Happy Hour Tuesday: Cucumber, Lemon and Limoncello Cocktail

Happy Hour Tuesday!

Lately I have been noticing that cucumber is widely used in American (and not only!) cuisine : we find it in both fancy and more humble dishes, it is used as one of the main ingredients or serves as a side to accompany the main entree, it flavors tea, water, and now even in cocktails! As a matter of fact, this week’s drink is called Cucumber, Lemon and Limoncello Cocktail.

With its sweet and sour flavor, cucumber offers antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, especially if consumed fresh. These properties are beneficial whether the cucumber is eaten or the essence are extracted from the actual slices. This is why cucumbers are often associated to beauty, spas and wellness.

Cucumber, Lemon and Limoncello Cocktail, which we found on the Italian Dulcis in Furno website, has a zesty flavor which is mellowed down by the bitterness of the cucumber and the mint. With its balanced taste, sweet yet refreshing, Cucumber, Lemon and Limoncello Cocktail is suitable to all the seasons.

Ingredients (serves 2-3):

1 cucumber (about 10,60 oz)
1 shot Rometti Limoncello
2 lemons (the juice)
6 teaspoons sugar
10 mint leaves

To garnish;
Mint leaves to taste
Lemon slices to taste

Peel the cucumber and cut into small pieces. Put the cucumber and mint leaves in a blender and process until creamy. Add the mix to the rest of the ingredients in a shaker. Shake well and pour into glasses that can be garnished with lemon slices and mint.
Serve chilled.

~Enjoy!

Image and recipe courtesy of http://dulcisinfurno.blogspot.com

Happy Hour Tuesday: Meloncello Cocktail

Happy Hour Tuesday!

As you all know either through your Grandma’s healthy eating habits advices or because of all those losing-weight advertisements on tv, fruit and vegetables are great sources of vitamins and nutrients. Among the fruit that replenish us with vitamin C we find watermelon, the bright red, fresh and juicy fruit of the vine-like watermelon plant. Even the rinds contain hidden nutrients although their taste prevents most of the people from eating them.

Meloncello Cocktail is a refreshing drink that combines the sugary taste of watermelon with the citrusy flavor of limoncello. Sit back and enjoy the afternoon with an icy glass of fun, fresh, Meloncello Cocktail!

Ingredients:

1 cup cubed seedless watermelon
ice cubes
3 1/2 ounces Rometti Limoncello
1/2 ounce lemon-flavored or light rum
Splash club soda
cocktail sugar
lemon wedge

Rim a rocks glass with the sugar, if desired, and put in the freezer. Puree the watermelon cubes in a blender until juicy.
Fill the prepped glass with ice.
Add the watermelon juice, Rometti Limoncello and rum. Top off with enough club soda to give the drink a light bubble.
Garnish with the lemon wedge and serve.

~Enjoy!

image © Heath Robbins

Cook N Bake Turkish Series: Stuffed Zucchini

Welcome back to our weekly Cook N Bake Turkish Series!

This week we have a special recipe coming from a special friend of mine who lives in Istanbul. I’ve known Ceren for a few years now, she is one of those people who I will always consider a friend although although I could go years without seeing her. So of course, when we here at Rometti decided to dedicate five weeks to Turkish cuisine, I couldn’t help but thinking of her and she promptly emailed me one of her mom’s favorite recipes: Turkish Stuffed Zucchini.

Istanbul was the center of the Ottoman cuisine. Being the capital, chefs would be called to the imperial court to represent their local cuisine, test it and amalgamate it. Turkish cuisine was not important only for the empire, but for all people as well. As a matter of fact during the month of Ramadan there would be households open to all neighbors to stop by and grab a bite.

Stuffed vegetables are typical of Turkish cuisine: they are commonly called dolma. Rice is often the main ingredient for the stuffing, together with the part of the vegetable that was carved out, and spices. Vegetables are a dominant ingredient compared to meat, which is often served in smaller portions or is used for flavoring.
Turkish cuisine is very simple, and doesn’t use a lot of saturated fats. As a matter of fact olive oil is usually the main oil used for cooking, together with sunflower oil, canola oil, corn oil, sesame oil and walnut oil.

Even if you are not a fan of vegetables you won’t be able to say no to this appetizing, flavorful dish that all moms love to make in Turkey! Your children will love it too!
Ingredients:

2 lb zucchini
1½ cups rice
1 medium onion, chopped finely
½ cup parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp dried mint
1 tsp salt to taste
½ tsp black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp tomato paste
2-3 tomatoes, sliced (for covering tops)
Hot water

Wash and drain the rice. Chop the onions finely and mix all the ingredients but hot water and the zucchini. Wash the zucchini and make scratches or parallel marks with a fork, or you may peel them in stripes. Cut the stems. If the zucchini are too long cut them in half, then scrape inside of each piece of zucchini using a small spoon, making them hollow. You may sprinkle with salt inside.
Stuff each hollow zucchini with the rice stuffing, leaving about ¼ inch part on top. Cover each stuffed zucchini either with a slice of tomato or stems of the zucchini. Place them in a pot leaving no room in between. Add about 1 inch of hot water to cover the zucchini and cook over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes or until the rice is cooked. Take them over serving plate and serve with either plain or garlic yogurt. You may garnish with dill.

~Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Ceren Ates.

