A glass of sweet red vermouth with an orange slice or twist was long a fashionable apéritíf for café society*. In Barcelona today, vermouth and tapas are a hot duo after mass, both at home and at the vermuterías that have popped up to serve them.

Today’s tip is to try a bit of café society at home. Turn it into a brunch or cocktail party with tapas. Use the occasion to get to know vermouth, trying the different styles.

You don’t have to try them all in one day. We’ve turned our monthly Sunday friends-and-family brunch into a vermouth and tapas event, trying different vermouths and tapas each week. So it doesn’t get burdensome, participants are assigned to bring a bottle (for those who don’t cook) and a variety of tapas (for those who do).

> Check out the tapas below, and have a great time!

> National Vermouth Day is March 21st.

> World Tapas Day is the third Thursday of June.

> The year’s 49 cocktail holidays.

> The year’s 11 Spanish food holidays celebrated in the U.S.
 
 
A BRIEF HISTORY OF VERMOUTH

Vermouth evolved from a 16th-century practice in Northern Italy and Germany, where apothecaries would blend extracts of herbs and roots with wine and brandy. This was the way to make bitter medicines more palatable. (Virtually all spirits were first developed for medicinal reasons.)

The original recipe for red vermouth, and possibly even the name “vermuth,” was invented in Torino, Italy in 1786 by Antonio Benedetto Carpano. The red vermouths of subsequent producers like Cinzano were based on Carpano. Carpano is still a major brand in Italy, perhaps best known today in the U.S. for its Punt e Mes (“Point And A Half”), a sweet and bitter style.

In the late 19th century, bartenders began to make cocktails with vermouth. The Manhattan and Negroni, made with sweet vermouth, and the Martini, made with dry vermouth, are three that remain popular today. A plain glass of sweet vermouth is still enjoyed as an apéritif in Italy, France, and Spain, the three largest producing countries.

[1] An apéritif of red vermouth (photos #1 and #3 © Foods From Spain).

[2] A selection of delicious tapas (photo © Maddi Bazzocco | Unsplash).

While many vermouths are regional and not imported, familiar names in the U.S. include:

 
Other countries have gotten on the vermouth bandwagon. There are a number of American brands (Atsby, Gallo, Imbue, Ransom, Sutton Cellars, Vya from Quady), along with vermouths from Australia, Germany and elsewhere.

> Here’s more about vermouth.

[3] Trade the Mimosa and omelet brunch for vermouth with tortilla española and other tapas.

[4] Boquerones, white Spanish anchovies. Boquerones and anchovies are the same types of fish, but anchovies are heavily salted and boquerones are not (photo © Pasta Eater | NYC).

In Barcelona, the trendy food capital of Europe, vermouth is now the midday fashion on weekends.

It’s called “la hora del vermout” (vermouth hour, after “cocktail hour”): good food and drink, good conversation, a good time hanging out with friends and family.

It’s easy to create your own “la hora del vermout” for brunch or an all-vermouth-and-tapas cocktail party.
 
 
EASY TAPAS

 
For brunch, add a green salad, with fruit salad for dessert (you can marinate the fruits in a bit of sweet vermouth or orange liqueur). If someone wants to make flan, by all means!

Here’s what the menu at a tapas bar looks like.

We promise, you’ll love this new approach to brunch and/or cocktails.

Many Americans recoil at the thought of anchovies, tough, bristly and way too salty. But these are cheap anchovies, typically served by diners and pizzerias. You must try fine Spanish anchovies—practically another species.

Tender Spanish anchovies and boquerones, white anchovies, are imported canned and available fresh in May and June.

They are a classic Spanish tapa. Boquerones are lightly pickled in vinegar and olive oil. Lightly salted and smoked anchovies are only distantly related to the over-salted anchovies too many of us have had.

They are truly delicious, typically served with bread and butter.

Try them: La Tienda is an importer of fine Spanish foods, and the photos of anchovies on their website will change your mind, even before the first bite.
 
