Its. So. HOT. I. Don’t. Want. To. Cook….sound familiar? If you, too are screaming this from your kitchen as you read this blog….I feel you. I’m here for you. I’ve got you. Enter: Panzanella -aka- crouton salad, my friends! It’s a breeze to throw together and YOU can decide what summer goodness you’d like to add. As long as you have juicy, sun-ripened tomatoes and “a good olive oil” (as my friend Ina Garten would say) you’re good to go! BTW, fun fact: In Italian, “Pan” means bread and “Zanella” means soup bowl. So bilingual. And another fun fact: we’re using the colors of the Italian flag in this recipe: RED tomatoes, WHITE bread and GREEN basil. So patriotic. As for the cool, refreshing cocktail we paired with the panzanella….well, it took a bit of research but my husband and I were up for the task. We started with the traditional Negroni (gin, sweet vermouth and Campari) After hair sprouted from my chest and my taste buds grew back, I knew we needed to tinker with this drink. We added a thyme simple syrup and topped it with club soda. Instantly the Negroni Spritz was born (much to the horror, I’m sure, of traditional Negroni fan clubs everywhere)

The Ingredients List:

For the Panzanella:

• 1 loaf french/sourdough bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 1/2 lbs very ripe tomatoes (juices reserved)
• 8 oz mini mozzarella balls
• 1 shallot, sliced thinly
• 1 cucumber, sliced lengthwise, seeded and cut thinly
• 1 cup baby arugula
• 1/4 cup basil, julienned
• 3 TBSP red wine vinegar
• 8 TBSP olive oil, dicided
• 3/4 tsp salt, divided
• freshly cracked black pepper

For the Negroni Spritz

• 1 oz gin
• 1 oz Campari
• 1 oz sweet vermouth
• 1 oz thyme simple syrup
• club soda
• orange peel for garnish

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cube loaf of bread and toss with 2 TBSP olive oil and 1/4 tsp salt. Spread evenly on baking sheet, bake for 15-20 until golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.
2. Cut tomatoes into bite-sized pieces, place in colander over a bowl and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 tsp salt. Allow tomatoes to drain, reserve liquid for dressing.
3. Whisk red wine vinegar, remaining olive oil and black pepper into reserved tomato juices, add bread crumbs and coat. Let rest for 5-10 minutes.
4. “Fluff” bread cubes and add remaining ingredients. Serve immediately.

Live Cooking Demo

The Cocktail

The Negroni Spritz – has anyone seen the viral tutorial of Stanley Tucci shaking his own Negroni?? Sounds dirty. Kinda is…but it’s also kinda hot (sorry, producer Ben – aka: my husband) but for real. Stanley is the reason I wanted to try a Negroni in the first place and now that I have, I never need another one. WHEW. Talk about strong. 3 liquors, everyone. THREE. IN ONE GLASS. And apparently….NOT meant to be shaken. Stanley Tucci made it look effortless and sexy but I’m hearing now that the gin, sweet vermouth and Campari should be stirred, not shaken. I say, RULES BE DAMNED. Shaking it made it cold… like, ice cold and palatable, IMO. But what made the Negroni even better for us…. was adding in a homemade thyme simple syrup and toppin’ that puppy with some club soda. SO. REFRESHING. If Stanly Tucci could see me shakin’ my Negroni Spritz, he’d probably be writing about ME on HIS blog. If he has one.

Cocktail Instructions

1. Add 1 oz of gin, sweet vermouth, Campari and thyme simple syrup into a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE
3. Pour into coupe glass, top with club soda and garnish with orange peel

Final Say

This panzanella was SO perfect and satisfying. The bread -with its crispy, toasty golden, crunchy outside and its chewy, warm, flavorful inside. The tomatoes- basically, summer defined in one single taste. The fresh basil from my garden. The creamy, salty mozzarella. Yeah….I’m drooling. It’s a must for when you just simply can’t stand to cook one more meal for your family or friends. OR…for when you want a salad with no greens and an emphasis on bread. Either way. As for the cocktail, we went back one.more.time to try to make it as perfect as can be: nailed it! Ben added a single basil leaf to the cocktail shaker, along with the other ingredients and “shook the snot out of it” (a direct quote) and now we feel confident passing it along to you with a great big CHEERS!