Limoncello

Over the winter holidays, Brian made Limoncello as a gift for our families. The recipe is actually pretty easy, as long as you make it about a month ahead and are the proud owner of a Microplane grater.

We bought a huge bag of lemons at Costco (about 20-25 lemons), which Brian zested with the Microplane. This is absolutely the most labor-intensive part of the process, but well worth it. I suggest inviting a few friends over who will gladly help with the grating in return for a bottle of the end product later. If they also happen to own a Microplane, ask them to bring it and the process will go faster. Additional incentive is an immediate reward of a sip of your last batch of Limoncello before they go (but after the grating is done unless you want your guests to leave with grated fingertips!).

In a large glass jar he found at a craft store, Brian combined the zest with a 750 ml. bottle of Everclear and a 750 ml. bottle of high-proof Vodka. You can't buy Everclear in Ohio, but we travel to Kentucky frequently, and you can pick up a bottle at any liquor store there. Brian would prefer to use all Everclear, but this version is plenty strong, as it is. If you want an end product that won't knock you on your knees, you can just use high-proof Vodka for the whole thing. Cover tightly.

[At this point, you have a lot of zested lemons, so this is a great time to squeeze some lemon juice and either freeze it or make a really big batch of homemade lemonade. It is a also a good excuse to make lemon bars, citrus pound cake, etc... ]

Let the zest and alcohol mixture steep in a cool, dark place for 4-6 weeks, agitating the bottle from time to time. You can go as little as 2 weeks, but the longer you steep the alcohol in the lemon zest, the stronger the lemon flavor will come through.

Strain the mixture through several layers of fine cheesecloth or a couple of coffee filters into to another container and set aside. In a large stainless soup pot, boil 4 cups water and 4 cups sugar until the sugar is well dissolved. Cool to room temperature and add to the flavored alcohol. Mix thoroughly and then decant into small, air-sealed bottles. You can sometimes find these at World Market or even Linens-N-Things, or you can special order a case online.

Make your own labels using clear Avery address labels from an office supply store. I recommend those partly because I work for Avery Dennison, but mostly because they seem to adhere better to the bottles, which I wipe with alcohol first to get off any oils from shipping and handling. Another alternative is to make a hang tag label with colored card stock and foiled twisties (floral area of craft store) or fabric pony-tail holders (drugstore)

We store our Limoncello in the fridge or freezer, as it is best served very cold in small liqueur glasses. This both creates a nice presentation and limits consumption. The sweet lemon flavor masks the strength of the booze, so go easy. A few shots of this stuff and you'll be speaking Italian (or at least think you are)!

Brisket Pot Luck Dinner

On Friday, our Temple (Israel ner Tamid on Lander) hosted its annual Brisket Pot Luck Dinner. This year was even better, as we had two representatives from Mr. Brisket there to judge the briskets (www.misterbrisket.com).

Brian and I decided to go against the flow and present a dry-cooked, smoked brisket, instead of the more traditional Jewish-style wet brisket. On Thursday, Mr. Brisket delivered a 3 lb. brisket to us. Brian treated it to a liberal sprinkling of Mesquite Magic seasoning. With the weather fluctuations and wet conditions, Brian was not up to staying up all night to nurse it all the way through on the smoker. So, he put it in the oven, covered, with a little liquid smoke, for about 10 hours at 200 degrees F, then he finished it on the smoker outside with a quick sear. After slicing on our slicer (one of the most frivolous kitchen purchases we've ever made, though it does come in VERY handy about four to six times a year), we layered the brisket in a dish to transport, soaking each layer in Head Country Marinade to keep it moist. Head Country is a dark marinade from Oklahoma that is particularly good on beef.

As a side dish, I made a simple hummus recipe from the America's Test Kitchen Cookbook. The ingredients are pretty basic: rinsed canned chick peas (garbanzo beans), tahini (we found a very nice one from Israel), extra virgin olive oil, fresh minced garlic, lemon juice, cayenne chile powder and salt. I added a large spoonful of roasted sweet red pepper paste for color and an extra burst of flavor. I don't really stick to the recipe with the quantities in the recipe, because I use a different size can of chick peas and tend to go heavier on the garlic. The key to this one is to puree it all together long enough in the food processor so it is smooth and creamy, and the olive oil doesn't separate when it sits for a while. Then, it is just chill and serve.

To go with the hummus, I made toast triangles with a mini-loaf of honey wheat bread, cut on the diagonal, brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with Greek seasoning and then toasted in the oven at 400 degrees F for about 5 minutes. Next time, I'd probably go with a more traditional pita or at least use a rye or pumpernickel party loaf, instead of the sweeter honey wheat, but there were no complaints (I just knew it could be better). I also included some garlic melba toasts on the tray. In the past, I've decorated the hummus with minced parsley or cilantro, or diced sweet red peppers. But we just didn't have time this time, as I had been not feeling well the latter half of the week and had a ton of office work I was committed to finishing by the end of the day.

Brian decided that one side dish wasn't enough, so he also put out a tray of Xochitl tortilla chips with a bowl of our Peach Blueberry Merlot Salsa. By the end, there was nothing to take home from any of the dishes we brought, so that was a good sign.

While we did not win the judging, that wasn't really the point for us. We got to taste about 12 different briskets and a load of wonderful sides including corn pudding/cake, roasted potatoes, rice & mushrooms, cooked red cabbage salad - almost like a sauerkraut, spinach souffle... the list goes on and on! And a few tasty sweet Jello dishes that I used to help clear the palate between tastes of brisket. All in all, it was fantastic and a great way to get to know some other members of the Temple. What a tasty welcome to the weekend!