17 November 2010

Zest

(Zest of twenty lemons)


The wind is going to gust to 45 knots today, the front coming in behind the rain that soaked me to the skin yesterday. The leaves are now suddenly all of the trees and I am hoping this will be the day that unsettling pink article of clothing blows off the limbs of the now nude tree off the balcony.

I was thinking about work and whether the Irish economy was going to melt down today, or hold off until tomorrow. I think I need a vacation, but there is no time. Maybe a mini-vacation to restore some zest, like last weekend and the most excellent adventure I shared at the Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis.

We were standing in the parking lot in front of the long table heavily laden with tail-gate food and drink.

Borts handed me a plastic cup filled with a fantasy drink that apparently combined pineapple, orange juice and Pimm’s Cup garnished y nutmeg.

“This would be superb as a blended drink,” I said “But not bad this way.”

“Yeah,” he responded. “If I had brought the generator we could use the blender. But drink up. A few of those will put you on your butt.”

“Like the Russians used to say on the front at Kharkov,” I responded "artillery parked hub to hub has a certain imperative all it's own."

Borts laughed and looked over at Babs, who was pouring samples of her own concoction of lightning. She handed me a short glass of something that smelled like cider. “Be careful with it,” she said. “It is based on Everclear.”

“That is 190 proof,” I said in wonder. “I haven’t drank that since college, when we poured it into a trashcan with fruit juice and bottles of everything that people brought to the party.”

Babs smiled. “You should try my Italian Lemoncello,” she said. “It will knock your socks off. Same principle as the hard cider, but simple.”

“How do you do it,” I asked with curiosity. “I don’t do sweet drinks any more.”

“You will like this one. Use as many lemons as you want, I use 20 or so.”

“I love lemons. I wonder if limes would work?”

“Experiment,” she said. “I use two bottles of vodka OR 1 of vodka and one of Everclear. The vodka should be cheap, since it is just rocket fuel anywhere. I age mine until we suddenly remember that we have some; same with the peels -- we left some in for months as we were running back and forth to Baltimore. The secret ingredient is the vanilla beans. They add a wonderful smoothness, and I add vanilla to every batch. I call it Mellocello. Still pretty damn good and it lasts forever, which is good to know in the coming famine.”

“Great idea,” I responded. “Citrus fruit and alcohol; one to improve health, the other to disinfect your insides.”

She nodded and smiled. “If you use a zester on the lemons, you have to strain really carefully, I think it's better to peel the lemons with a good peeler. That way, if you get a little pith, you can always remove it with a small sharp knife. Then, when you remember, make some simple syrup by boiling real cane sugar in distilled water and mix it up. A friend told me that it makes an excellent cocktail with vodka iced tea.”

“I wonder if you could use Splenda for the simple syrup?”

“You are out of your mind,” she said. “If this did not have any calories and was pure alcohol, the West might fall.”

“I am not sure it isn’t. Can you send me the recipe?”

Babs just smiled. “Sure. It is your funeral. But stay away from the Splenda.”

Italian Limoncello

(Lemon dynamite)

20 lemons, thick skinned
2 (750 ml) bottles 100-proof vodka or 1 (750 ml) bottle of Everclear (190-proof) alcohol
4 cups real cane sugar
5 cups distilled water

Wash the lemons thoroughly and scrub to remove the wax. pat the lemons dry.

Carefully zest the lemons with a zester or vegetable peeler so there is no white pith.

In a large glass container add vodka or Everclean alcohol.
Add the lemon zest.
Cover the jar and let sit quietly at room temperature for a week or until you remember.

Traditional simple syrup:
In a large saucepan, combine the sugar and water; bring to a gentle boil and let boil, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and let the syrup cool before adding it to the Limoncello mixture.
Add cooled sugar mixture to the Limoncello mixture (from Step One).
Cover jar and let it rest for another 10 to 40 days.

After the rest period, strain the limoncello; discard the lemon zest. Pour strained Limoncello in bottle/bottles (of your choice) and seal tightly.

Keep your bottle/bottles of Limoncello in the freezer until ready to serve. Serve ice cold.

There are those who claim that the first sip can be harsh on this home-made liquid dynamite. The addition of vanilla beans can mellow the first sip, after which nothing really matters.

Split the vanilla beans and scrape out the seeds, adding the split beans and seeds to the alcohol when the lemon zest goes in. Follow directions for limoncello in the above recipe.

Simple Syrup with Splenda? It is your funeral.

This is like totally optional, and possibly a weapon of mass destruction. I just don’t like the idea of guzzling all that sugar. I have heard that Splenda-brand sweetener can be made into a simple syrup. The powdery white stuff can be substituted measurement for measurement for granulated sugar in just about any recipe. Unlike its sugar-substitute predecessors, the vile Pink and the sickly Blue, Splenda is a form of sugar and can be subjected to heat, making it very versatile in all forms of cooking.

I have heard that people make candy with the powder, which means the heat threshold must be beyond 300 degrees Fahrenheit.I am going to try lemoncello with a traditional simple syrup, following the recipe above but combining 2 parts Splenda to 1 part distilled or designer water in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly to dissolve the stuff and cook until it reaches about 220 degrees F. (Probably 2-3 minutes past a full, rolling boil at sea level.)

Since this is for cocktails, I won't bother cooking that long. I combine equal parts of Splenda and bottled water in a saucepan and stir over medium heat just until the Splenda is totally dissolved, then decant into a jar to be stored in the fridge. The beauty of this is I can see whether or not the syrup component works before even thinking about mixing it with the booze.

Copyright 2010 Vic Socotra
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