Embittered Negroni

I’ve come to appreciate ice more than ever. I fully realize it’s very much a first-world problem that I just spent a year and four months at a rental property with a refrigerator that didn’t have an ice maker. I didn’t even think to check the refrigerator for one when we first looked at the place. But, it’s made me value my new ice maker all the more. My brand new refrigerator makes cute, little cubes, and it even came with a handy scoop to transfer those cubes to glasses or cocktail shakers. I learned the hard way that cocktail making is a completely different game when you don’t have ice being made automatically in your refrigerator. When I received a review copy of Bitterman's Field Guide to Bitters and Amari, I was excited both to learn about the topic and to get back into the swing of making cocktails. The book does a very good job of explaining what bitters are and their history. Bitters are classified as “non-potable” flavoring agents which means that although they are made with and contain alcohol, they’re not sold as an alcoholic beverage. It’s assumed they won’t be consumed in quantity. Amari are similar in flavor but are considered “potable” and might be served as drinks. The primary flavor of both is bitterness of course, but beyond that there’s a wide spectrum of aromas and flavors to explore. There’s a description of how different commercial bitters are made and recipes for making your own. I was interested to learn that the infusing step when flavoring agents are left in the solvent, or tincturing, only requires about four or five days. Next, there are cocktail recipes for using both homemade and commercial bitters, and many flavors and brands are suggested. Following the drinks, there are recipes for cooking with bitters and ideas for balancing flavors in interesting ways. Last, you’ll find a comprehensive list of specific brands and flavors with tasting notes to get an idea of the intensity of aromas and flavors of what’s available. It was Valentine’s weekend, so I started with a red cocktail, the Embittered Negroni. 

For this version, rather than mixing equal parts gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari, there’s more gin than sweet ingredients and some added bitters. I took the book with me when I headed off in search of bitters since it is a “field guide.” Fee Brothers bitters are easy to locate and they’re reasonably priced. However, that info in the book about how bitters are made revealed that this brand relies on a glycerin base and artificial flavors and colors. Something to keep in mind when cooking with bitters is that the alcohol base will quickly evaporate and take some aromas and flavors with it. Flavors from bitters with a glycerin base will remain even when exposed to heat. But, either way, it’s best to add them at the end of cooking. With all of that in mind, I chose The Bitter Truth brand grapefruit bitters which is made with an alcohol base and is highly aromatic. It was added with gin, Campari, sweet vermouth, and ice in a cocktail shaker and stirred. I poured the cocktails into chilled martini glasses and garnished with orange twists. 

I liked this less-sweet Negroni, and I really liked the world of flavors to discover in these bottles of bitters. I also tried the recipe in the book for a vinaigrette with grapefruit bitters. It pointed up the flavors and sharpened it like nothing else could have. There are endless new possibilities with cooking and cocktail making now. With a selection of bitters and ice at the ready, who knows what I could mix up next. 

Embittered Negroni 
Recipe reprinted with publisher’s permission from Bitterman's Field Guide to Bitters and Amari by Mark Bitterman/Andrews McMeel Publishing. 

Mythology has it that the Negroni sprung like Athena from the head of Count Camillo Negroni in 1919. The no-nonsense count, who found himself in need of something stiffer than an Americano (Campari, sweet red vermouth, and seltzer) asked the kind bartender, Fosco Scarselli, to swap gin for the seltzer, and this gave birth to a cocktail so freakishly delicious it must surely have rumbled Mount Olympus. Tradition has us mix equal parts gin, sweet red vermouth, and Campari. Begging the count’s permission, I lengthen the gin and crop the sweeter ingredients, then throw a bitter bolt of lightning through it to really light things up. The result would have made dear Camillo a god, or at least a marquis. 

2 ounces London dry gin (Plymouth, Beefeater, or Tanqueray) 
3/4 ounce Campari 
3/4 ounce sweet (red) vermouth (Dolin Rouge or Carpano Antica) 
6 dashes grapefruit bitters 
1 orange twist, for garnish 

1. Pour all the ingredients except the orange twist over ice in a chilled mixing glass. 
2. Stir and strain into a martini glass. 
3. Garnish with the orange twist. 

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Scallops with Blood Orange and Campari Granita

I love it when I have an opportunity to plan a dinner party. Choosing each course and beverages, deciding on a dessert, and figuring out how much can be prepared in advance is a fun challenge. Last week, friends who now live in Dublin were in Austin for a visit, and we were excited to invite them for dinner one evening. When your dinner guests happen to do a lot of traveling and happen to know food, it makes menu planning a little more stressful, but I knew we’d have a fun time regardless of the meal. Since I’ve been so interested in The New Spanish Table lately, I chose several things from that book for our menu. First was a sangria made with tempranillo, brandy, and my favorite liqueur Paula’s Texas Orange. Along with tapas of olives, nuts, and Spanish cheeses, I wanted to serve something a little different which was an idea that actually came from the dessert chapter in the book. There is a suggestion to use a blood orange and campari granita with shrimp or scallops, and I was intrigued. There’s a small amount of sugar in the granita, but the blood orange juice and campari made it more tart and fruity than sweet. The idea of a frozen, brightly colored topping on a scallop was something I had to try.

Making the granita was straightforward. I juiced some blood oranges after zesting one of them. The juice and zest were added to one quarter cup of sugar in a saucepan, and the mixture was warmed until the sugar dissolved. It was left to reduce for a few minutes, and then allowed to cool. Once cool, about one-third cup of campari was added. Freezing a granita is easiest in a wide, shallow pie dish. The juice mixture was poured into the dish and placed in the freezer for about an hour before being stirred and scraped. Then, every 30 minutes for the next couple of hours it was scraped and flaked. It takes a little longer to freeze a mixture with alcohol in it, but soon enough it became grainy and icy as it should. Then, I seared large sea scallops and allowed them to cool to room temperature so that the granita topping wouldn’t melt instantly. I topped each scallop with a little scoop of granita and some chopped cilantro.

The bitterness of blood orange and campari balanced the sweetness well and mingled nicely with the mild flavor of scallops. Next time, I might sear the scallops earlier and even chill them a bit before topping them with granita since it did melt more quickly than I would have liked. The bright orange color of the frozen granules was as pretty as can be, and it was a fun play on sweet and savory expectations. There was more to come after the tapas, and I’ll show the rest of the meal in upcoming posts.

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