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Limoncello–Make Your Own!

August 22, 2011 by Linda 9 Comments

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The Canary Diamond of Liqueurs

Buon giorno!

Ah! Summer – Patio – fresh –light- lemon. Check all of the above.

Limoncello! I love the sound of the word. Have you ever known a word to exactly personify the food or the drink it represents? Limoncello is such a word. Go ahead – say it. Let it rollllll off your tongue. LEE-MON-CELLLL-OOOO. YUP! That is exactly how it tastes. No puckering or tartness involved here – It’s light, it’s sweet, it’s fresh – it’s LEMON!

Limoncello definitely rocks my world. Of all the Italian liqueurs, digestivi, and after dinner drinks I have enjoyed – this refreshing lemon indulgence is by far my favorite. It slides down so easily even after the most rich and filling of meals. It definitely has a stomach settling effect for me. It does contain sugar, but remember that Limoncello is always consumed in tiny glasses and in small amounts.

A little geography: The fact that it is a traditional after dinner choice for Southern Italians might have a little something to do with my bias. The hillsides of the Naples and Amalfi area that I love abound with lemon trees and lemons the size of your fist. So, why shouldn’t it be that this “canary diamond” of liqueurs originates from this very region of Campania? When wandering through the tiny towns nestled on the hillsides around Amalfi, you can actually smell the lemons. This jewel of beverages is available almost everywhere in that area.

And the history: Actually the origins of Limoncello follow a circuitous path. Lore dictates that the ancient fishermen of the Amalfi area used a form of it to warm up during the colder months. Legends also circulate that it had monastic beginnings – with monks developing and drinking it. It is said that the finest families of Sorrento and Azzurra, in the bay area, served it to their guests around 1900. Most stories of actual production agree and converge upon the family of Massimo Canale, an entrepreneur of Capri, who registered the trademark in 1988. So production and world distribution, as we know it today, is fairly new by calendar standards.

Amalfi in your kitchen: I, of course, love Limoncello so much, that I want never to be without it. Follow my lead. Well then, how about creating a little Amalfi in your own kitchen? You will be surprised at how easy and inexpensive Limoncello is to make at home, and how wonderful it is to always have it on hand to enjoy whenever you want it. It lasts a long time and is always kept chilled. Many people, myself included, keep the bottle in the freezer slightly propped so that it doesn’t spill out. I wouldn’t want to lose a drop. Limoncello will not freeze because of the alcohol content. Freezing it just makes it “super cold” for every occasion you choose to enjoy it.

The down and dirty: Many like to use grain alcohol such as Everclear. This makes a very potent batch and needs to be filtered a good bit. I have grown to like the ease of making my Limoncello with vodka. It is faster, easier, and is very satisfying. I suggest not using your “Sunday best” vodka or “the Goose” for this task. It would be a waste of good vodka, really, as you are adding flavor to it. This is the time to settle for the “cheap stuff” like Smirnoff. I recommend 100 proof as the “proof” diminishes a little when you add the rest of the indgredients. The 100 proof ensures a “good kick”! Some like to filter the vodka a few times through a Brita filter. This is fine to do.

When not just any lemon will do: I strongly recommend using organic lemons for this exercise. There is a very good reason why. You should always clean and scrub your lemons before using them as we don’t always know where our lemons have been. However, even with scrubbing, pesticides and chemical washes are difficult to extract from your lemon skins even with the most diligent washing. These nasty substances WILL affect the taste of your lovely Limoncello negatively – so why would we want to risk a pristine result? Yes, organic lemons are the way to go.

Your surgical instruments: There are some items that you might need to make the process easier. These items are not obscure, and you might already own them. They are: a zester, a large glass container with a top, a fine sieve, a large funnel, and 2 one liter bottles for your finished product. You can re-use your vodka bottle as well.

Let’s do the “do”!!

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MAKING LIMONCELLO AT HOME

Ingredients:

9 Organic Lemons

1 750 ml. Bottle 100 Proof Grain Vodka – Smirnoff is fine

3 c. Water

2 1/4 c. Sugar

Instructions:

Clean lemons with a brush under running water. Remove all stickers.

Zest lemons over wax paper for ease. Do not include the white pith which is bitter. You want the zest only.

You can also cut the rind from the lemons with a knife or peeler. However, if you choose this method, you must check the rind for white pith and trim it off if you see any.

Put your zest in large glass container.

Add vodka and water and cover.

