Limoncello

Limoncello is an Italian liqueur that is served chilled in a frozen glass. It is surprisingly easy to make yourself at home. My real life friend Jennifer Juniper featured it on her blog a while back and I've had it tucked in the back of my brain to try it myself. I rounded up a few friends to make it too, and we had a taste test this past weekend to see how we did.

Here's the recipe I followed from Giada.....

Ingredients:
10 lemons
1 (750-ml) bottle vodka
4 1/2 cups water
3 1/2 cups sugar

Directions:
Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the lemons in long strips (reserve the lemons for another use). Using a small sharp knife, trim away the white pith from the lemon peels; discard the pith. Place the lemon peels in a 2-quart glass jar with a tight lid. Pour the vodka over the peels and cover. Steep the lemon peels in the vodka for 4-6 weeks at room temperature.

Stir the water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. Pour the sugar syrup over the vodka mixture. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. Strain the limoncello through a mesh strainer. Discard the peels. Transfer the limoncello to bottles. Seal the bottles and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 month.

I would make an adjustment on the simple sugar part of it next time I make it....I would do 3 cups of sugar insted of 4....

I got the bottles at Ikea and those cute little stem glasses to sip it from at my Goodwill. You could easliy turn this into a great gift for a friend or a hostess by making cute labels and tying it up with a bit of ribbon.









We met at my friends house; each with our own flavor.....lemon, orange and lime for a tasting. What a really nice night of appetizers, tasting and conversation. I'll have a stash of Limoncello for a while...savoring it's lemony-sugary goodness.