(Limoncello, fresh from the fridge).

So, the Ebola plague actually came through Dulles International Airport to get to Dallas. Duh, I should have realized that there are no direct flights from Monrovia to Dallas. I was hoping he changed planes in New York.

Lone Star Health officials are saying the man may have come in contact with more than eighty people after arriving, and the story about his telling ER personnel that he was having flu-like symptoms AND had just come from West Africa apparently didn’t get passed along. Amazing- but not surprising.

On the up-side, there are a variety of factors that mitigate against the spread of the disease here, and a variety of medical people appearing on the media to assure us that prior to the development of symptoms, there is a very low risk of transmission, that social practice here is different in handling the bodies of the dead, and that it takes direct exposure to bodily fluids to catch it.

So maybe things are going to be OK, but why on earth are there still direct flights from the area of contagion to Washington? Good grief, it is enough to drive someone to drink.

Which I might. Having touched on some applications for the astonishing power of the Habanero Pepper yesterday, I have another couple suggestions that are either sweet on the palate or tantalizingly spicy. Here is the sweet, with kick.

Limoncello

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

Directions
Using a vegetable peeler- I have a nice one from Krups that I found on sale at World Market- , remove the peel from the lemons in long strips (reserve the lemons for another use, maybe in the drink you make with the next item). Using a small sharp knife, trim away the white pith from the lemon peels; discard the pith. 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 the vodka for 4 days at room temperature.

Stir the water and sugar in a 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 a mesh strainer. Discard the peels. Transfer the elixer to bottles, screw the top down tight and slide in the reefer until they are chilled. This is best done after breakfast, so that the afternoon is wide open. Should last a month with maximum flavor, but I have never had vodka (or cough syrup) go bad on me. Like we need an expiration date.

My pal in Baja has a unique spin on making the sweet liqueur, but I will save her recipe for the cook-book and you can try it then.

As for the spice end of things, an alert reader had a suggestion about what to do with the last three Habanero peppers. Drink them.

Sid said: “If you are a martini man – as I am- there is nothing like a Cajun Martini. Just cut a Habanero lengthwise so that it will go down the neck of a bottle of Gin (or Vodka). Put it into the Fridge for a couple of days, and pour into your favorite glass – over ice or straight up. The drink of your life.”

I am not much of a gin man, due to an unfortunate incident over Spring Break in Fort Lauderdale in 1969, but in point of fact, I do like a vodka martini once in a while, normally with an old classmate and Africa hand. Since I had to shower anyway, I complied with Sid’s recommendation. I washed the fiery red Habenaro, sliced lengthwise and dropped down the neck of a fresh bottle of Tito’s Hand Crafted Vodka, pride of Austin, Texas.

I had intended to have a drink-off between the Belmont Farms grain-to-glass product and the world champion of craft distilling, but the opportunity to test the recipe is too good to pass up while the pepper is still fresh and ripe from Natasha’s vine.

The bottle is resting now in the fridge. First test on Sunday at cocktail hour. I will let you know how it goes.

Cheers!

Copyright 2014 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com
Twitter: @jayare303