Kitchen Gadget Girl Cooks

Today’s mother-daughter Valentine’s Day party called for a little adult beverage. Something light. Something fruity. Something like Sangria.

Thanks to suggestions from Lisa and Peggy, I thought I would look up a recipe and see what I could pull together. I had a load of citrus from our Frog Hollow Farms CSA box this week, including very outstanding blood oranges. Together with lemons from my garden, I mixed this up in a jiffy and served over ice.

Sangria
inspired by recipe from All Recipes

• 1/2 cup brandy
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 (750 ml) bottle dry red wine
• 1/2 cup triple sec
• 1 lemon, sliced into rounds
• 1 orange, sliced into rounds
• 1/4 cup simple syrup
• 8 maraschino cherries
• carbonated water (optional)

Mix all ingredients, except carbonated water, in large pitcher. Chill until ready to serve (ideally overnight, although I chilled mine for 20 minutes and it was fine!). Serve over ice with carbonated water, if desired.

Note: This recipe is easily doubled. Like you needed me to tell you that.

This post submitted as part of Grow Your Own #39, hosted this month by House of Annie.

Last Christmas, Santa put a lovely new Oxo serrated peeler in my stocking, just in time for my annual Limoncello-making marathon. As I pulled it out on January 1st, I was reminded of just how much I enjoy this gadget.

I wrote about different kinds of peelers back in September. Specific peelers are good for specific jobs – for this particular one, peeling two dozen lemons, the serrated is the best. I wanted to peel just the yellow part of the lemon, leaving the white pith, which would cause bitterness in the Limoncello.

Holding the lemon in the palm of my left hand and using the peeler with my right hand, I start at the far end of the lemon and draw the peeler toward me. This is a slow peel, not like a fast potato peeling, and I move carefully around the lemon, capturing all the peel.

I peel the lemons directly into large jars; add a sprig of rosemary and a bottle of Everclear. After 40 days, I will add a bottle of 100 proof Vodka, along with sugar water. Another 40 days of rest for the Limoncello, and then it is ready to strain into individual jars for gift giving or personal use.

Rosemary Limoncello

• 15 Meyer lemons, washed
• 1 4-inch piece fresh rosemary
• 1 bottle (750 ml) 100-proof vodka
• 1 bottle (750 ml) Everclear (or 100 proof vodka, if you cannot find Everclear)
• 4 1/2 cups sugar

Peel lemons with a sharp vegetable peeler, taking only the top layer of zest and none of the white pith. Put zest and rosemary in 1-gallon glass or ceramic container.

Pour bottle of vodka over zest and rosemary. Seal container, and let sit undisturbed in a cool, dark place for 40 days.

After 40 days, continue with recipe. Bring 5 cups of water to boil and add the sugar. Cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Allow to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Pour syrup and Everclear over lemon/vodka mixture, stir and reseal container. Let sit in a cool, dark place for 40 more days.

After second 40 day period, your Limoncello is ready to go. Pour it through cheesecloth into large pitcher and then into smaller gift bottles. I found great bottles at Specialty Bottles. Serve ice cold before or after dinner. Limoncello is traditionally kept in the freezer between servings.

Note: I am trying this is as a new feature for the new year – each week, I plan to highlight a tool that I find useful in my kitchen, along with suggestions and a recipe for use. Let me know what you think. And, if you have any gadgets you are trying to figure out, let me know, I would love to experiement!

Tonight, as DH came in the door, I handed him a Pomegranate Martini. Here is the recipe he developed and I followed:

2 parts Pomegranate Vodka
1 part Triple Sec
1 part Pomegranate Juice
1/2 part lemon or lime juice

For me, this worked out to be 1/2 cup of Vodka, 1/4 cup each of Triple Sec and Pomegranate Juice and 1/8 of cup (or a couple tablespoons) lemon juice. Into a shaker with ice it went, and then served straight up in martini glasses.

