Homemade limoncello

Exactly 3 months ago, on April 19th, I had a very lemony day. One of the lemony things I made that day, was limoncello which was going to take 2-4 months to "mature".

Russian Prince, meet lemons. Lemons, meet your Prince.

So now is the time... And let me tell you, if you have access to a lot of lemons, and you like limoncello, DO IT! I actually prefer the home-made one to the store-bought Limoncello brand due to the sweetness, as I find the store-bought way too sweet. The smell is the same although the color of the home-made one is darker.

Left: store-bought. Right: home-made

The whole process is very easy, just tedious since zesting the lemons really means only zest, no white pith because that's what turns the taste bitter and would spoil the limoncello. The recipe that I settled on, is from Epicurious, calls for:

• 15 lemons
• 2 bottles (750 ml) 100-proof vodka
• 4 cups sugar
• 5 cups water

But as I didn't want to waste a bottle of vodka in case it turns out bad, I halved the recipe and used:

• 7 big lemons, with thick skin
  
• more or less 800 ml vodka ( I had about 3/4 of a 1.14l bottle)
• 2 cups sugar
• 2.5 cups water

Wash the lemons with hot water, use a potato brush if you have (It's best to use organic lemons so there won't be wax and pesticides) Dry them.

Use a zester or a peeler to zest the rinds. If you get some pith on there, you can remove it with a small pointy knife. Make sure you do so, or the limoncello will be spoiled.

In a big glass jar put in half of the vodka (I didn't have one, so I used an empty 1.14l bottle) Then as you're zesting, just drop strands of the lemon peel inside. Close it up well, then leave it some where cool and dark (I left mine in the closet) for the next 2 months.

After 2 months, it's time to make the syrup. In a sauce pan, cook the sugar and water over medium heat until it thickened slightly (about 5-10 minutes) Cool completely. Take the bottle out (At this point, you will see the color has changed. It's pretty!) to add the syrup & the rest of the vodka.

Close it up again and put it back in that cool & dark place for another month or so. When ready to put to good use, take the bottle (or jar) out, discard the peels, strain the limoncello, and you may put it in the freezer until ready to serve.

Left: store-bought. Right: home-made

Hmmmm..... Oh yeah....

Coo-kees & tea

No, that's not a typo. Apparently I say "coo-kee" most of the time without noticing... I just realized that it's probably my Frenglish (instead of saying "biscuit" when I speak French, I say "cookie" instead and thus, my accent just automatically changes)

So anyway, I got this awesome cookie cutter stamp thingy thanx to 2 Stews and La Table de Nana. I was SO excited!!!!! It was shipped over from Germany, lol!!! Quite a long way for one cookie cutter, but worth it nonetheless.

I tried out the cookie stamp today with some leftover lemon sugar dough that I store in the freezer.

Lemon sugar cookies
(adapted from Annie's Eats's Ella White Sugar Cookies)

• 1 cup butter, softened at room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 tsp lemon oil
• 2 -3 tsp lemon juice
• 1 t. salt
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375F.

Cream butter with electric mixer or hand-held then add powdered sugar. Drop in egg, lemon oil, lemon juice, salt, zest and flour. Wrap dough in plastic & refrigerate until firm enough to work with.
Roll cookies to 1/4 inch thick & bake at 375° for 8-10 min.

Since I only rolled out a few to try with my new cookie stamp, I baked them in a preheated toaster oven at 400F for 25 minutes.

I poured myself from jasmine tea and brought the cookies back to my chair in the backyard, where I've been reading "Ratio: the simple codes behind the craft of everyday cooking" since this afternoon. Awesome book! I can't wait to apply Michael Ruhlman's ratios to make my own stuff.

Lemon sorbet

Ice cream machine?
Check!

"The Perfect Scoop"?
Check!

Lots & lots of empty tubs waiting to be filled with cold sweet goodness?
*wiping drool*
Check!

I am definitely equipped for the heat!!!

