Hiya!
We’re officially in the dog days of summer and now’s the time to soak it all up while we still can!! I love the European tradition of having a little snack and drink before dinner, known as apéro in France and aperitivo in Italy. Think of it as the chic cousin to America’s happy hour. For ease, I’ll be using apéro for this newsletter! Sometimes, apéro continues long past sunset and becomes the main event of the evening.
I think the best parts about apéro are of course the snacks, the drinks, and creating a chic n fun moment for yourself and your friends. It’s an excuse to get together without the pressure of creating a whole dinner, but can still be super special. This is the time to bring out your trays, your prettiest linens and make it cute! The other great thing is that apéro should feel relaxed, easy and unstressful! Here are my tips and tricks to make it so…
LE MENU
I love the inherent hi-low appeal of apéro. You can keep it super simple and serve potato chips, olives and Marcona almonds or do as my very chic friend/apéro queen Arielle does and bust out a tin of caviar with blinis, chives and creme fraiche. Both are correct! Or have a few bigger dishes to tide you over/serve as a snacky dinner. Whatever you decide, it should be easy and simple to prepare. This is supposed to be a fun and chill experience for all, including the hosts! Here are some of my favorites:
Prosciutto e Melone: Pretty self explanatory, but a classic for a reason! If you’re in LA, pick up a gorgeous Weiser melon from the farmer’s market or a nice ripe cantaloupe. Slice into wedges, remove the skin and wrap with the thinnest prosciutto you can find. I also leave a few melon wedges without prosciutto for veg friends. Place a nice leaf of basil on each melon, maybe a crack or two of black pepper et voila! This is also amazing with figs instead of melons.
Tomato, Peach and Burrata Salad: When the tomatoes are this good, you can’t go wrong! I like making a huge platter of this with beautiful big red heirloom tomatoes from the farmers market and sliced peaches or nectarines. The key here is to salt your tomato slices, it just makes the tomato flavor pop even more! I cover the plate in slices, you can alternate tomato, peach or you can do a swirl pattern. Then I place a nice ball of burrata in the center or you can tear apart some fresh mozzarella and place pieces of cheese around the plate, makes it easier to serve. Sprinkle a little fresh basil, ground black pepper, salt and very good olive oil. Think more is more here! Abbondanza! This is also a lovely dish to bring to a friend’s house for dinner.
Frittata: We love a frittata in this house because it’s so versatile, feeds a crowd and works for any time of the day! I like frittata for apéro because you can make it ahead of time and serve at room temp. My favorite recipe is by my buddy Nik Westman who is a private chef in the Hamptons. He uses potatoes, zucchini, onions and parmesan which is a great place to start. Again, make sure you season the egg mixture with s+p before you cook it! Feel free to use whatever veg/cheese you have on hand, I love to add cherry tomatoes, squash blossoms, swiss chard, mozzarella, even leftover roasted cabbage. Cover it in fresh dill, cilanto, basil, parsley and of course serve with hot sauce.
Sungold Tomato Confit: I always rejoice when confit SZN hits! This is a big staple in my summer repertoire and couldn’t be easier. Grab a pint of sungold or cherry tomatoes and place them in a baking dish along with at least 3 cloves of garlic. Pour a generous amount of olive oil into the dish, so that the tomatoes are just about halfway submerged in oil. Add a hefty pinch of salt, chili flakes and a sprig or two of rosemary. Let them cook low and slow in an oven at 300° for about an hour. The result is so sweet and addictively good! Serve with ricotta on toast or as an accoutrement on a cheese board. Here’s a vid on how it’s done!
Caponata: I made this the other night after being inspired by some caponata we had in Puglia. Aboslutely delicious and so easy. This version leaves out the raisins because I like it better without! This will serve 4 generous portions to be eaten on its own, with a baguette and it’s even better the next day over rice.
1-2 medium sized eggplants, chopped into 1in cubes and salted for 20 mins
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 small red bell peppers, cored and chopped into 1in cubes
1 fennel, chopped into 1in cubes
2 cups of crushed tomatoes
2 tbs capers
2 tbs olives
2 tbs pinenuts, toasted
1 tsp honey
a splash of dry white or rosé wine
chili flakes, optional
torn basil to garnish
Roast eggplant with olive oil on a baking sheet in the oven at 400° for 30 mins or until golden brown. In the meantime, use a dutch oven and cook onions, bell pepper and fennel until soft, about 15 mins. Season with chili flakes, S+P. Add capers, olives, tomatoes, honey and splash of wine, let cook down adding eggplant when ready. Finally top with pinenuts, basil and olive oil.
LE DRINKS
I love to kick things off with something bubbly. Now a shameless plug for my wine, Lorenza which happens to be the perfect choice for all things apéro especially our Rosé Bubbly or Sparkling Picpoul. Use code AMUSEBOUCHE15 for a lil discount just for readers.
You could also do a spritz of some sort! We discovered this delicious amaro at Charter Oak in St Helena, then found it in Puglia! It’s very refreshing in a glass over ice, plus a lil sparkling wine and club soda. Garnish with a slice of orange or a couple Castlevetrano olives. Santé!
Set up a little moment on a silver tray with glassware, an ice bucket and drink making fixings, cocktail napkins etc.
LA TABLE
I think apéro is all about simple pleasures beautifully presented. This is the time to romanticize your life! Pretend you’re in France or Italy! Pull out your prettiest linens… I’m still in a stripey summer mood - J’adore this yellow and this blue. Source yourself a silver tray at a local antique shop, etsy or go for the gold standard in pewter from Match. Or ask your mother in law if she has any of her vintage ones lying around, that’s what I did! I like to use a big pitcher for flowers and usually stick to one variety per vessel. Dahlia’s are popping right now or of course sunflowers are always great. Use some whimsical small plates - I love my mushroom ones from Platera. These beautiful plates are in my cart in both pink and blue. I love serving snacks in little nesting bowls. I have those exact ones and use them allll the time! So cute and can’t beat the price. As for platters, of course forever obsessed with Ginori, but as an alternative these harlequin painted ones are fab n fun.
LE VIBES
I think it’s cute to have dominos, backgammon or a deck of cards on hand just in case someone wants to play! Apéro is the perfect time to slow down and do something just for fun! I made this lil playlist for you to set the mood! Enjoy!
I hope you are inspired to invite some friends over and soak in these precious moments and enjoy the perfect produce. Thanks so much for reading. I’m going to be on an Olympic comedown after this weekend, but how fun was that! Just obsessed with these athletes and their stories. Check out these incredible photos by Robbie Lawrence for Time. Already can’t wait for next Olympics, but am wondering how the hell LA is going to compare to Paris for the 2028 games. We shall see! Until next week… If you have any requests for future posts, LMK in the comments!
Bisous,
Michèle
P.S. If you make a purchase using the links above, I may make a commission. Merci!
In case you missed it…
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Inspo!!!! Love this spread