Weekend Cooking...Balance is Everything!

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I think someone drank part of my drink...

Has it been a long week?
Do you need to relax, put your feet up, maybe indulge in a tasty adult beverage.
Well, I have one to suggest to you today.
I am always thinking that I should have a drink. You know, you go someplace, a bar or restaurant and they ask what you would like and I think I should have a clever, interesting drink to order.
A diet Coke really does not cut it.
So in my search, I took the Bro's suggestion to try a drink he likes, the Negroni.
Happily, he had the ingredients and whipped one up for me to taste.

What is the history of this classic drink? Well, according to my friends at Wikipedia..."While the drink's origins are unknown, the most widely reported account is that it was invented in Florence, Italy in 1919, at Caffè Casoni, ex Caffè Giacosa, now called Caffè Cavalli. Count Camillo Negroni invented it by asking the bartender, Fosco Scarselli, to strengthen his favorite cocktail, the Americano, by adding gin rather than the normal soda water. The bartender also added an orange garnish rather than the typical lemon garnish of the Americano to signify that it was a different drink."

Did I mention I am going to Florence in October?
Yes, I am. And when I am there I will have a Negroni.
Maybe two.
But not at the same time. 

It is a simple recipe, one the worse bartender can't screw up.
Gosh, even I could make one! Introducing, the Negroni..

• one ounce gin,
• one ounce Italian sweet vermouth
• one ounce Campari bitters
• orange slice or twist for garnish

Now you have two choices. You can pour all the ingredients in a highball glass with ice, stir and serve. Or..as the Bro made it, pour the ingredients in a shaker, add ice, shake and strain into a cocktail glass, and serve it 'straight up', garnished with an orange slice.

If you don't like gin, you can replace it with tequila and make a Agavoni...

• 3/4 ounce blanco or silver tequila
• 3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
• 3/4 ounce Campari
• 2 dashes orange bitters
• Twist of grapefruit peel, for garnish

or...how about try it with bourbon and make a Boulevardier. Doesn't that sound interesting. The bartender will be looking that one up and good luck in finding it. So you can give him the recipe for the Boulevardier...

• 1 1/2 ounces bourbon
• 1 ounce sweet vermouth
• 1 ounce Campari
• Twist of lemon peel, for garnish

What I love about that drink, according to the Washington Post where I read about it, was that it published in a book called "Barflies and Cocktails,"  written by Harry McElhone in 1927.

The Negroni is usually served as an aperitif. It is not a sweet drink, not at all, especially since the Campari is rather bitter...which is maybe why it is called a bitter! But the vermouth, which is sweet or semi-sweet, helps balance that out. At least in part. Still, it seems to be a drink that people tend to either love...or hate.

You have to admit, it is a lovely color...and sounds classy when you order it! "Hmmm...I'll have a Negroni please!"

"One of the earliest reports of the drink came from Orson Welles in correspondence with the Coshocton Tribune while working in Rome on Cagliostro in 1947, where he described a new drink called the Negroni, "The bitters are excellent for your liver, the gin is bad for you. They balance each other.""

And drinking should be all about the balance.

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This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

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