Cocktail and aperitivo

We have sort hit on a tradition that our cocktail for these events includes bubbly in some way, in this case it was prosecco.  This cocktail came from Martha Stewart and was very easy to make - it tasted like a very sophisticated and light ginger ale.  Delicious. You basically make a 1-to-1 ratio simple syrup and let it steep with some diced or finely sliced ginger root for about 15 minutes.  Chill the syrup overnight and add a few tablespoons of it to a slim highball or champage flute and fill the rest with bubbly.  Trust me, these will go down quickly.

Zenzero frizzante ("Sparkling Ginger")
Ingredients
(makes about 6 drinks)
1 bottle of prosecco or sparkling wine of your choice (something dry and not sweet)
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
2 inch piece of ginger root finely diced or sliced (no need to peel)

Directions
1. Put the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Stir to dissolve the sugar.  Bring almost to a boil.
2. Once solution almost comes to a boil (you will see small bubbles around the edges of the pan), throw in the sliced ginger, turn off the heat, and cover.  Let the ginger steep for about 15-20 minutes.
3. Pour the mixture through a sieve into a measuring cup or glass to strain out the ginger.  Let it sit in the fridge, covered, overnight.
4. Add 3-4 tablespoons of the chilled syrup to a tom collins glass or large champagne flute, fill the rest of the glass with chilled prosecco.

Umbrian lentils

To go along with the cocktail, I served a crostini topped with a tomato-lentil mixture.  It came from the Lidia book I mentioned in the previous post.  I think it's a good idea for a dinner party where you are having guests that you don't know that well to make an appetizer or first course that can sit out at room temperature for a while since you never know if the guests will be late.  In this case, our guests were quite late so it worked out great.  I made the lentil topping in the morning and just re-heated it right before the guests arrived.  In fact, you could make this a few days ahead.  The night of the dinner, slice up a baguette, drizzle a little olive oil over the toasts, and then generously top with the lentil mixture. Easy. I used Umbrian lentils I ordered off Amazon, but any lentil that holds its shape when cooked (such as french puy or green lentils) would work here as well.  I would not use red lentils.  I loved this recipe and would definitely make this again in the future.

Crostini con lenticchie ("Crostini with lentils")
Ingredients
1 cup small lentils
2 medium stalks celery, with leaves, finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced or chopped
2 bay leaves, preferably fresh
2 cups of canned whole tomatoes, drained and crushed by hand (San Marzano are the best, reserve the liquid for another use) – 2 cups was basically all the tomatoes in one 28 oz. can.
2 teaspoons kosher salt
¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes (pepperoncino)
6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 medium baguette, cut into ½ inch thick slices (approximately 10-12 slices total)
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, optional

Directions
1. Rinse and drain the lentils. Place the lentils in a 3-quart saucepan with the chopped celery and bay leaves, add 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until lentils are mostly cooked (about 20 minutes).
2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat for several minutes, when hot, add 4 tablespoons of olive oil, the chopped onion, and the garlic. Sprinkle the onion with a pinch of salt to prevent it from browning. Saute for 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Add the pepper flakes, crushed tomatoes, and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes; the sauce should be noticeably thicker, if not, continue to cook it for another few minutes.

The sauce cooking separately from the lentils.

3. Add the tomato sauce to the mostly cooked lentils in their saucepan. Stir to combine. Return the sauce to a simmer and cook partially covered until the lentils are done, about another 10 minutes. Remove the cover, add a teaspoon of salt, and continue to cook until lentils are very tender and all liquid has evaporated.
4. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the baguette slices on a large baking sheet. Put the pan in the oven and cook for about 7-8 minutes. Remove pan and turn the slices over, put the pan back in the oven, and cook for another five minutes or so – basically until the slices have browned nicely. You could also broil the slices for a couple minutes on each side, making sure not to burn them.
5. Drizzle each cooked toast with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil (approximately 2 tablespoons total). Scoop the cooked lentil mixture onto the crostini generously. The topping is best when served warm or hot. Sprinkle a little parmesan cheese and chopped parsley over each crostini, if you feel like it, and serve.