In addition to great sessions and learning all sorts of useful tips, going to BlogHer 2008 has also meant the opportunity to socialize like an adult, at a bar, with cocktails. So, rather than tell you about what we ate at BlogHer (actually, the food was pretty good for a conference at a hotel), I am going to share what some of my new bloggy friends were drinking (or wanted to be drinking) during the social hour…

Susan from Working Moms Against Guilt prefers a nice Cabernet, while Amy in Ohio would love a Maker’s and Ginger Ale. When I saw her, she was drinking a Cosmopoliton, but I think that was only a substitute. A Mom Two Boys, in addition to having her photo taken with Guy Kawasaki, is a Margarita Rocks with Salt kinda gal. I knew we could be good friends. Two other folks around the table I cannot forget are Mommy Bits, who likes Absolute Citron and 7-up, and Headless Mom, who is currently drinking a Sangiovese from Italy (or, at least, she would like to be!)

My partner in crime this weekend, Pat, tells me that she prefers a Gin Martini, up, with two olives. And the first two people I met at BlogHer, after picking up my badge, were Lara from Life: The Ongoing Education (Vodka Cranberry) and Erica of Crummy Cupcake (Sidecar). You ladies rescued me and helped me over the initial social hump. Thank you.

Cheers to my new friends, look forward to raising a glass again with you soon!

I was e-chatting with my new friend Button Willow the other day (she has designed some great stickers, BTW), and we got to talking about Limoncello. This Italian liqueur is my new favorite activity, as it is easy and fun to make, plus makes a great impression. Here, I share with you two recipes for Limoncello, one that began as a recipe from Sunset Magazine. Since it takes 80 days to make, start sometime this summer and you will have gifts in place for the holidays!

Rosemary Limoncello

• 18 Meyer lemons, washed
• 1 4-inch piece fresh rosemary
• 1 bottle (750 ml) 100-proof vodka
• 1 bottle (750 ml) Everclear (or 100 proof vodka, if you cannot find Everclear)
• 4 1/2 cups sugar

Peel lemons with a sharp vegetable peeler (might I recommend an Oxo peeler?), taking only the top layer of zest and none of the white pith. Put zest and rosemary in 1-gallon glass or ceramic container.

Pour bottle of vodka over zest and rosemary. Seal container, and let sit undisturbed in a cool, dark place for 40 days.

After 40 days, continue with recipe. Bring 5 cups of water to boil and add the sugar. Cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Allow to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Pour syrup and Everclear over lemon/vodka mixture, stir and reseal container. Let sit in a cool, dark place for 40 more days.

After second 40 day period, your limoncello is ready to go. Pour it through cheesecloth into large pitcher and then into smalling gift bottles. I found great bottles at Specialty Bottles. Serve ice cold before or after dinner. Limoncello is traditionally kept in the freezer between servings.

Grammy’s Limoncello

• 15 thick skinned lemons, washed
• 2-750ml bottles 100 proof vodka
• 5 cups sugar

Proceed as above. Use these recipes as a guide and experiment at will. I might try pepper corns next time, or maybe another fragrant herb from the garden. Fresh lemons are best, ones from your neighbor’s tree are even better. And don’t forget, you can use Limoncello in Watermelon Limoncelloade!

Since watermelon may increase your libido, I thought a drink using this licopene rich fruit was in order. Starting with a recipe I found in Everyday Food, I designed this summer drink to use an overripe watermelon and an over abundance of limoncello. Hope you enjoy!

• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 small watermelon, rind remove, flesh cut into hunks
• 1/2 cup vodka
• 3/4 cup limoncello

Muddle the lemon juice, mint and brown sugar in large pitcher or drink container. If you squeezed the lemon juice from fresh lemons, throw those in there too. In a blender, purée the watermelon in batches, then pour through fine mesh strainer into the pitcher. Stir to combine. Add vodka and limoncello. Serve over ice.