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*Café society was the precursor of the jet set, and what more recently has been called the “beautiful people.” Beginning in the late 19th century, these wealthy individuals and celebrities gathered in fashionable cafés and restaurants in New York, Paris, and London. As a social group, they attended each others’ private dinners and balls, vacationed at the same elegant resorts, and so forth. In New York City, café society would hang out at El Morocco, the 21 Club and the Stork Club. American journalist Lucius Beebe (1902-1966) is generally credited with creating the term “café society” in his weekly column in the New York Herald Tribune, which ran in the 1920s and 1930s.
 
 

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For a long time, National Lobster Day was celebrated on June 15th. But according to The Boston Globe, on August 5th, National Lobster Day was officially declared by Congress to take place on September 25th.

Sponsored by Senator Angus King of Maine, the resolution was agreed to “without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent.”

Maine is the largest lobster-producing region in the world, and lobstering is a multi-generational family tradition. There are no corporate fleets, but independent lobster boat owners and more than 5,600 independent lobstermen who work on the boats (the women are also called lobstermen).

Lobstering is an important component of the state’s economy, and care is taken to keep it that way.
 
 
MAINE LOBSTERS ARE SUSTAINABLE

Maine lobstermen were committed to sustainability and traceability long before it was fashionable. The industry’s 150 years of responsible fishing practices have earned it the Marine Stewardship Council’s sustainable seafood certification.

Just-caught lobsters at the dock. Photo courtesy Lobsters From Maine.

A new generation of modern chefs has added excitement to lobster meals, by trading the conventional boiled or broiled lobster with drawn butter for more modern flavor pairings: cilantro, ginger, honey and wasabi, for example. Classic dishes like Lobster Thermidor have given way to the far more popular Lobster Mac and Cheese.

Now, what about the wine?

As with many dishes, and especially fish and seafood, the type of wine is best matched to the preparation. Thanks to Lobster From Maine for some of these suggestions, which we merged with our own.

 
Maine Lobster Trivia

 
Here’s more lobster trivia.

We saw this dessert on the Facebook page of Distilled NY in Manhattan’s TriBeCa neighborhood, and decided it was an American version of the Eton Mess. We nicknamed it the Mounds Mess, because it combines coconut and chocolate.

Chef Shane Lyons of Distilled NY creates his “Mess” with brownie brittle, chocolate pudding, frozen coconut marshmallows and coconut macaroons.

We did a version with brownie strips, coconut ice cream, French meringues and mascarpone; and, because we have a slight preference for Almond Joy, we tossed in some toasted almonds.

 
And what about an Almond Joy Mess? Add an almond component:

 
Want to get fancy? Layer your mess in a glass bowl, like a trifle. It will become a mess when you scoop it onto plates.

For quick citrus peel garnishes, get a channel peeler (a.k.a. channel knife), an inexpensive kitchen gadget. (The channel peeler in the photo below is on sale for less than $6.)

The channel knife was originally devised so that bartenders could easily peel citrus strips for cocktails. You can use the citrus peel—grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange—to make garnishes for everything you serve.

 
Beyond citrus, you can cut strips from any firm fruit or vegetable: apples, cucumbers, zucchini, etc. The thin strands can be used to garnish anything, including:

 
 
MORE WAYS TO USE THE PEEL

 
Longer strands can be knotted into fancy garnish, as in the photo above, a Cosmo from Bar Boulud in Boston.

Extra peel can be frozen. Here’s more on zesting peel.

And the next time someone requests a cup of tea with lemon, add a tablespoon of lemon peel instead.

[1] A channel peeler or channel knife (photo © 1EasyLife.

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Serve it as a palate cleanser between fish and meat courses at a dinner party, or right before the turkey or ham course at Thanksgiving.

Sorbet is our favorite light dessert. For a fancier dessert, serve it in a pavlova (a meringue cup) with berries, or with diced fall fruits marinated in liqueur.

Find more apple-licious recipes at USApple.org.
 
 
RECIPE: APPLE CIDER-POMEGRANATE SORBET

Ingredients For 6 Servings

Refreshing as a palate cleanser or dessert. Photo courtesy US Apple.

1. STIR together the juices, sugar, cinnamon stick, and salt in a medium saucepan over high heat. Boil for 5 minutes, then transfer to a large bowl.

2. REMOVE the cinnamon stick, stir in the lemon juice, cover and chill in the refrigerator until cold.

3. FREEZE the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze an additional 2 hours or longer.