Memorial Day weekend, the weather’s cooperating in spectacular fashion (how often does this happen?), and in honor of the arrival of the summer season, Kris and I are sampling some Mediterranean delights – specifically two Italian liqueurs, GranGala Triple Orange Liquor and Limoncé Limoncello.

The GranGala was a perfect compliment to more complex cocktails, and also made a nice sipper on the rocks.  And besides being a fine digestivo, I found that mixed with a bit of sparkling Pellegrino, it made a pleasant, light, slightly sweet companion for the pan seared center cut pork chops topped with freshly sautéed garlic, onion olive oil and tomato we had for dinner the other night. 

The Limoncé on the other hand was just too sweet for me – unless a subordinate ingredient in a cocktail.  Bear in mind that limoncello is supposed to be quite sweet, and also that this evaluation is coming from someone whose standby drinks are extra dry gin martinis and smoky single-malt Scotch whiskey.  Compared, however, to the Petrone Limoncello that Kris’s mom brought back for us from a recent trip to Italy, the Limoncé was rounder and softer, missing a slight bite I’d liked in the Petrone.  Kris preferred the smoothness of the Limoncé, however, and she has a better developed palate for sweets than I do.

But no matter where you particular tastes lean, as we ease into the season of warm breezes tossing the leaves in the backyard trees and the smell of charcoal smoke wafting from the grill, I recommend mixing up your cocktail choices.  It’s easy to fall back on old favorites, but variety is the season that gives your culinary and cocktail culture its savor, and it will reignite affection for your old favorites by helping you see them in new ways.

Here are two cool summer-season recipes for use with Limoncé’s (or Petrone’s) Limoncello and  GranGala Triple Orange:

The Amalfi

• 1 ½ oz Citron Vodka
• ½ oz Limoncé Limoncello
• ½ oz Fresh Lime Juice
• 2 sprigs Lemon Thyme (substitute regular thyme if you have to)
• Splash of Yuzu juice (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice.  Shake well.  Strain and pour into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a sprig of thyme.

Sangria Naranja

• 1 (750 ml) bottle of fruity red or white wine
• 1/2 cup GranGala Triple
• 1/3 cup Stock ’84 V.S.O.P. Brandy
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 orange, sliced into rounds
• 1 pear or apple, cored and cut unto thin widges
• ¼ cup white sugar

Cut orange in half.  Using a vegetable peeler, cut off the thin outer peel of the orange half, avoiding the bitter pith. Slide the other half of the orange and use for a garnish.  In a bowl, mash the sugar and orange peel.  Stir in all remaining ingredients, cover and chill for 8-24 hours.  Remove ornage peel and bay leaves.  Serve in a pitcher garnished with orange slices and fruits.

When I describe Sunday fundays I often get a quizzical look from the person I’m talking to. Why would you want to do that? It doesn’t sound like much fun to me.

Sunday fundays are not for the weak at heart or the old at mind.

It’s kind of like making the perfect cocktail.

Gather up a group of your wildest and crazy friends (preferably ones who don’t have to work in the morning on Monday; bartenders are a great addition).

Add booze. (Anything and everything will do.)

Shake.

Try not to end the night in the hospital or in jail.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not promoting excessive drinking. In fact, if your group is wild enough you don’t even need the alcohol. It’s just that I work hard and so I play even harder.

A successful night is one that’s full of crazy stories, lots of fun and everyone getting home safely.

But Sunday funday has to start off somewhere, and for me, that usually means a good Bloody Mary or mimosa – especially if Saturday night was a little crazy.

I have several friends who won’t touch Bloody Mary’s and others who won’t touch mimosas.

One of my roommates can’t stand champagne. Another friend says the mix of champagne and OJ is too weak and would much rather suck down a screwdriver.

So I gathered up a group to try bubbles ’n’ blue.

What’s in a bubbles ’n’ blue?

Hpnotiq and champagne. Hpnotiq is a blend of vodka, juice and cognac. It’s something a little stronger and with a little more flavor to cover up the taste of the champagne.

The champagne hater said it was much better than a mimosa, but it was too sweet for the morning. Three out of four of us thought the same thing: This drink was way too sweet for a morning drink.

As a matter of fact, I got a resounding “Yuck” from my friend who prefers screwdrivers.

But one of my friends would have liked it a little sweeter.

This is your drink if you like amaretto or midori sours or if you are big on flavored martinis.

Here’s the recipe:

2 oz. of Hpnotiq

2 oz. of champagne

Mix and pour into a flute.

Now sit back, relax and enjoy your Sunday.

I’ll come right out and admit I don’t know much about wine. I know it’s good to experiment, so I’m starting from scratch.

So when I heard about a wine that tells you what to pair it with, I was sold.

Wine That Loves comes in five varieties. It’s currently not available in New Hampshire, so I hopped across the border to a shop in Pepperell to check it out. I walk in, and just a couple steps from the door, straight ahead, was a huge display for the wines.

The names of the wines immediately give away which wine goes with which food:

- Wine That Loves Roasted Chicken.

- Wine That Loves Grilled Steak.

- Wine That Loves Pizza.

- Wine That Loves Pasta with Tomato Sauce.

- Wine That Loves Grilled Salmon.

They are all red wines except for the salmon wine. 

I thought I’d choose two to start with — Pizza and Roasted Chicken. 

I went home and made a pizza and threw togather a salad for dinner. Splitting dinner with a friend, we also split the bottle of wine, which was Italian.

We both liked the red wine, and thought everything we consumed that night tasted great together. The back of the bottle goes in depth in four areas: intensity, acidity, tannin and flavor, which was fun to check out.

A few weeks later, we opened up the Roasted Chicken wine, a Spanish wine. Actually, we had grilled, marinated chicken; I can’t let a wine completely dictate my meal!

While I liked the taste of both wines and would drink them again, there was a downside.

Both wines are labeled as "red table wines." What does this mean? I think the biggest problem for these beginner wines is the lack of a place to go from here. And more information on the dish wouldbe nice, too. I had made a plain cheese pizza to be "safe," but would the wine have tasted just as good with a Hawaiian pie?

It seems like an easy fix, though. With more information on the labels, a consumer could make good choices in the future when buying wine.

Wine That Loves has potential. It’s a fun idea, it’s the opposite of snobby and I could see bringing it to a party for the novelty factor. It could easily branch out for more foods, too. The Web site says the wines are $12.99, but I bought them for $10.99. I’d say they’re worth the price to try out.