5:00 Fridays – When Life Gives You Lemons…



Make limoncello!

I’m still on an Italy high and can’t stop daydreaming about our perfectly perfect family vacation. We are all still  moping about, missing various bits and pieces of our experience. The boys miss Gaspar, the lovely grandfatherly owner of our favorite little gelato shop. I miss the smell of shoe leather. Mac Daddy misses calamari and smoked meat.

Forgive me for waxing on about our trip. It was just so dang delightful that I can’t tear my brain away from the memories and sights and smells and tastes. Oh, the tastes! We spent some time in Sorrento on the Mediterranean coast. The area is known for its lemons, and I’m telling you, they are abundant. Freshly caught calamari with a squirt of lemon accompanied by an arugula salad dressed with lemon juice and olive oil is simply divine. Pardon me while I wipe the drool from my chin.

Naturally, when life in Italy gives you lemons, there’s only one thing you can do (well, two actually….I had a mean lemon gelato in Capri…but I digress). Make limoncello! Limoncello is a tart, refreshing citrus drink that is popular in Sorrento. It’s a great palate cleanser so enjoy it as an after dinner drink on a hot summer night. Drink this with someone you have the hots for cuz this drink will surely make you pucker.

Here’s the recipe I got from a trusted source in Sorrento:

Limoncello

1 liter water

1 750 ml bottle of good quality vodka

2 1/2 cups sugar

10 lemons

Pour the vodka into a large jar or bottle that can be hermetically sealed. Wash and zest the lemons with a peeler (the yellow skin only, blech to the white pith!). Add lemon zest to vodka. Let the jar sit on your counter for 10 days. After 10 days, make simple syrup with the water and sugar (dissolve sugar in a saucepan of heated — not boiling — water). Let simple syrup cool and add to vodka. Allow to sit for 10 more days. Strain, bottle, and freeze until ready to drink.

Limoncello is an easy concoction that requires patience. It’s totally worth it. Cin Cin!