Mezzetta - In the Napa Valley

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It is said to be good luck to garnish a martini with three olives to represent peace, love and harmony—precisely what a properly made martini should deliver.

Tips

Martini Tips

Make more out of your martinis by adding a little Mezzetta! We make a wonderful selection of olives, including our classic Martini Olives with Stuffed Pimento (a cult fave among aficionados), that will jazz up your drink. For the more adventurous garnish, how about a peperoncini? For martini-making tips and more, read on.

Today's martini recipes are based on this basic "formula": two and one half ounces of gin or vodka to a half ounce of dry vermouth. These martini recipe basics are shaken with crushed ice and then strained into a chilled cocktail glass.

Genuine martini recipes always specify that the drink be served "straight up" (without ice) and never "on the rocks." Most martini recipes call for garnishing the drink with an olive. Unlike olives used in cooking which may be packed in oil, olives for martinis are usually preserved in brine. The chief advantage of an olive is that it adds salt to the drink, and salt makes alcohol taste smoother and milder. (Think about that salt-rimmed Margarita!) A twist (lemon rind) may also be part of the presentation. Other martini recipes call for cocktail onions, in which case the martini is called a "Gibson".

Although Mezzetta makes classic Martini Olives (Spanish Queen Olives stuffed with Pimento and packed in Vermouth—aaaah!), we invite you to experiment with some of our other specialties. Here are some of our favorites:

Jalapeño Stuffed Olives, Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives, Garlic Stuffed Olives, Applewood Smoked Olives, Colossal Sicilian Spiced Olives

Spicy Martinis

To add extra zip to your Martinis, use pepper-flavored vodka and the following garnishes threaded 1-2-3 on a cocktail pick:

• 1. Golden Greek Peperoncini
  2. Colossal Spiced Sicilian Olive
  3. Sweet Cherry Pepper
• 1. Hot Cherry Pepper
  2. Garlic Stuffed Olive
  3. Golden Greek Peperoncini
• 1. Applewood Smoked Olive
  2. Cocktail Onion
  3. Sweet Cherry Pepper
• 1. Garlic Stuffed Olive
  2. Hot Chili Peppers
  3. Jalapeño Stuffed Olive

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Picnic Tips

What’s better than dining outdoors? For a magnificent meal on-the-go, we’ve put together some helpful tips. Remember to include lots of Mezzetta products—they’re always ready to toss in a picnic basket to add flavor to your alfresco feasts.

Picnic supply checklist:

• Placemats (Don’t need to be ironed and won’t blow away)
• Blanket (If you’re not using a picnic table)
• Cheap and colorful cutlery and dinnerware from your favorite discount store
• Salt, Pepper
• Deli Dish Olives, Mezzetta Peperoncinis, Roasted Red Peppers, Tamed Sliced Jalapeños or any of your other favorite ready-to-go Mezzetta products
• Corkscrew
• "Jelly Jar" wine glasses (stemless wine glasses or the short, café kind you would drink juice from—less likely to break)
• Cutting Board
• Serrated Bread Knife
• Cheese knife set
• Dish Towels
• Bags (reuse grocery bags for trash and dirty dishes)

Here are some of our favorite Mezzetta recipes for your picnicking pleasure:

• Muffaletta Sandwich
• Roasted Red Pepper, Goat Cheese and Baby Arugula Paninis
• Horseradish Deviled Eggs
• Mediterranean Pasta Salad