Happy Hour Tuesday: Strawberry & Pineapple Shake with Limoncello

Happy Hour Tuesday!

sometimes life just needs some color, something that awakens your childhood memories and brings you back to a happy place especially when everything around is rushing, spinning and never seems to stop. Of the five senses the one that is the most connected to our memories is the smell. Just like a camera catches the moment and impresses it on a film, smell and taste record particular moments of our lives and makes us re-live them through the sip of a drink, or the perfume as a stranger walks by.
With the arrival of Spring I can’t help but thinking of which type of fruit and flowers I can grow to give that pop of color to my little backyard, as well as I can’t resist the temptation of filling up my grocery basket with red strawberries, purple blueberries, orange peaches and colorful vegetables for a delicious salad medley! This week’s happy hour drink is not just a cocktail, it is statement, a hymn to sunny days, lazy weekends, playful dates and everything in between: Strawberry & Pineapple Shake with Limoncello.
During this time of the year strawberries are not in season in most parts of the country, but if you are lucky enough to be in a location where it is warm enough to grow them, hand picking them will make this drink even more special! Just remember that if your five-year-daughter is impatiently sitting and waiting for her strawberry shake, you might have to distinguish the limoncello-free drink!
Ingredients:

3/4 cup Pineapple
2 cups Cold water
1 cup Strawberries
1/4 cup Rometti Limoncello
1/4 cup Sugar (or less)
5 – 6 mint leaves
ice

Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve chilled and with a smile!

~Enjoy!

Recipe and image courtesy of http://www.apronandsneakers.com

Cook N Bake Turkish Series: Tarhana Soup

Bordered by eight countries (Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Azebaijani, Iraq and Syria), and three different seas (Mediterranean, Aegean, Black, plus the the Sea of Maramara, the Bosphorus and Dardanelles), there is an enchanting land that combines both modern and old world features: Turkey.
Influenced by both Greco-Roman and Islamic cultures, Turkey is a mix of Anatolian, Ottoman and Wester countries traditions which transfer also in their cuisine. Starting this week our new Cook N Bake: Turkish Series will present us some delicious dishes that are the result of a fusion between Ottoman, Middle Eastern, Balkan and Central Asian cuisines.

Although Turkish cuisine changes from North to South and East to West, there are some ingredients that are commong throughout the country: beef, chicken, fish, onion, garlic, lentils, beans, tomatoes, nuts such as pistachios and almonds, parsley, cumin, paprika, thyme and oregano together with many other spices. Fruit is also popular, other than being cheap, both dried and fresh. Yogurt is also extremely present in the Turkish cuisine.
Usually a Turkish meal starts with a soup (çorba), which is also the main dish during the fasting of the month of Ramadan, thus we want to start our Turkish Series with a soup as a first course: Tarhana Soup.

Tarhana Soup gets its name to the powder used to make this soup which is very popular in Anatolia. The powder has a light, pink color and a sour taste. Its color is due to the ingredients used to make this powder obtained by crumbling a fermented mix made of plain yogurt, flour, red pepper vegetables, tomatoes and onions. Eventually the powder is boiled with water, milk, spices and butter.

Tarhana Soup is nutritious, healthy and can even be perfect as a hot, warming breakfast when it’s rainy and cold outside!

Ingredients:

2-3 tablespoonful tarhana dough (see below)
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp crushed tomato
2-3 cup chicken stock
Crushed red pepper, optional
1 tsp butter
Crumbled Feta cheese to furnish
Place the tarhana and 1/2 cup water in a pot. Leave it alone for 1-2 hours for tarhana to dissolve a bit. Then add in the rest of the ingredients. Cook and stir constantly over medium-low heat. Adjust consistency of the soup to your liking by adding more water if you prefer. Taste for salt.

Place the soup into a bowl, sprinkle some crumbled feta cheese on top and serve while still warm.

~Enjoy!

Happy Hour Tuesday: Limoncello Citrus Sangria

Hpppy Hour Tuesday!

We hope you all had a great time during the past Easter weekend! At Rometti we had a lovable Sunday brunch during which we tried an amazing recipe that we found on Nicole Whites’s blog, http://www.foodiemisadventures.com and it was so delicious that we decided to share: Limoncello Citrus Sangria.
When you say sangria, you say fun, Summer, Spring, good time with friends. Sangria is as tasty as wine and as refreshing as a cocktail, that is why people love it! Served over ice after letting the wine chill with fruit and limoncello, Limoncello Citrus Sangria while keeping the classic look and taste of wine becomes a casual drink enriched with the sweetness of limoncello and citrusy taste of fresh fruit. Unformal yet full of flavor it is the perfect glass for a family gathering, or a BBQ party.

Although Easter is come and gone, don’t let the joyful feeling fade away! With a very few and simple ingredients, Limoncello Citrus Sangria, together with some good friends!, will keep the party going!
Ingredients:

1 Orange
1 Pink Grapefruit
2 lemons
750 ml bottle chilled white wine (like Sauvignon Blanc)
1 1/2 cups Rometti Limoncello
3 cups sparkling water or sparkling wine

After cleaning the fruit cut it into 1/4 ” thick slices.
Pour white wine, the sliced oranges, grapefruit, lemons and Rometti Limoncello into a pitcher. Refrigerate for about 4 hours.
At serving time add the sparkling water (or wine) and stir. Pour into glasses and garnish with fruit if desired.

~Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Nicole White
Image courtesy of Nicole White http://www.foodiemisadventures.com