Donatella Arpaia (R) and Alison Blackman at DBar
She may be very pregnant, about a month away from giving birth, but beautiful and talented, celebrity chef Donatella Arpaia, literally glowed as she walked into DBar last night, to promote her new venture with Italian winemaker, MARTINI. For the few who don’t know her, Arpaia is an attorney turned restaurateur and chef, as well as a television personality whose face is familiar to millions through the Food Network. She is a regular judge on The Food Network’s Iron Chef America and The Next Iron Chef, and is a guest on many other television shows. She opened her first restaurant, Bellini in 1998. Her other restaurants include davidburke & donatella. In mid-2009, Arpaia, along with Michael Psilakis opened her first restaurant outside of NYC called Eos, in Miami’s Viceroy Hotel
Arpaia will utilize the Martini’s collection of wines, to inspire men and women to incorporate glamour and style into their love for food and wine. By creating signature recipes, offering simple-yet-sophisticated pairing suggestions and sharing tips on how to set the stage for the perfect gathering, Arpaia will teach a modern way to entertain and celebrate with friends and family. “Easy entertaining is all about finding great partners,” said Arpaia. “For me, MARTINI is one of those partners. It’s like the ‘little black dress’ of the wine world – it always makes you look good.”
MARTINI offers a lovely trio of sparkling wines, including a naturally sweet Asti, a pretty, Sparkling Rose and a crisp Proseco, plus a new wine introduced just this summer, a Moscato d’Asti. This particular wine has about half the carbonation as a traditional, sparkling wine, making it an ideal mixer (see recipes, below). The deep yellow wine is crisp with light acidity. This white wine uses 100% Moscato Bianca grapes, from the Piedmont region of Northern Italy.
Editors and guests enjoyed several signature cocktails, including, the “Donatella” cocktail, the combo of Martini Prosecco and Martini Bianco, along with Grey Goose Vodka plus, cucumber, basil and lemon juice, and a whole baby tomato as garnish. It is the drink to order when you’re at Donatella’s restaurant.
The Donatella:
3 ounces MARTINI Prosecco
¾ ounces of GREY GOOSE
½ ounce of MARTINI Bianco
3 slices cucumber
1 basil leaf
1 large cherry tomato
½ ounce of lemon juice
½ ounce of simple syrup
Garnish: Compari Tomato
In a cocktail shaker place all ingredients. Muddle gently. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a tall glass. Top with Prosecco. Add garnish.
…speaking of which, the sampling of Donatella’s nibbles, including pizza, meatballs, and skewers of fresh mozzarella cheese with tomato and basil perfectly complimented all of the drinks based on Martini wines, as well as mini-sized bottles of the sparkling rose, bringing home the point that Italian wines, especially the MARTINI brand wines, are great choices for entertaining during the rest of the Summer, and way beyond. Whether the food you’re serving is sweet or savory, there’s a great wine to go with it and actually, enhance the flavors of the food.
For more information on MARTINI visit their official website
For more information on Grey Goose and Bacardi, visit their official website
For more information on Donatella Resturant, visit the official website
If you want to try some fun drinks using MARTINI Moscato d’Asti, here are two to get your started:
MARTINI Moscatini:
3 parts MARTINI Moscato d’Asti
1 part Grey Goose Vodka
fill a mixer with ice and pour int the Moscato d’Asti and vodka. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
MARTINI Dolce La Poire
3 parts MARTINI Moscato d’Asti
1 part Grey Goose La Poire flavored Vodka
Squeeze of fresh lemon
Shake ingredients with Ice and strain into a tall glass filled with ice. Garnish with a slice of fresh pear or lemon wedge
