Making Limoncello

I fell in love with limoncello on our 2 trips to Italy. The liqueur is a strong and sweet personification of the lemon, made by soaking lemon peel in a high-proof alcohol and then combining the resulting mixture with a simple sugar syrup.

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This first phase, soaking the peels, will take about 2-3 weeks. Then I will strain the liquid and combine with the syrup. It should set, undisturbed for about a month after that. The liqueur will continue to mellow and age nicely the longer you let it sit.

Limoncello is a digestivo, designed to be sipped in small quantities after a large, Italian meal. I love having it like this, as well as sharing it with friends, so this large batch is destined to be bottled in smaller bottles and given to friends as a Christmas gift.

When serving limoncello, you should freeze the bottle, as well as the small glasses for several hours before serving. This chill brings out the lemon smell and flavor while mellowing the alcohol.

Elsewhere Online: Leonardo Romanelli's Pasta e Ceci: An Illustrated Recipe

I am always on the lookout for new recipes, especially for Italian food, since Rosanne is Siciliano. (SMILE) I love Italian food, too though, and soups especially so this recipes for Pasta and Ceci (Chickpea) Soup fits the bill nicely.

Even more, this recipe is illustrated, so you can easily follow along and make it yourself.

Leonardo Romanelli's Pasta e Ceci: An Illustrated Recipe

There are many variations on pasta e ceci, pasta and chickpea soup, and Leonardo's is both easy and quick, once you have the cooked chickpeas. In other words, it's a...

(Via Italian Cuisine.)

Technorati Tags: howto, how-to, food, italian, winter, sicily, Italy, soup, recipe, recipes, cook

YUM! - Ferrero Rocher reviewed on CandyBlog

Cybele over at Candy Blog posts about Ferraro Rocher, a little bundle of chocolate, wafer and hazelnut joy that I fell in love with when visiting the wife's family in Sicily. These are my choice for the most perfect chocolate confection on the planet -- chocolately, crunchy, nutty -- of man, I got to go buy some.....NOW! (SMILE)

Ferrero Rocher

One of the more familiar candies that’s marketed for Valentine’s Day would be the Ferrero Rocher. They’re pretty candies all year round but during the season for lovers they’re placed in clear plastic heart-shaped domes of varying sizes.

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(Via candy blog.)

Technorati Tags: candy, food, sweet, Italy, Italian