Kay Plunkett-Hogge is a very noted British food and beverage writer. She is quite British with a lovely Asian twist. She was born and raised in Bangkok in the 1970s, so she began life with an exotic exposure to food and culture that have never left her. She’s worked in the film and fashion industries, but it is her writing that brings her to us today. Aperitivo is her 11th book, if am counting correcting. And this is a very lucky 11.
The book’s subtitle is “Drinks and Snacks for the Dolce Vita.” And she has a further tag line phrase. “Let’s be honest: who doesn’t want to be a little bit Italian?”
I do. I bet you do too.
In Spain they have tapas, hours of drinking and noshing on “little” things before a late dinner. In Italy, it is aperitivo.
The whole idea began in 1786 when Vermouth was created in Turin. That chemical magic has been followed across Italy hundreds of times as further vermouth concepts and then Campari and Aperol and all those other mystical beverages appeared. Beautiful labels and just a vague hint of what lies inside the bottle: “herbs” and “botanicals.” When people drank these spirited spirits, they wanted some food, too, and so the pairing of very Italian alcoholic gems with particular dishes rose and spread.
It was not until the late 19th century when, in the industrial north of Italy, there was an economic base and disposable income to support the final evolution of aperitivo. Now, all across Northern Italy, you will find bars and restaurants offering their specialties.
Much as in Spain, Italian offerings vary from city to city, even street by street. Kay catalogs the key dishes you are likely to find in the major northern cities: Milan, Turin, Rome, Venice, and Florence. There are 80 dishes here ranging over classic antipasti, bread ideas like bruschetta, seafood, meat, vegetable, dairy and eggs. There are even some desserts here, like Lemon Sorbet with Prosecco and Vodka.
You’ll find this book to be a quick, tidy way to fashion appetizers for your own party or just a pleasant end of day celebration. There are old friends here, like Asparagus Spears Wrapped in Cured Beef or Baccala Fish Mouse served or bread or in chicory leaves. Perhaps you’d love to pounce and devour Kay’s Creamy Chicken Livers with Onion and Capers — with just a touch of Marsala.
It’s the new dishes that make this book prominent, dishes Kay has discovered on journeys through Italy or in dining with other culinary artists. Consider these very sumptuous dishes:
Arancini Sicilani: Deep-Fried Risotto Balls Filled with Sicilian Beef Ragu
Funghi Saltati: Sauteed Mushrooms with Basil and Hot Peppers
Insalata Pantesca: Pantelleraian Potato Salad [oregano and capers and olive oil but no mayo!]
Peperoni Ripieni: Baby Peppers Stuffed with Anchovies and Tomatoes
Uova Alla Diavola Calabresi: Hard-Boiled Eggs [filled with sausage and crème fraiche and adorned with fried prosciutto]
For a cocktail party, an arrangement of three or four of Kay’s charming ideas will give you a striking table. There are so many choices here, that if each night you were to pick a different combination of four of them, it would take you a long time before you repeated the combo. How long? Oh, about 103,000 years. So, when I say Kay’s book will last you for a lifetime, I mean it. Culinarily and, yes, mathematically.