Throw an Italian Aperitivo That Will Put Summer Happy Hours to Shame

The tradition of Italian aperitivo is, by its very nature, a civilized affair. Drinks are light, lively, and low in alcohol. Snacks are simple, artful, and typically nibbly bites intended to be eaten with one’s hands. The equivalent of the U.S. happy hour, the aperitivo, or “opening,” is meant to provide stimulation, both socially and to one’s appetite, for the evening ahead. Many bars in Italy offer a modest buffet of snacks during aperitivo, where the purchase of a drink entitles you to a small plate of antipasti and the like. Contrary to the custom of happy hour in the States, however, where one might resourcefully make a gut-busting dinner out of discounted beers, free snack mix, and 50-cent wings, the point of aperitivo is restraint. Not filling up is the game. The main event is yet to come.

If you feel like you could go for a strong dose of civility right now, why not throw a supremely cool, low-commitment, early evening festa for a handful of friends in the Italian aperitivo style? Your kitchen, patio, or even conference room can provide a perfect setting, and since informality is the name of the game, you needn’t sweat too many details on this one.

Atmosfera (Ambiance)

The Italian language has a lovely way of saying “making something out of nothing,” which is “l’arte d’arrangiarsi.” The art of arranging oneself. Let this be your guide. Put the handful of Italian flags down and walk away. Run from the urge to acquire a red-checkered table cloth. Flee the scene if you had even a fleeting thought of googling “accordion player for hire.” We’re going here for classy and autentico. A set of wine glasses, either glass or plastic, stemmed or stemless, will serve for all beverages outlined below. Amass a set of mismatched appetizer plates from the nether regions of your cabinets, or get help from garage sales or resale stores for spunky charm. Try a contemporary Italian jazz artist on the sound system such as Piero Bittolo Bon’s album “Big Hell on Air.”

Bevande (Drinks)

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While it might go against everything we hold dear in this country regarding alcohol consumption, there is much to be cherished in a tradition that emphasizes fresh, lower-proof spirits to begin the evening. You need only a few key ingredients that, mostly in the vein of bubbles and bitters, will have a much larger impact on the impressed-ness of your guests than they will on your wallet. First, you’ll need a good amount of prosecco on hand, both as an easy option for those who fear you’re not trying hard enough to get them drunk, and as a mixer for option number two: spritzes. You might know them as Aperol Spritzes, but much in the same way buffalo wings are just “wings” in Buffalo, in Italy an Aperol Spritz is simply a spritz. Bubbly, lightly bitter, and beautiful in color, a spritz pairs as elegantly with light, salty snacks as it does with a setting sun. Finally, you might only think of vermouth as as that other ingredient that goes in your martini or Manhattan, but it is a lovely beverage in its own right—a fortified, aromatized wine that needs only some ice and perhaps a twist of citrus for it to sing for you. Cocchi di Torino with notes of absinthe and rhubarb is a good one to try.

Sputini (Snacks)

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Here’s where you can decide how hard you want to show off for this party. The beauty of aperitivo is that you can make an artful arrangement of olives, nuts, breadsticks, and an antipasto platter and call it a day—an approach which is both light enough to uphold the early evening spirit of the event, and hearty enough for anyone who wants to make a meal out of it. If you can’t fathom hosting an event where you don’t at least try to dazzle your guests with culinary prowess, prepare a few items that can be made ahead of time and served room temperature, such as Pickled Eggplant, Mini Frittatas, or Fava Bean and Pecorino Crostini. Finally, if you are struck with a rush of moxie that inspires you to toss civility to the curb, you can really crank it to undici (eleven) by setting up a fry station and putting out heavenly batches of Fried Chickpeas with Sage and Tomato-Basil Arancini.

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What Is the Difference Between AmazonFresh and Prime Now?

Amazon has completely changed the way the world shops, and yes, that includes how we buy groceries. The e-commerce juggernaut offers several food delivery services including Prime Now and AmazonFresh. In advance of Prime Day, which promises 36 hours of big sales on Monday, July 16, we break down the differences between these two programs and what they mean for consumers.