If you decide to add a cinnamon stick – now is the time.

Let the mixture “steep” for 5 days at room temperature in a cabinet or darkened place.

Every once in a while, give the container a gentle shake – careful not to spill. The shaking helps the lemons to release more flavor into the vodka.

After 5 days, using a fine strainer or sieve to catch the zest (and the cinnamon stick if you used one), pour your mixture into a pot. (You can leave the mixture to steep more than 5 days and up to 40 if you like – but you get a light, lovely Limoncello after the 5 days.)

Add the sugar.

Now – heat the liquid, and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Take the pan off the heat and let the solution completely cool.

Pour your Limoncello into clean bottles using a funnel.

Keep in refrigerator or freezer for 2 weeks propped up so it does not leak out. No sampling until this step is completed.

Whoo hoo! Your Homemade Limoncello is ready to enjoy! Mmmm – there’s something about this stuff that is more satisfying when you make your own.

Keep it in the refrigerator or freezer so that it is always perfect. Serving it in chilled frosty glasses is a nice touch.

OR – Mix a little in a martini, pour over ice cream, or fruit salad! Sigh…come hither, my little “canary” friend.

PARLA COME MANGI!

Comments are welcome in the “Speak Your Mind Area” beneath this post online.

Food Photos By Tommy Hanks Photography

Filed Under: Drinks · Tagged With: Amalfi, Campania, homemade limoncello, Italian, Italian lemon drink, Italian lemon liqueur, Lemon, lemon drink, lemons in Amalfi area, Limoncello, making limoncello, making Limoncello with vodka, Naples, organic lemons

Panzanella Salad

August 15, 2011 by Linda 3 Comments

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LET THEM EAT…BREAD?

Buon giorno!

Marie Antoinette had no clue about Panzanella Salad when she sarcastically suggested that the commoners should eat cake when times got tough. If she had – French history might have been quite different, and she would still have her head. The ordinary folk would surely have been more than satisfied with such a recommendation. In fact, they would have been thrilled with this Tuscan favorite.

Panzanella, also called Panmolle, is the quintessential summer salad, and there is no better time to talk about it than right now while the local markets and our gardens are brilliant with fresh, vividly colorful vegetables. This is delicious, easy to make, very healthy, very economical, and lasts for days. Where’s the problem here? This is guaranteed to get your motor runnin’ ! (not a bad choice for the waistline either)

A little history: Panzanella Salad dates back to the 16th century when the Italian poet, Bronzino, not to be confused with the fish, waxed of onions and cucumbers with oil and vinegar and toast in his writing. As late as the 20th century, the poet’s list of ingredients was the general description of the salad. It was then, in the 1900’s, that tomatoes were introduced and lived happily ever after in the hearts of Tuscans when they thought of Panzanella.

The Ingrediente Speciale: The very special ingredient that sets this apart from any other salad is the use of a crusty country bread, preferably Tuscan, which is first soaked. Wet bread you say?? Si, paesane e paesani! You betcha! –no, not until it is slimy and falls apart. The bread is soaked lightly, and then you squeeze the water out. The Tuscans have done this for centuries – and they haven’t been wrong yet. Trust me on this one. It makes an incredibly delicious and satisfying salad – one that can even be used as a light main course. In fact, this is often the way we have it on hot summer nights at our house – on the patio – of course! Add a lovely chilled white wine and you are all set.

More About The Bread Thing: All those years ago in Binghamton, NY, it was not unusual for my mother, Loretta, when preparing a soup or stew or vegetable dish to stretch it a little by putting a thick slice of crusty bread on the bottom of the dish which soaked up all the goodness of the ingredients and added heartiness to our meal. It was also, not unusual for her to do the same with salad. Good things just never get old.

My Little Secret: As usual, I have a little twist that I like to make on the bread. (Shhhh! It’s just between you and me.) Most recipes call for using stale bread and soaking that. You can use stale bread, day old bread if you like. Instead of just soaking my bread, I like to brush it with olive oil and toast it in the oven til golden for a few minutes…and THEN soak it. It makes a difference in both flavor and consistency.

The Tuscan Way: Tuscans are persnickety about the ingredients for their dishes. They don’t like to wander too far off the piazza when they prepare their special dishes.The expected choices for a typical Tuscan preparation of this Panzanella Salad are onion, tomato, fresh basil, Tuscan Bread, salt, pepper, wine vinegar, and olive oil. However, it is not uncommon to find a very good one with other ingredients invited to come along for the ride. For instance, I like my salad with a few extras that you will see below which, I think, offer flavor, color, and interest to this wonderful old standard.

