Italy’s Happiest Hour

When I was three years old, my mom excitedly told me one night that we were having ice cream for dinner. She expected me, like most toddlers, to jump up and down with excitement. Instead, I replied in my Long Island accent (don’t ask):

 “Ice cream’s not a dinnah.” 

 Had we substituted the word aperitivo for ice cream, I would have been spot-on. Although, knowing me and my champagne taste, I probably would have taken the aperitivo…

 Aperitivo is best described as Italian happy hour. Similar to the French aperitif, it refers to a pre-dinner snack and libation. Unlike the American happy hour, it in no way suggests a discount on drinks, nor does it involve getting drunk or full on truffle fries and crispy Brussels sprouts. Rather than encouraging a mad dash to bars after work, aperitivo is a ritual across Italy, particularly in the North. The idea is to socialize, relax after a stressful day at work, and prepare your stomach for dinner later in the evening. The word comes from the verb aprire, meaning “to open” [the appetite], and derives from an Ancient Roman tradition of gustatio, eating savory snacks and sipping on alcohol prior to a meal in order to stimulate the appetite.

 Since I attended university in a country with a legal drinking age of 18, nearly every school-sponsored activity involved alcohol. We freshmen grew accustomed to the art of aperitivo quite early; although, ours usually included large bricks of Swiss chocolate – not at all customary at a typical aperitivo. I vividly recall walking through Milan in the early evening and seeing the piazzas flooded with Italians perched at outdoor tables, sipping bright orange cocktails. Spritzes are so commonplace that I now cannot visualize Milan without picturing (and craving) an Aperol spritz. In temperate months, most Italians enjoy aperitivo outside, which is a charming site for tourists from suburbia.

 Thanks to the blog, I now get to impose my culinary quandaries on my family. Most Sundays, Matt and I host our parents – yes, all four of them – for dinner. I usually seize the opportunity to try out a new or challenging dish, and last weekend, I was determined to introduce our parents to aperitivo. 

 Earlier, I explained that aperitivo is not dinner. Now, pretend I didn’t say that. Because I wanted to sample many dishes from the Italian repertoire, I prepared aperitivo dishes specifically for dinner. We loaded up on six different bites and approached the evening with a “tapas-style” mindset.

 To curate my menu, I referred to the Bible, AKA Aperitivo by Marisa Huff. I picked this coffee table/cookbook up on a whim at one of my favorite boutiques and it is now permanently displayed on my island. Seriously, I’m obsessed with this book!* Huff, who receives a glowing recommendation from Joe Bastianich in the foreword, breaks down aperitivo culture, peppering in food and drink recipes and stunning photos. While not a cookbook per se, it’s a great resource for anyone looking to step up their Italian appetizer game. Note that the brilliance of aperitivo, like the rules of eating like an Italian, lies in its ability to be improvised. Most of the staples include sandwiches, crostini, and various veggie dishes that can be altered to taste. While flipping through Huff’s book, I was excited to find a few dishes that reminded me of my own experiences.

*This is not a sponsored post. I freely recommend that you buy this book.

My Aperitivo Table

A Basic Snack: Olives

Almost every aperitivo includes olives, nuts, and, surprisingly, potato chips. I refused to put chips out for our Sunday Dinner, but if you’re a chips person, feel free. I opted to share small bowls of garlic-stuffed green olives.

Healthy Bites

Celery, carrot, and fennel with an olive oil & mustard sauce

The French would call this crudités. I took a page from Huff’s book (literally) and prepared a dish she found at concept cafe 10 Corso Como in Milan. I have been to 10 Corso Como - I included my own photo from 2017 below - so I just had to recreate the dish. Note the bowl of potato chips that accompanied our champagne.

Piemontese roasted eggplant

Eggplant, olive oil, salt, pepper, and a dash of paprika. This was a hit with my meat-loving father-in-law!

The Fun Stuff

Tramezzini with bresaola, arugula, parmigiano reggiano, and Italian-style mayonnaise

A tramezzino is an Italian tea sandwich. The word comes from “tra” and “mezzo,” literally translating to “between” and “half” (halves of the bread). We had a gas station right by our campus - Tamoil - that we would frequent whenever the grocery stores were closed (any day after 6pm or all of Sunday). Most Americans would shudder at the thought of eating in a gas station, except maybe Sheetz, but gas stations in Europe, particularly Italy, are unlike anything we have in the U.S. They’re stocked with fresh food, coffee, and clean bathrooms. (Once, my professor held class at Tamoil and I was served prosecco in a GLASS.) Tamoil’s food wasn’t necessarily gourmet, but their pre-made, plastic-wrapped tramezzini were great in a pinch, and my favorite flavor was bresaola con rucola (or “rocket” as they say in Europe). The sandwiches I made for our dinner took me right back to Lugano.

When I first moved to Switzerland, I was shocked by the amount of mayonnaise in Italian food. Every tramezzino is slathered with mayo, but their mayo tastes less processed than the typical American counterpart. I also found it surprising, even offputting, that tramezzini are made with white bread. Like, Wonder Bread white bread. Huff mentions having the same reaction, but she (and I) eventually came around to accepting the custom. However, I happen to be staunchly pro-crust, and tramezzini are made crustless. Not wanting to waste the best part of the bread, I threw the remains in a food processor and now have homemade breadcrumbs at the ready. Perfect for the next time I make pork or chicken Milanese…

Frittata with parmigiano and arugula - a classic

Eggs, cheese, and greens - a healthy, 10-minute crowd-pleaser. What more can I say?

Crostini with gorgonzola, walnuts, and blue agave

Huff’s book has a helpful guide with suggestions for various types of crostini. Gorgonzola is one of my favorite cheeses because it pairs well with sweet flavors, such as fig spreads or honey. We were out of honey, so Matt added the blue agave drizzle last-minute.

Fried sardines alla Venezia

Matt and I love all seafood. Back in 2018, we began buying our own preserved anchovies (there is a great company, Agostino Recca, that sells preserved Italian fish) and filleting them for snacks. Due to an ordering snafu recently, we were sent sardines instead of anchovies. Thanks to Huff, I finally found a use for them! They are deliciously crispy when fried, but I suggest omitting any extra salt if you’re using preserved sardines rather than fresh.

All of the dishes above, which were happily devoured by my guests, are best enjoyed with an Italian cocktail. Had our dinner taken place in warmer weather, I would have served Aperol spritzes, but a rare mid-march snowstorm left us all craving cozier drinks. Usher in the Negroni, a traditional cocktail of gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari. I prefer mine sbagliato (wrong) - it calls for prosecco instead of gin, while the men of the family drank Boulevardiers, which are bourbon-based. In a few weeks, you’ll find me sipping spritzes - here’s another throwback from my days of jaunting through Milan.

Have you ever hosted aperitivo? Do you have a famous, Italian-inspired cocktail recipe? Let me know in the comments!