A Mint Summer Night's Cocktail

A few years ago my sister was living in Rome and I went to visit her for what I will call one of the greatest weeks ever of my life. The food. The culture. The wine. Italy has a lot going on with it's fabulous self.
We went to this stunning town called Nemi that overlooked this gorgeous lake and you just felt so close to the sun, the moon and paradise. And to top that there is this little cafe that serves this glorious, from the Italian gods and goddesses, prosecco with these tiny perfect strawberries in it called fragolini. Oh my. That moment, that drink, that view, that would be my heaven.
Just thinking about that place makes me want to immediately book an Italian getaway but now I have all of these children. Instead I figured I would try to bring a little Rome to our deck that overlooks our slip and slide. Paradise can be found anywhere right?
Here is my recreation of prosecco & fragolini but I also added mint in it as well because it is currently overtaking our garden (and I think it makes most alcohol all the more delicious- trust me on this).
Hope you enjoy wherever your paradise this summer lies. Ciao bellas...

The Players:

• 1 1/2 cups of mint 
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 cup of water
• 2 Bottles of Prosecco (you can find it in the champagne section or even substitute champagne)
• 1 1/2 cups of frozen strawberries, slightly defrosted

The Game:

I've always been slightly afraid of simple syrup- who has the time for that? But then I made it and realized that I do. It is wonderfully easy and adds enough authentic minty sweetness to jazz up any beverage you add it to. In a saucepan bring sugar, water and mint to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat and simmer for two minutes. Pour through a sieve or colander and cool. The best part is that it keeps covered and refrigerated for two weeks. Simple minty love.

Now onto the prosecco. Place the slightly melty (that is a fancy culinary term) strawberries in your blender or Vitamix.

Hello slightly melty giant fragolini.

Pour in all of your mint simple syrup and one bottle of prosecco (or as much as will fit into your blender). Puree until smooth.

Here is the Prosecco I used and the beautiful shade of it all blended with the strawberries.

In a large pitcher or carafe pour in the remaining bottle of prosecco and then stir in the strawberry/prosecco blend. Add mint or additional strawberries to garnish. Raise a glass to paradise.

What do you add mint to? I would love for you to share your recipes and ideas, you brilliant readers.