounce Demerara sugar syrup

5 ounces hot milk

1 heaping tablespoon ganache

Temper spirits and syrup in a mixing tin or metal bar

shaker inside a mixing glass full of hot (or boiling) water.

Once tempered, combine in a glass with ganache, top

with 5 ounces hot milk and gently stir.

For the ganache:

16 ounces heavy cream

16 ounces dark chocolate

Bring cream to a boil, pour over chocolate and allow to

rest for two minutes. Using a whisk, start in the center of

the bowl and gently stir. Be gentle or it will get gritty, and

be patient, it will eventually come together and get

smooth. Keep covered at room temperature.

THE STANDARD’S HAUTE CHOCOLATE

(FROM WILL TALBOTT)

YIELD: 1 DRINK

10 disks Valrhona dark chocolate (66 percent

cacao; sold as callets or féves)

4 disks Valrhona white chocolate

6 ounces steamed milk

½ ounce Mr. Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur

1½ ounces Wild Turkey Bourbon

In a small pot, warm milk over low/medium heat for 2 to 3

minutes, ensuring milk does not boil. Add chocolate

pieces and stir continually until all chocolate has melted

and blended evenly. Pour mixture into a mug and add

bourbon and liqueur.

BRANCAMENTA HOT CHOCOLATE

(FROM THE SEATTLE CHEF ELI DAHLIN AND INCLUDED IN BRAD

THOMAS PARSONS’ BOOK, “AMARO”)

YIELD: 4 TO 6 DRINKS

5¾ cups water

¾ cup Demerara sugar

2 vanilla beans, halved lengthwise and seeds

scraped out (use both pod and seeds)

6 Medjool dates, halved

Zest from 1 large orange, cut into strips

13 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

½ cup strong brewed coffee or espresso

1 tablespoon salt, or to taste

6½ ounces Brancamenta, a mint version of

Fernet Branca liqueur

Combine water, sugar, vanilla, dates and orange zest in

large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Re-

move from heat, cover and let stand for at least 30 min-

utes. Strain liquid, discarding solids and bring back to boil.

Break chocolate into pieces and place in large bowl

with cocoa powder. Pour about 1 cup of hot sugar syrup

onto chocolate. Wait 1 minute, then whisk until chocolate

is melted and mixture is smooth. Continue to whisk to-

gether liquid and chocolate, adding liquid in 1-cup incre-

ments until all of it is incorporated. Stir in coffee and salt.

Carefully strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve

into a clean saucepan and bring back to a simmer.

Pour 1½ ounces of Brancamenta into a coffee cup.

Pour in ¾ cup of the hot chocolate.

Take Cocoa

Next Level

It’s cold. Warm up with adult

versions of a favorite drink.

BY STEVEN KURUTZ

JOEL GOLDBERG FOR

THE NEW YORK TIMES

From left, the Brancamenta Hot Chocolate, the Night

Watch and the Standard’s Haute Chocolate.