Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Our Limoncello!

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a friend giving us some lemons. I made the "Mile High Lemon Chiffon Pie", but secretly, the Trout and I were also doing something else with the lemons. We were making Italian Limoncello!

We followed Giada De Laurentiis' recipe, but did some tweeking along the way. Tonight, we had our first taste, and I called it delightful!

Limoncello
courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

10 lemons
1 (750 ml bottle vodka)
3 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups sugar

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the lemons in long strips. Using a small, sharp knife, trim away the white pith from the peels and discard. Place the lemon peels in a 2 quart pitcher. Pour the vodka over the peels and cover with plastic wrap. Steep the lemon
peels in vodka for 4 days at room temperature. (We steeped for 2 weeks.)

Stir the water and sugar in 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 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.

Now here is where I admit I goofed up. After two weeks of steeping in the vodka, I had forgotten that we had cut the recipe in half. I used the full amount of sugar and water to pour into the vodka mixture.

Surprisingly, it was not as sweet as it could have been. I really liked it. Of course, just a sip or two is necessary. This is not a drink where you drink a lot. To be honest, I do not know if I would cut the sugar/water syrup in half next time. Personally, I do not like sweet drinks, and I still find this enjoyable.




Cin, cin!!

12 comments:

  1. I have bookmarked this for myself! This is a great way to use lemons ( I can't use all of my lemons for lemon drop martinis (smile) and it is perfect for gift giving.

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  2. Oh I love limoncello. I am copying the recipe and need to make it soon..........very soon.

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  3. Oh I love this but I've never made it. Thanks for sharing the recipe! Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving. :D

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  4. Susan, I made limoncello a few years ago, when I first started my blog. It was one of my first projects. I din't follow Giada's recipe, I used another one. It turned out great, and I use it for baking. I make a limoncello pie crust that is fabulous, and I've made an over-the-top limoncello layer cake (all recipes on my blog). I still have 3/4 of a bottle. In the summer it should be kept in the freezer, but I always forget it's there and forget to offer it to drop-in guests.

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  5. Judy, I found the way you made it. Obviously, mine is not as yellow. Perhaps because I did use home grown Meyer lemons. I can't imagine I'll still have this aorund 2 years from now...ha ha

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  6. OMG! Thank you for this! I love lemoncello - especially with pomengranate. Mmmmmm, can't wait to try this recipe!

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  7. I'll bet this was lovely, Susan. It's wonderful to be able to make this at home. Enjoy!

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  8. Susan...this looks and sounds so good. You'll have to make this for us next summer in Montana!!!

    Cheers!!!!

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  9. I would call this delightful too!!!!

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  10. Anonymous7:10 PM

    with the major snowstorm we're expecting.. i 'll take a hot toddy :)

    gp

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  11. Hi Susan, and CHEERS! I am happy to know that it turned out so well doing it your way... I think I would like it that way too.

    Your photos are beautiful, very, very nice! xo

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  12. We love Limoncello and I make a wonderful almond cake with it. I've seen Giada's recipe but never given it a try, but have wanted to. I'm so glad you did. What a lovely bottle you found to put yours in. I've read it's good on ice cream with a fruit topping.
    Sam

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