Limoncello Sparkle Food

LIMONCELLO SPARKLE

Steps:

• Combine the limoncello and Cointreau in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake moderately, and strain into a champagne flute. Top with champagne. Garnish with a long lemon peel.

LIMONCELLO

Steps:

• Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the lemons in long strips (reserve the lemons for another use). 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 limoncello to bottles. Seal the bottles and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 month.

LIMONCELLO

Steps:

• Grate the zest from the lemons using a Microplane grater, taking care to leave the pith behind. Place the zest in a 3-quart pitcher. Pour the vodka over it and stir. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a spot where it won't be disturbed, at room temperature, and let steep 1 week.
• Combine 3 1/2 cups water and the sugar in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
• Let cool completely, then pour the syrup into the pitcher with the zest and stir. Cover tightly again and let stand for 24 hours. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the solids. Pour into clean bottles with tight-fitting caps. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or up to 1 month.

LIMONCELLO SPARKLER

Steps:

• Pour limoncello into a chilled Champagne coupe. Top with prosecco. Serve with rosemary.

SPARKLING LIMONCELLO RASPBERRY COCKTAIL

Steps:

• On a small plate, stir together the sugar and grated lemon zest. Dip a clean finger in the lemon juice and moisten the rim of a Champagne flute or other wine glass. Dip the rim in the sugar mixture to coat.
• In a small bowl or ramekin, using a cocktail muddler or the end of a wooden spoon, pulverize the raspberries with the limoncello. Transfer the puree to the sugar-rimmed glass. Place a spoonful of crushed ice in the glass, then pour in the sparkling wine. Garnish with the mint leaves or lemon zest strip and serve immediately.

LIMONCELLO AND MINT SPARKLERS

Steps:

• Combine mint and limoncello in a bowl, then gently bruise mint with a pestle or wooden spoon (to release flavor). Chill, covered, 1 hour.
• Pour limoncello through a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher, pressing firmly on mint and then discarding it.
• Just before serving, stir in lemon juice, sparkling water, and enough ice to fill pitcher.

LIMONCELLO (LEMONCELLO, LIMONCELLA)

Steps:

• Remove yellow part of lemon peel either with micro-plane or sharp peeler. If any pith remains on the back of a strip of peel, scrape it off.
• Place peels in a large jar with screw-top lid or sealed with clamps and cover with one bottle of vodka.
• Leave mixture to mellow for 2 weeks in a dark place.
• After mixture sets, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan, bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar has dissolved. Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature (This is very important- if the sugar syrup is still warm the limoncello will result cloudy instead of limpid).
• Using a coffee filter or fine sieve, strain the vodka from the peels and mix it with the remaining bottle of vodka and the syrup. Put the liqueur in bottles, seal tightly (cork or screw-top lid) and let the components marry, in a dark place, for at least 10 days before using.
• For drinking straight, store the Limoncello in the freezer.

ITALIAN LIMONCELLO

Steps:

• Combine alcohol and lemon zest in a 1-gallon jug with a tight-fitting lid. Place in a cool, dark place to rest for 1 month. Swirl contents of the jug every few days.
• Combine water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat; stir until sugar is fully dissolved. Set simple syrup aside to cool completely, 15 to 30 minutes.
• While simple syrup is cooling, place a sieve over a large bowl and line with coffee filters. Strain alcohol mixture through coffee filters to remove all sediment. Replace the filters as needed until all the mixture has been filtered. Filter one more time to ensure all sediment has been removed. Discard coffee filters and zest.
• Add enough simple syrup to the alcohol mixture to reach the desired alcohol-by-volume percentage; refer to an alcohol content calculator.
• Divide limoncello among 6 wine bottles. Seal with corks. Allow to rest in a cool, dark place for 1 month, swirling every few days. Strain one more time to remove any leftover sediment if desired.
• Place 1 bottle of limoncello in the freezer and serve icy-cold. Store remaining bottles at room temperature.

LIMONCELLO

Steps:

• Pare the zest from all the lemons, taking care not to include any white pith. Put the zest in a large clean jar and pour over the vodka. Cover with a tightly fitting lid and leave for a week, shaking the jar each day.
• Put the sugar in a heatproof bowl and pour over the boiling water, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Add the vodka and peels and leave for a further week, shaking the jar regularly.
• Strain into decorative bottles, adding a few strips of lemon zest to each bottle.