Eschew the cocktail fuss with easy autumnal spritz
No-fuss wine spritz
There’s a trend in home cocktailing eschewing fancy ingredients, complicated syrups and homemade tinctures.
Call it an embrace of Italian sprezzatura, coined by 16-century author Baldassare Castiglione in “The Book of the Courtier” as “a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it.” And the cocktail emblematic of the movement? The spritz. Though not exactly related, the spritz and sprezzatura embody the same devil-may-care attitude. Essentially, spritzes are cocktails without the cockiness.
Of course, they’re nothing new. The spritz has been an Italian pre-dinner drink for decades, and drinks writer and author Talia Baiocchi literally wrote the book, called simply “Spritz,” on the drink back in 2016. But as the days grow shorter and times more trying, it’s hard to argue against the utility of the drink, characterized by lighter alcohol content, bubbles (from sparkling wine or water), a base of wine or a liqueur, and a bittering agent, such as amaro. The drink is breezy and can be thrown together in whatever glass you have available, garnish optional.
Futzing around the house one particularly Prep: 1½ Makes: 1 cocktail autumnal day, I wanted an easy drink to keep me company while paying bills, sending off overdue emails to friends and otherwise tidying the house. Not wanting to spend my day in a haze but wanting a little pep in my step, I grabbed some leftover muscadet from the fridge — the remains of a bottle from dinner the night before — and tossed it with a new liqueur from a Midwestern distiller, Apologue. The bright, dry and citrus wine was the perfect contrast to the more floral, syrupy aronia berry spirit, while a generous topping of Topo Chico sparkling water (and its aggressive bubble) lifted the whole shebang. Because I had it lying around, a twist of orange zest added just a bit more aromatic zing.
As long as you have wine, bubbles and bitters, you can essentially always live the spritz life. I mean, my version came together in under two minutes, near-instant gratification.
To spritz is almost as easy as popping open a can of beer. Almost.
Baking isn’t heavy lifting — unless you attempt a slab pie and the slab measures 21 by 15 inches. Then, it demands core strength.
You make this discovery after slicing 15 pounds of apples, rolling 6 pounds of pastry, grinding 2 pounds of crumble and sprinkling 1 pound of sugar. Grasping two corners of the pan, you tug. Hard. Muscling 24 pounds of pie into a hot oven, you learn, is easy — compared with getting it out.
The downside of the 21-inch wide, 400-degree slab pie strikes you — right at T7, mid-thoracic spine. Justin, the physical therapist you later engage, identifies the spot when he prods your back and declares: “Here?” Followed by: “What were you lifting again?”
Justin prescribes stretches and crunches, which you attempt to work, while he and his colleagues plan their weekend of hiking and apple picking, followed by apple-cider doughnuts. It occurs to you that doughnuts, too, feature fall’s best fruit. They’re quick, delicious — and extremely lightweight.
Home on the Range
1 . Mix: 2. Test: 3. Fry: 4. Shake: