‘Tis the season…for home made yummies! When I was a child, every year for Christmas I would take over my mother’s kitchen and make big batches of fudge and cookies for all my friends and family.  Over the years the size and content of the batches has changed, but I still enjoy taking the time to make some yummy goodies to hand out as gifts ever year.

This year was no different, but for the first time I moved away from sticky-sweet chocolates and looked towards a cultural tradition of a different sort.

Alcohol!

This year I made almost two gallons of Lemoncello.  Lemoncello is a lemon liquor made in Sicily, and served as a digestivo.  A digestivo is a very potent alcoholic drink served after a large and delicious Italian meal.  It is supposed to aid in digestion, as the name would suggest.    The espresso of alcoholic drinks, if you will, one is supposed to sip on a small serving.  With all the holiday feasts common this time of year, I thought a digestivo would be a pretty welcome addition to the menu.

I hope my friends agree!

Salute!

~ Aeri

Lemoncello Recipe:

Add the rind of 10 lemons to .75 L of grain alcohol (like Everclear), and let the mixture sit at room temperature for four days.  This will release the oils from the rinds and make a nice yellow liquid.  After the four days, make up a batch of simple syrup by heating 3-4 cups water with 2.5 cups sugar.  Once all the sugar has dissolved, let the mixture cool.  When it is room temperature, add it too the lemon mixture and let that sit for another day or two.  Then strain out the rinds and pour the finished lemoncello into whatever container(s) you’d like! Glass and porcelain work best. You can store the lemoncello in the freezer for up to a year, but if it lasts that long than you’re not having enough dinner parties! Enjoy!