Another way: For instance, it is not unlikely to find this salad prepared with shrimp and cuttlefish in Livorno with its proximity to the sea. It is my opinion that the Livornese would put seafood in anything if given the opportunity. And why not? One really delicious introduction that I often make is to add grilled sliced rare tuna. The tuna grilled with a little olive oil, Kosher Salt, and fresh pepper is a great way to serve Panzanella when you want just a little something more.

Let’s get this little beauty to the table!

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PANZANELLA SALAD

Serves: 4 as main course

Serves: 8 as a side dish

Prep: About 40 minutes + a couple of hours to chill

Ingredients:

12 oz. Crusty Tuscan Loaf or Country Loaf of Bread – sliced in approx. 1 inch slices

Olive Oil for brushing the bread slices

4-5 Fresh Ripe Red Medium Sized Tomatoes cut into quarters or 3 cups Baby or Grape Tomatoes

1 Cucumber – peeled, seeded, chopped into cubes

One Medium Purple Onion – sliced thinly

1 Fennel Bulb Sliced (See this post for instructions: how to slice fennel)

2 Tbsp. Capers, rinsed and drained

1 C. Whole Pitted Kalamata Olives

Handful of Fresh Basil – cut Chiffonade style

2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar for soaking liquid

1 1/2 – 2 cups Water for soaking bread

Instructions:

Brush bread slices on both sides with olive oil.

Place bread slices on a baking sheet and Bake in 350 degree oven for 15 min. Turn slices over and bake about 10 min. more. The idea here is to toast the bread to a little golden color on each side.

Add red wine vinegar to the water for soaking.

Place toasted bread slices in bowl and pour vinegar and water over the bread. Let stand 1-2 minutes only - moving the bread around so that it soaks evenly.

Immediately, take bread out of bowl and squeeze water out of each piece. Tear the bread slices into chunks and lay out on paper towels – set aside.

Cut vegetables as listed and place them in a large bowl with the capers and olives– toss gently with clean hands. Add the Basil.

Add soaked bread pieces to the bowl with the vegetables – toss gently with clean hands.

Make dressing with ingredients below, and add to salad and toss again with clean hands.

Using your hands makes for less needed tossing action and does a better and gentler job than a spoon.

Important: Put the salad in the refrigerator to chill for several hours or overnight. This is necessary to let the flavors blend properly. You can add more basil before serving if you like.

Dressing:

Whisk the following ingredients together:

1/2 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar

1 Tbsp.White Balsamic Vinegar

1 tsp. Orange Juice

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

This Panzanella Salad lasts for a few days in the refrigerator which is great if you want to make it ahead. It is a bright and beautiful presentation of the “bella stagione” or beautiful season for bountiful fresh local vegetables. It is healthy and is filling because of the bread. Enjoy this one now with summer and Panzanella as the perfect pairing.

PARLA COME MANGI!

Comments are welcome in the “Speak Your Mind Area” beneath this post online.

Food Photos By Tommy Hanks Photography

Filed Under: On the Patio, Salad · Tagged With: Bread Salad, healthy salad, Italian, Italian Bread Salad, Panmolle, Panzanella, Tuscan Bread Salad, Tuscan summer salad

I Have a New Honey!

August 8, 2011 by Linda 1 Comment

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The Buzz on Bo’s Bees [VIDEO]

Italian Honey Bee

Buon giorno!

It is a simple fact that we can’t get along without bees. We need them to do the very basic work of pollinating our plants to provide food for our world. We just can’t do without ‘em. Italians are known for their use of honey in making their dolci and desserts, especially in Southern Italian cuisine with its Arab influences. Credit should be given to the Greeks, however, as all the way back in 415 BC during one of their infamous invasions, they first brought this marvelous sweet ooze to Italy. It definitely caught on. The Romans are said to have eaten it with their dried fruits for breakfast. Through the ages, honey was thought of as ambrosia – “Food of the Gods”, and it was held in esteem for its curative powers, as it is still today. Even old Julius Caesar thought enough of it to accept it as currency for taxes. Hmmm, if that were still true we’d all be raisin’ bees in our back yard!

