Spritz

When I was in Italy, wine was cheaper than water. Seriously, that's not just an expression. A glass of house wine cost 1 euro, while a bottle of water cost 1.50. Which was a nice change from the U.S. where ordering a drink can easily double the cost of your entire meal.
Since wine was so cheap, I often tried a lot of different drinks while in Italy (I mean, when in Rome....) One drink in particular, called 'spritz,' was native to the Veneto region of northern Italy and could be found at nearly every restaurant I went to. It was a light fizzy beverage that became the perfect afternoon drink on a hot day. There were two types: Aperol and Campari, or, more simply, orange and grapefruit. Orange was a lot sweeter, but both were equally delicious.
Unfortunately, spritz is a lot harder to find back in the US. Fortunately, all of the ingredients can be purchased. Which is why this is my new go-to summer drink recipe and the perfect recipe to wow your friends on 4th of July.

To make enough spritz for 4 people, you will need:

1 bottle Aperol (difficult to find, but a grocery store or liquor store with a large selection will probably carry it)

1 bottle prosecco (try to get Conegliano-Valdobbiadene if you can)

1 bottle pellegrino or other sparkling water

4 wine or rock glasses

Start by lining up your ingredients

Starting with the Aperol, then the prosecco, and finally the sparkling water, fill each glass with 1/3 part of each liquid. Add some ice if your beverages aren't already chilled and toss in an orange slice for a garnish if you want to look extra fancy.

See? Isn't that easy?

Perfect for picnics, pool parties, or balcony get-togethers, particularly during the upcoming holiday season. Just put on your fancy pants and get ready to wow everyone with your amazing and exotic cocktail-making ability. Or just wear jeans and a t-shirt and make everyone thing that effortless class just comes naturally to you.
Your choice.

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Exploding Sundaes

Sparklers are my favorite part of 4th of July, and dessert is my favorite part of a great meal. So, it's only natural that I combined sparklers and dessert for this year's Independence Day. This recipe also utilizes Pop Rocks as a topping, so the sundae actually sounds like 4th of July as it crackles and pops while you eat.

I handed these sundaes out to the neighbors as well as my family, and they were a huge hit!

To make them for your own 4th of July party, grab the following ingredients:

Vanilla ice cream
Strawberries
Blueberries
Strawberry topping
Whipped cream
Strawberry Pop Rocks
Sparklers

I guess the sparklers don't really count as ingredients...

First, slice your strawberries and put them in a dish with your blueberries.

Place 2-3 large scoops of ice cream in a serving dish and top with the fruit.

Spoon strawberry sauce over the sundae and top with whipped cream. Then stick a sparkler in the center of each sundae, making sure the part that burns isn't submerged beneath the whipped cream (or else your whipped cream will singe as the burn moves downward).

Finally, grab your Pop Rocks.

It took me so long to find these today! When I tried to ask for them in stores, one clerk even said "Aren't you a little old for those?"

Silly man, Pop Rocks are for every age! Particularly when they're on sundaes.

Pour your Pop Rocks over the sundae, and lean in to hear them popping and exploding.

Finally, light your sparkler and watch it burn. An exploding and interactive dessert to celebrate the birthday of America!

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Independence Day Dinner

Today is America's birthday, which means a lot of drinking and a lot of firepower!

Even more exciting is the fact that my home state, Michigan, just legalized projectile fireworks. From the sound of it outside, my entire neighborhood is aware of this, and has stocked up well for the event.

While my house enjoyed its fair share of sparks and bangs, the smell of roasting chicken was much more prevalent than gunpowder under this roof (well.....until dessert that is...)

4th of July calls for traditional grilling, so my family and I whipped up some beer can chicken and baked sweet potato fries.

Mom popped over to Williams-Sonoma today and fell in love with this roasted chicken rub. I don't blame her - the smell is intoxicating. I truly wish that there was some way to insert smells onto my blog so that everyone else could experience it too. Regardless, it's an excellent flavor rub for traditional beer can chicken.

For those of you who haven't made beer can chicken before, the recipe usually requires balancing the cavity of a raw chicken on top of an open beer can, then placing the whole thing over a grate in a grill. However, Williams-Sonoma tempted my mother again with their 20% off all outdoor grilling supplies, and she decided to up the ante on the usual recipe by purchasing this:

An all-in-one can and grate tray for balancing the chicken. While it may seem a bit unnecessary, the benefit of this tray is that the open cavity can hold any type of alcohol, allowing you to experiment with wines, liquors, etc.

This recipe is super-easy and gives a lot of room for creativity. So, if you're prepared to make some beer can chicken of your own, grab your beer of choice.

In my case, this also meant filling the grate tray with beer.

Then, dredge your chicken with your spice rub (or BBQ sauce) of choice, and place the cavity opening on top of your can/beer holder/etc. You'll probably need help with this, because the chicken can be difficult to pry open and stretch over the can.

Make sure your grill is between 400 and 500 degrees, place your chicken on the inside (be sure to put it on a grate of some sort!).

Close the lid and wait for an hour and a half.

While I was waiting, I decided to whip up some baked sweet potato fries and Sriracha mayonaise.

I got this recipe from the fantastic blogger Karen on The Art of Doing Stuff. I won't even bother explaining the recipe, since she already does such an excellent job of it here.

By this time, your chicken should be done.

Carefully peel the steaming bird off of your can, and set in on a plate. Enjoy salivating over the juicy meet as you and your dinner guests discuss new rubs, sauces, and alcohols that you can try next time.

Dessert was a different matter entirely....

Check out my next post for the recipe!

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