Lemon Sorbet
from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz (page 116)

• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/4 cup sugar (or 1 cup for a more tart taste)
• zest of 2 lemons (preferably organic or cleaned of wax & spray)
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 4-6 lemons)
• 1-3 Tbsp of limoncello or vodka (since alcohol doesn't freeze, it would help to keep the home-made sorbet from freezing too hard)

In a saucepan, mix the sugar, 1/2 cup water and zest. Melt over low heat, stirring frequently until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the rest of the water. Chill in the fridge for a few hours.

When ready, stir the lemon juice into the syrup and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Here comes the first brain freeze of 2009 and like a moth, I keep going back for more
...*sigh*...

What a tart!

If I were a dessert today, I'd probably be a fruit tart (because tomorrow is another day and I might wanna be chocolate cake, who knows!!!)

What I don't get, is why is it insulting to call someone a tart... I mean, look at it!!! It should be a compliment...

NOO? That wasn't convincing enough, was it? *sigh*
How about now...????? Look closer!!!

Fruit tart with lemon curd
for 3 tarts of 4.5 inches

• 1 batch of lemon curd
• your favorite tart dough ( i used sugar cookie dough that I found on Annie's Eat)***
• 2 oz bittersweet chocolate (that's 2 Baker's squares)
  
• strawberries, grapes, pineapple, etc (fruits that won't change colors when cut) washed and sliced

Roll out your dough to about 1/8 inch, press into bottom & up the side of tart pan. To even out, pass your roller over the edge of the pan. Prick with a fork so dough won't bubble up while baking.

Bake crust according to recipe (with pie weight, or line crusts with parchment paper & fill with rice or dry beans) Cool completely.

Melt chocolate in the microwave (since it's not a big amount, no need to use a double boiler) with medium power setting for about 1 minute, then stir to completely melt.

Brush crust with melted chocolate on bottom and side. I simply used a spoon. No need for perfection since the curd will hide it anyway. Just make sure the surface is well covered, so the crust won't get soggy.

Spoon lemon curd into tart shells. Place fruit pieces as according to your liking.

***note: you will have left over dough for probably another batch of fruit tarts :)

Now share them with your family & friends, because or else you will end up eating all of them! Well... that's not such a bad thing is it...? :P

Lemony Peppered Shrimp on Pasta & Asparagus

Yummy. Quick to prepare. That's all I need to say!

I used asparagus, tiger shrimps and pasta meat sauce that I made & stocked in my freezer. Which you can substitute with whatever you prefer or have on hand (string beans, chicken, you get the point)

So, pour yourself a glass of wine, and here we go...

Lemony Peppered Shrimp on Pasta & Asparagus
per portion, approximately

• 6-7 asparagus (because I like a lot of vegetables) washed.
• spaghetti (the amount that you want to eat)
• 1/2 cup tomato pasta sauce (I don't like a pool of sauce in my pasta dish) with meat or without.
• a splash of olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 3-4 shrimps, shelled & cleaned
• a couple of grates of lemon zest & squeezes of lemon juice
• pepper

In a medium large pot, boil water. Throw asparagus in for about 2 minutes. Take out and dump into a pot of really cold water to stop them from cooking any longer.

Keep the water boiling, cook pasta until al dente. Remove pot from heat to drain.

Put a pan on the burner, lower heat to medium high. Put meat sauce in and stir. Heat til bubbly, which takes only a half minute or so, drop the pasta back in. Cook for another 30 seconds to a minute. Place asparagus on plate. Put pasta & sauce on top.

Bring the pan back on the burner. Heat olive oil & swirl it around. Throw in the garlic. The immediately the shrimp. Stir. While shrimps cook, add in a couple of squeezes of lemon juice. Once they are cooked, grind pepper on top, and add the lemon zest. Place on top of everything else in the place.

What? you already finished your glass of wine???? Tsk tsk tsk!!! Go on, quick! Pour yourself another and grab a fork. I won't tell....