What to Drink with Brunch

Here at Grapes With Dinner we are "brunch people".  Okay, it could also be said that
we're breakfast, lunch, dinner people, and anything in between people, but we really
do enjoy us a good brunch.  Brunch should also no longer be quarantined to Sundays
in our opinion, either.  Friday, Saturday, any given Monday holiday, this wonderful
hybrid meal should be enjoyed as often as possible, particularly as it offers the
loop hole on the "you shouldn't drink before noon" rule.

If you find yourself wanting to break out of the standard brunch cocktail rut, an
Aperol Spritz may be just what you need.  In my "real job" I am part of a task force
surrounding new initiatives and have counterparts based in both London and Tokyo
that I collaborate with on the regular for these projects.  It makes the "what did
you do this past weekend?" question much more interesting to say the least.  As a
matter of fact, this post was inspired by said London colleague who was off on a
long weekend to Tuscany with her boyfriend recently.  While I heart New England and
all of it's rustic charm, a long weekend in, say Maine, doesn't quite have the same
ring as a weekend in the heart of food and wine country.  She sent me pics of some
of the food and drinks they had while there and it reminded me of the classic Aperol
Spritz.  I had had it a few times before but not recently and I almost let myself
forget how good (and easy to make) it is!  Shame
on me!

For those that don't know, Aperol is an Italian apertif similar in taste but with
about half of the alcohol content of Campari.  An apertif by definition is a drink
served before dinner as a means to stimulate appetites.  With its' bitter orange and
rhubarb ingredients we feel the flavor profile of Aperol makes for a wonderful mixer
to balance out the sweet of something else that can be enjoyed right through the
meal as well!  You don't need a lot to make a drink so a bottle will last you (i.e.
you shouldn't find yourself coming home from a long day of work and sticking a straw
in the bottle to start sucking it down, it ain't that kind of party folks).

I made myself this concoction last weekend as I was enjoying my solo brunch at home
while writing.  I loosely scrambled up two eggs with local cheddar and herbs and
toasted some brioche to go with.  Herbs in eggs are the easiest way to jazz up the
ordinary and is an often overlooked step when cooking at home.  I usually have some
basil and rosemary at the very least on hand, but this day I had some leftover flat
leaf parsley and oregano from stock I made the day before, so I threw that in there
as well.  Combined with the GOOD local cheddar it was heaven.  Yes people, do
yourself a favor and understand the difference between quality, local cheddar and
the not so great stuff you get in those resealable store packages.  It tastes
better, it melts better and frankly you don't need to use as much, so you can
reconcile your budget conscious left side with that if price is an issue.

Here goes the recipe, for you to make at home or tell your bartender about at your
next brunch spot.

3 parts Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine)
2 parts Aperol
1 part club soda or seltzer (I used a Mandarin seltzer with mine, lovely)
Serve over ice and garnish with a big old orange slice

Cheers!

Trish  (stay tuned for Dave's big 30th birthday post this week!)