A few months ago we got take out from a local Italian restaurant. Although Trevor and I liked it, Thompson seemed pretty indifferent about the food when we ate it. Since then though, he kept telling us we really needed to go back and get dinner from there again because he really loved it. A bit perplexed by his repeated request, I finally asked him what food he like from there. He got a little grin and said, “the Italian sodas, they were so good!”.
Italian sodas have always been a favorite of mine, so I am happy he seems to have inherited a preference for them. Luckily, they are incredibly easy to make at home and adaptable to whatever flavor you are craving. With an abundance of citrus fruit at our house this winter, I opted to go for blood orange and grapefruit flavored ones recently. We all loved them. Feel free to use whatever citrus you have on hand, and enjoy!
- Blood orange simple syrup:
- 2 blood oranges, zested and juiced
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- Grapefruit simple syrup:
- 1 grapefruit, zested and juiced
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cut water
- Italian sodas:
- Ice
- Club soda
- Half and half
- For the simple syrups: combine grapefruit or blood orange zest, juice, sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Heat on medium heat until sugar dissolves completely. Continue cooking on a low simmer for 3 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and let cool. Strain and refrigerate until ready to use.
- For the italian sodas: add a ¼ cup of syrup to the bottom of a tall glass. Add ice to fill up the cup about half way. Add about ⅓ cup club soda, then top off with half and half.
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