Negroni For You by the Careless Drinker

 

Negroni For You

 

There are too many cocktails to count and new ones keep popping up.  I usually stick with the tried and true, but there are exceptions. Lately, I came across one that attracted me. Maybe it was the way she held her glass, or the sweet smile and the color of her eyes……no, wait a second, that must have been after my second cocktail. But, that doesn’t really matter because she sure as hell wasn’t smiling at me. She must have been old enough to drink, maybe. At least I thought so, and the four guys surrounding her, who could have been male models straight out of GQ, thought so.

 

But, let me step out of my dreams of long ago and get to telling you about my new favorite cocktail, the Negroni.  Best I’ve been able to find out, the Negroni came from Florence, Italy and got popular in the 1940s or 50s.  But, others swear it came from France in the 1920s. 

 

Who cares?  What’s important is it’s very popular in my house, as of last night.

 

Easy to make. Hard to resist.

 

Simple: Equal parts gin, red vermouth, and Campari, tossed in an ice shaker,  poured in your favorite cocktail glass, and then add a twist of your favorite citrus.  I favor orange peel, squeezed.  

 

I’m also particular about which gin (Plymouth, the best gin since 1793, England) and which vermouth (Martini & Rossi, 1863, Italy), not to forget the world’s best aperitivo (Campari, 1860, by Gaspare Campari, Milan, Italy).

 

See, the Careless Drinker likes to know what he’s drinking and where it came from and why he’s drinking…..although he sometimes forgets the latter. Still, he always remembers the smiles and the eyes, and the long gone years when they were directed at him.

 

Cheers! Prost! Salut! Chin-Chin! À votre santé!

 

 

 

Beans and Fennel and Sardines

 

Sound delectable?  Well it should because The Careless Cook is making it. But, my three longtime fans also know, that with any recipe from The Careless Cook, you’re encouraged to make your own changes from a of this to a little of that, on the journey to satisfying your own tastebuds. Allow whatever you fancy or don’t  fancy lead you to the culinary Valhalla of your dreams. 

 

Let’s take sardines for example. Some folks just don’t like ‘em. So, if you’re one of those unfortunates, change the recipe! 

 

Don’t toss the whole recipe!  Are you mad? Toss one heck of a recipe? 

 

Leave out the sardines, or use another fish or shellfish or meat, or go vegan and disappoint everyone in your family above the age of thirty-five.

 

But, I’m telling you, this simple soup or stew, depending on how soupy you make it, is filled with flavor that will haunt your dreams and make you yearn for just one more bowl full. 

 

Let me see…..where was I…..oh yea, it goes well with white wine, which is also in the recipe. And remember, even if you’re not an alcohol fan, the alcohol disappears in the cooking, but the flavor hangs on!

 

Beans and Fennel with Sardines

 

Ingredients

 

1 fennel bulb (cut off the stalks and fronds or use them. I don’t use ‘em.)

 

1 Lemon halved, with one half sliced thinly, seeds discarded. Save the other half.

 

¼ cup olive oil (extra-virgin? Never met one of those.)

 

2 medium shallots, thinly sliced.

 

6 garlic (or more) peeled and thinly sliced, or just bash the hell out of them.

 

Italian spice to taste (I use The Spice Lab Italian Rustico, a couple of tablespoons)

Any other fresh spices your tastebuds yearn for (I used chopped fresh rosemary from my garden)

 

2 or more chicken Andouille sausages sliced (I used two)

 

½ teaspoon (or more) crushed red pepper flakes

 

¼ cup dry white wine (I didn’t measure, just sloshed some.)

 

6 cups low sodium chicken broth

 

2  15.5 oz cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

 

1 4.4-oz tin of sardines

 

Chopped parsley or cilantro  (I use cilantro…always)

 

Puttin’ It Together

 

1. Slice the fennel into bite sized slivers

2. Heat the oil to medium hot in a large pot. Toss in fennel, shallots, garlic, all the herbs, lemon slices, sliced sausage, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the lemon slices are soft or have brown spots. Remove them, but save them.

3. Add wine and cook until partially reduced, a minute or two.

4. Add the broth and bring to a boil.

5. Reduce heat to medium.

6. Simmer and stir occasionally until fennel is soft.

7. Add the beans and simmer about 10 minutes.

8. Open and drain the sardines and squeeze the juice from the remaining half of lemon over the sardines. Give them a few. Minutes.

  

9. Meanwhile, Stir in the parsley/cilantro.

10. Serve topped with the saved lemon slices.

 

Now it’s time to put the rest of the bottle of white wine to good use. Cheers!