It's Italian Apertivo Hour

While cold brisk winds are still gripping the American midwest,  it was a real treat to find a copy of  Talia Baiocchi and Leslie Pariseau' s new book "Spritz" in my mailbox.  This attractive book promises to highlight Italy's most iconic cocktail and it delivers.

Beautifully photographed, this book is filled with recipes of spritz drinks and accompanying snacks that is sure to quickly point you toward an open air cafe on some street in some fabulous Italian town.  Who knew that enjoying  the Spritz, in its many incarnations and concoctions, was a national Italian pastime?

My husband and I were introduced to the Aperol Spritz (page 57) on a recent trip to Taormina Sicily.  We plopped into a chair on a late Sunday afternoon (a bit early for the usual 7pm Apertivo Hour in Italy) and eyed other tables to see if we saw a drink we could point to and say "two of those please!!"  We did not see a variety of drinks--we saw ONE drink that almost all the 50 or so patrons were drinking--the Aperol Spritz.  We laughed as we commented to ourselves it sounded like an American motor oil from the 1930s.  But instead--two glass of  orange colored wonderfulness were placed in front of us.  The mixture?  2 ounces of bitter liquer(Aperol), 3-4 ounces of prosecco (sparkling white wine) and 2 ounces of soda water.  Garnish it with an orange slice and an olive--and you have just become Italian.  Accompanying it were little dishes of chips and olives and snackie bits.

Spritz the book takes you through the origins of the drink, the regional tweeks and various recipes and accompanies each with a mouth watering photo and easy to follow recipes.  The spritz contains a bitter of some sort, and an effervescent wine or soda water, and a spirit or wine--and a garnish of citrus or olives.  Page 61 has a drink that looks particularly wonderful and refreshing--the White Spritz--4 ounces of dry white wine, 2 ounces of soda water and 1/2 ounce of lemon syrup (recipe provided).

This is a treat of a book--and certainly would make a wonderful hostess gift.

Thanks to Blogging for Books who provided me with a copy of Spritz to review and enjoy.