Prime Now is a service that is free for all Amazon Prime members. Prime Now offers free delivery within two hours for an array of groceries and household products, even toys, electronics, and pet supplies. And given their acquisition of Whole Foods, you can also get fresh produce, meat and dairy sent directly from those stores. For an additional fee, you can also have products delivered to your door within an hour. As amazing as this service may sound, it’s only available in a few select locations, however the list of areas that have access to this program is ever-changing. You can search for your zip code on their site to see whether or not you qualify.

While Prime Now is available to anyone with an Amazon Prime subscription, AmazonFresh is an add-on service that costs an additional fee (as of now it’s an extra $14.99 a month). AmazonFresh is exclusively focused on grocery delivery. The service allows you to schedule the delivery time that is most convenient to you. The groceries are also delivered in insulated packaging and reusable totes to help guarantee freshness. Unlike Prime Now, AmazonFresh deliveries are not free, unless your order exceeds a certain amount.

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Whether or not either of these services are ideal for you depends on a lot of factors, most notably your geographic location and your budget. But even if you’re not willing to shell out the extra bucks for door-to-door delivery, Amazon Prime members are also eligible for certain discounts at Whole Foods. So even if you’re doing your grocery shopping the old-fashioned way, you can still take advantage of Amazon’s price points.

There also rumors that the two services may merge or become more interconnected in the coming months. Given recent layoffs and staff consolidation, these changes may be imminent. It’s also worth noting that Amazon ended Amazon Fresh operations in parts of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia last November, as a result of a small user base. Considering all of these rapid changes, it’s hard to say what Amazon’s role in the grocery game will be in the long-term, but one thing’s for sure, the e-commerce giant is determined to be a part of it.

Related Video: Prices at Whole Foods Are Rising Despite Amazon Acquisition, According to New Report

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Lentil Salad with Summer Vegetables

As the weather warms, I spend a lot of time outside. My garden is flanked by the trailing tendrils of cantaloupe and watermelon on one side, and a uniform row of ten rhubarb plants on the other. The raised beds in between burst with any number of vegetables, including tomatoes, peppers, salad greens, and 200 sets of onions.

After weeks of tending, harvesting, and then cleaning the fruits of my labor, I’m ready to prepare them in the simplest of ways. I don’t want to worry about food; I want to enjoy a meal with the people I’m feeding.

Besides, more often than not, fresh produce needs little more than a vinaigrette and a good toss to turn it into something for the table.

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How to Make a Lighter, Brighter Bloody Mary Perfect for Summertime

Bloody Marys may be the ultimate brunch cocktail, and they’re good all year round, but some can be a little too rich and heavy for ideal hot weather sipping. Luckily, there are a lot of great ways to lighten and brighten the classic Bloody Mary to make it perfect for summer.

Use Fresh Tomatoes

The best way to make the Bloody Mary especially apropos for summer? Use the most beautifully fresh, in-season tomatoes you can find. They don’t have to be heirlooms, but those do tend to be more flavorful, so they make a good choice. Cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, beefsteaks—choose whatever has the richest, deepest, sweetest tomato taste you can find. You won’t have to individually juice them all, so don’t be daunted about picking the little guys. No matter what kind of tomatoes you choose, you’ll simply put them in a blender with a little lemon or lime juice and salt (or even pickle brine) to taste, and puree until smooth. Strain through a mesh sieve, pressing on the skins and seeds and smushing them around with a wooden spoon, so you’re left with just the juice, and combine it with your vodka and additional seasonings, from grated ginger and Worcestershire sauce to hot sauce, horseradish, celery salt, even a bit of kimchi brine for funkier heat. If tomatoes aren’t quite at their best yet, roast them to intensify their taste, or if you find the fresh tomato flavor of pure juice isn’t quite intense enough, blend in a dab of tomato paste to boost it.

Fresh Tomato Bloody Mary, Turnip the Oven

You can follow any basic Bloody Mary mix recipe and replace the bottled tomato juice with your own freshly extracted liquid, but you might want to start with a lighter hand on the spices, then taste and add more as you wish.