In Italy, today, although honey bees can be found in probably all the regions, beekeeping seems to confine to some specific regions. As with many other edibles in Italy, Italian honey or miele (mee-EL-e with the final “e” pronounced very softly), is evaluated and given a quality designation called PAT – which certifies it as a traditional Italian food and gives it authenticity. Italians take their honey so seriously that they even have a National Honey Day. Why not! The Italian honey bee is one of the most sought after as queen, because of its ability to produce and be hearty. The very best and most prized honey in Italy is from the Lunigiana region in Tuscany, “land of the moon”. It is here where they produce a honey that is uniquely pure and distinctly flavored, and they still use ancient methods. Their acacia and chestnut honey are the only ones to be given the honor of the DOP Certification – Protected Designation of Origin.

Soooooo – About Bo’s Bees: if you had predicted a few months ago that I would be comfortably standing between two very active bee hives on a hot day in July during “Prime Bee-Time”, I would have suggested you pursue therapy and medication – not necessarily in that order. That skepticism is indicative of my bee phobia – or I should say former bee phobia. No one was more surprised than I was at my rather Zen reaction to my visit recently with Bo’s Bees. Meet Bo!

OK – who is Bo, and what’s with the bees? Bo Kersey is a good friend and Atlanta Real Estate “tycoon” with Keller Williams Realty ( Bo Sells Houses ). Bo is the poster boy for “interesting men having interesting hobbies.” He is an extraordinary gardener and his raised bed vegetable garden is not only a beauty to behold, but also, is a place you might like to just hang out. I could truly imagine spending a quiet hour just reading a book in that tranquil green lush space that looks out over a serene pool where I’m told Bo’s Bees get some of their water. It’s just THAT cool.

You can understand why earlier this summer I was soooo excited when Bo and I were comparing vegetable and herb garden notes, and he shared that he had begun to “keep bees”. I couldn’t wait to see this process and thought of nothing else but counting all of you in on the adventure. I was a little apprehensive about being so close to these little stingers, but once I was there in the middle of that happy garden, I forgot all of my fears. I must credit Bo for this as he was so relaxed that I felt immediately at ease. Unfortunately, I didn’t know that wearing black or red is a no-no around bees and what did I wear? You guessed it.

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Bo gave me a little preliminary tutorial which made me forget rather quickly that I was “out of uniform”. He began by telling me how much he still had to learn about the bees and was learning by doing. Bo is really comfortable with his bees as you will see in the video to follow. He started a few months before under the tutelage of his friend, Rob, at the Gwinnett Bee Festival. He sent for the equipment from Brushy Mountain Bee Farm and Rob appeared with 2 queens – one of which was an Italian Queen. Wouldn’t you know? It just had to be! The bees were transported on trays or “supers” with the queen inside. They were then placed in the hive – 10 supers to a hive. It is on these supers that the honeycomb containing wax and honey is attached.

He explained that you must always have at least 2 hives because the bees do die, and you can judge better if one hive is sick. The bees do pretty much all the work. They get their pollen from Bo’s garden and from the flowers and plants in the surrounding neighborhood. They get water from the pool and from a lovely fountain also nearby. The bees have a flight path and almost always come and go on this path.

When Bo goes into the hive or needs to be close by during an active period, he wears white clothing and dons a very “attractive” bonnet! He then employs a cool little smoker that looks like the oil can the Tin Man used in the Wizard of OZ. He burns leaves and pine straw inside and creates smoke which he distributes around the hives. This “confuses” the bees and settles them down, allowing him Bo to get into the hive or tend to his plants which are very close by. You’ll see, however, that Bo is no Tin Man. He definitely has a “heart” for his bees and strives to provide the best conditions for them. It is a pleasure to watch him with the bees to see how delicate and caring he is when going in and out of the hives so as not to harm even one of them.

Let’s watch the [VIDEO] below and really get to know Bo’s Bees!

Bo Kersey’s Bees with Bo Kersey and Linda Calabrisi Hanks

Have you heard tales about the health value of eating local honey? It is said that if you eat local honey you build a resistance to pollens that irritate allergies. It is healthier for you as it is made with the air and plantings from the area in which you live. Works for me! Thank you, Bo, for sharing your bees with me and my friends at Linda’s Italian Table. It was a day I won’t soon forget. I still can’t believe I was so close to them, in the middle of their world, and loved every buzzing minute of it.

I can’t wait until Bo invites me back to sample the delicious amber treasure that these bees will create. There’s a new honey in town – who could resist?

PARLA COME MANGI!

Comments are welcome in the “Speak Your Mind Area” beneath this post online.