Category: cocktails

Italian Olives: Taggiasca and Castelvetrano

Italian Olives: Taggiasca and Castelvetrano

(photo:  The lovely Taggiasca olive from Liguria in northwestern Italy)  We often talk about the importance of the Italian pantry and how critical it is to have certain staple ingredients in your kitchen at all times.  Keeping a well stocked pantry means you’ll never starve, order out, and be relegated to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner.  Among the universal items we keep […]

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Piattini: 12 Small Plate Italian Menu Ideas

Piattini: 12 Small Plate Italian Menu Ideas

(photo: at the heart of making great small plates for an Italian themed dinner party is good bread) Piattini: 12 Small Plate Italian Menu Ideas Preparing multi course meals can be a fulfilling endeavor, especially when you’re cooking for family and friends who appreciate food.  However, spending hours in the kitchen to prepare L’antipasto, Il primo, Il secondo,  Il contorno, […]

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Summer Martinis: The St Germain Appeaser and Averna Sofisticato

Summer Martinis: The St Germain Appeaser and Averna Sofisticato

Summer Martinis: The St Germain Appeaser and Averna Sofisticato Now don’t take this to mean I’m a full fledged wino, but I get really excited about well prepared cocktails, good wine, and nicely crafted beer.  On the cocktail side, I’ve waxed philosophically about the benefits of aperitifs and amari such as Lillet, Antica Carpano, and Nonino and I’ve enjoyed them straight […]

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Carpano Antica Formula: Italian Sweet Vermouth Makes a Comeback

Carpano Antica Formula: Italian Sweet Vermouth Makes a Comeback

If I were to say “red vermouth” you’d probably conjure up images of your frugal Aunt Carmela sipping on lukewarm Martini and Rossi sweet vermouth.  While the imagery was common decades ago, vermouth has fallen out of fashion and doesn’t get the respect it deserves; moreover, it’s probably one of the most misunderstood bar beverages in the United States.  Carpano […]

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