And you don’t have to stick to red tomatoes, either—try using orange or yellow for a lovely color (Sungold tomatoes are particularly perfect at the peak of the season, like nature’s candy with a rich orange hue). Just beware of mixing too many different shades together, or you may end up with a muddled cup—it should still taste great, though.

Heirloom Tomato Bloody Mary, Camille Styles

While using fresh tomatoes yields a lighter body and brighter taste, there are some other things you can do to further summerize the Bloody Mary.

Go Green

In addition to ripe red, orange, and yellow tomatoes, green tomatoes make for a more piquant twist on the traditional Bloody Mary. If you do go green, you can enhance the tart taste with tomatillos.

Tomatillo Bloody Mary, Salt & Wind

And whether you use green tomatoes or ripe red ones, you can blend a bit of cucumber right into the tomato mix to add a great fresh lift of clean green flavor that doesn’t stand out so much as elevate everything else. You can blend in a little celery for the same effect, and/or fresh green chiles for more of a grassy kick.

Garnish From the Garden

Emphasis on the garden part; since it’s usually hot and you have plenty of regular sweats, you may not want to add meat sweats on top of that. So forgo the heavy bacon and fried chicken garnishes that have become so common and stick to light, fresh veggies, maybe some pickled prawns for more protein, and herbs in abundance, like basil, parsley, dill, thyme, and cilantro.

Farm-to-Glass Bloody Mary Mix, Holly & Flora

Be sure to spear some perfect cherry tomatoes to top off the drink too—even better if they’ve already been booze-infused.

Try Another Alcohol

Vodka is a great blank canvas, but you can try swapping it out for aquavit, a Scandinavian spirit infused with dill and caraway, among other herbs and spices, which makes for a more complex cocktail. And gin, one half of the classic summertime G&T, also makes an interesting base for a Bloody Mary (which would then technically be called a red snapper).

Aquavit and Dill Bloody Mary, Stir and Strain

Of course, there’s also the Bloody Maria, made with tequila, and a plethora of other bloody variations, but more herbal and floral spirits that are light at heart are best for the warmer months.

Bubble Up

Since fizz is so refreshing, try adding a little bubbly to your bloody, in the form of seltzer, Champagne or Prosecco, or even beer—this IPA Bloody Mary dispenses with the vodka entirely, but you can still use it (or another base spirit) as usual and then top it off with a bit of beer or sparkling wine for a one-two punch of extra alcohol and effervescence.

Beer Bloody Mary, The Beeroness

Infuse Other Summer Flavors

If you have a lot of lead time (generally two or three weeks), you can make herb-infused vodka—cucumber basil vodka would be fantastic, but a bright lemon vodka would also work well. Ditto beet vodka, dill vodka, and a meta Bloody Mary vodka that includes fresh tomatoes and several other veggies.

No time for that? Try blending another summer favorite, watermelon, right into your Bloody Mary. It may sound odd at first, but tomatoes are a fruit anyway, and watermelons happen to be great with savory flavors.

Watermelon Habanero Bloody Mary, Salty Canary

Grill It

You’re grilling everything else right now, so why not grill your Bloody Mary ingredients too? This one calls for grilling tomatoes, poblano pepper, spring onions, and lemons to make the mix, and then tops it off with more grilled veggie garnishes, for a brilliant summer brunch option.

Grilled Bloody Mary, Honestly Yum

Freeze It

Conversely, ’tis the season for ice cream, frozen drinks, and all things slushy. So freezing your Bloody Mary makes sense!

If that doesn’t sound appealing, though, at least consider freezing fresh tomato juice (or your homemade mix) into ice cube trays so you can keep your drink icy cold without diluting it.

Frozen Bloody Mary, Cookie + Kate

Play around with these suggestions to concoct your own ideal summer Bloody Mary, and once you’ve perfected it, invite your friends over for a Bloody Mary bar brunch, preferably al fresco. Or mix one up for dinner, because it is practically a meal in a glass.

Related Video: Do This For the Best Bloody Mary Ever

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