Catherine Lewin, founder of New York City-based dinner party shop Big Night, visits the TODAY Food team to share some fun and easy entertaining recipes from her cookbook, “Big Night: Dinners, Parties, and Dinner Parties: A Cookbook,” and share expert tips on how to create a DIY spritz bar. Lewin shows us how to make a customizable spritz sipper with fresh summer tomatoes in salty tonnato sauce, creamy burrata cheese with snap peas and prosciutto, garlicky citrus-marinated olives, and all kinds of amaro.
TODAY has affiliate relationships so we may get a share of the revenue from your purchase. Products are sold by retailers, not TODAY.
DIY Spritz Bar
At this point, we're all familiar with the Aperol Spritz. But what about a Cappelletti Spritz? A Lilletto Spritz? An Averna Spritz? With so many aperitifs that can be made into a delicious spritze, the possibilities for a spritz bar are endless. Here's what you'll need to set up a spritz bar:
- 2-4 different types of amari (which will serve as the base for your spritz)
- Several bottles of high-quality Prosecco (approximately 7 glasses per bottle)
- Plenty of high quality carbonated water
- Lots of ice
- Garnish with Castelvetrano olives and lemon or orange strips.
- An ice bucket to keep the prosecco and seltzer cold (if you don't have one, store it in the fridge)
This is the most glorious DIY moment to kick off any party.
Fresh tomato and salty tonnato sauce
Catherine Lewin
When tomatoes are delicious, like they are in the height of summer, slicing them thickly and seasoning them with salt, pepper and good olive oil is enough for a dish. But there's one way to make them even better: drizzle on a little tonnato, which is Italian for “tuna sauce.” But call it by its Italian name, because “tuna sauce” doesn't do justice to the umami-packed, rich, creamy, bright, tangy combination of tomatoes.
Seasonal Burrata Salad
Catherine Lewin
Good quality burrata cheese is one of those ingredients that demands very little from us. It is perfect in itself, so I am not going to give you another burrata cheese recipe. However, I will use this space to let you know that a couple of balls of burrata cheese, with a few simple toppings, make a foolproof starter. Here are some tips for serving burrata cheese in season.
Garlic and Citrus Marinated Olives – Enjoy Anytime
Catherine Lewin
In our house, olives are a welcome, loved, and treasured addition to any appetizer. Olives are the little black dress of snacks. They suit any occasion and go with anything. All you really need to jazz up a bin of olives from the grocery store is a great container, a drizzle of good olive oil, a few sprinkles of black pepper, and some lemon zest. But if you have a little time and foresight, I recommend marinating your olives.
This recipe is flexible, so don't worry if you run out of ingredients — you could even leave out the cheese altogether — but it's an easy, hearty appetizer, especially with the addition of crusty bread.
Annie Amaro Spritz
Catherine Lewin
Remember this combination: 2, 4, splash. That's amaro, bubbles, and seltzer. Now you'll have the perfect spritz to last you a lifetime. The ingredients list is super short, but all three are really important, as are the ice and the glass.
If you like dinner party friendly recipes, you should also try these.
Chicken Paillard Saltimbocca
Elena Besser
Blueberry Galette
Kayla Huang