Fridaylicious: White Chocolate Limoncello Truffles

Thank God It’s Friday, Thank God It’s Delicious!

Good things come in small packages, and to be specific this week all the goodness comes in the small, rounded shape of a truffle. Even better if the little chocolate treat features among its ingredients some delicious limoncello, like the White Chocolate Limoncello Truffles we have the spotlight on this week!

We all know that truffles are so called because the original dark chocolate version (rolled in cocoa) resembles the black truffle fungus, but what not everyone knows is that the person who we should thank for such a watering-buds-invention is Auguste Escoffier, who back in 1920s came up with an “accidentally” different recipe of the French chocolate truffles, which originally were in fact a ball of ganache, chocolate and cream flavored in cocoa powder. One day while August was attempting to make pastry cream, he mistakenly poured hot cream into a bowl of chocolate chunks where he should have instead poured sugared egg. Once the mixture hardened he found out that it could have been rolled up into chocolate balls, and the rest is history!

White Chocolate Limoncello Truffles are made with heavy cream, white chocolate, and the addition of Rometti Limoncello which by infusing a bittersweet, zesty flavor to the sweet, delicate mixture elevates it to something definitively heavenly!

Grated white chocolate could be perfect for rolling, however if you want to add a little exotic look (and taste!) to this already simple yet outstanding recipe, coconuts flakes will just be like the cherry on top!

Ingredients (makes about 30):

1/4 cup Heavy cream
1 Lemon zest
8 oz Chopped white chocolate
1 tbsp Rometti Limoncello
Coconut flakes for rolling

Melt the chocolate in bain-marie; add Rometti Limoncello. Stir frequently as white chocolate tends to burn easily.
Heat the cream till nearly boiling then add to the melted chocolate. Stir until thick and velvety. Stir in the lemon zest. Leave to cool in the fridge for 2-3 hours, or until firm enough to work with.
Line a baking tray with non-stick paper. Wearing disposable gloves, scoop a teaspoon of the truffle mixture and roll into balls using the palms of your hands. If the mixture is a bit sticky, dust with icing sugar. Place each rolled truffle on the baking tray; return to the fridge and allow to firm up.
To coat the truffles; use a fork or skewer to dip each truffle into melted white chocolate then return it to the baking tray to set.
Pipe or drizzle some melted dark chocolate across the top of each truffle.
When all the truffles are made, place them back in the fridge for a couple of hours before packing them into cellophane gift bags or chocolate boxes.

Recipe from http://allrecipes.co.uk
Image by Eva Toneva

Happy Hour Tuesday: Kiwi Lemon Kwencher

Happy Hour Tuesday!

One of the best fruits that unbelievably work well with limoncello is kiwi. Kiwis are egg-sized fruit with a fuzzy brown skin and a bright green pulpy texture, speckled with rows of edible black seeds. Soft and with a slightly acidic flavor, kiwis are at the top of the nutritional fruit diet, as they contain the highest amount of vitamins and minerals compared to other fruits. Natural sources of folate and potassium, kiwis should be particularly present in everyone’s diet since they can provide us with antioxidants and improve our immune system.

Kiwi Lemon Kwencher is a refreshing cocktail that mixes up Brut sparkling wine, St Germain, club soda, limoncello and of course kiwi. The result is a colorful and delicious cocktail that pairs well with any vegetable, especially zucchini, and fish.

Ingredients:

Half a ripe kiwi, peeled
0.5 oz St-Germain
0.75 oz Rometti Limoncello
Club soda
3 to 4 oz Brut sparkling wine

Muddle the kiwi in a shaker, fill with ice. Add all the ingredients but club soda, and shake until chilled. Add a splash of club soda, strain into a cocktail glass, and top with sparkling wine. Use a kiwi slice to garnish.

~Enjoy!

image from http://www.liqueur.com

Happy Hour Tuesday: Charlie Chaplin

Happy Hour Tuesday!

This week we found an excellent, fruity drink that takes us back to the 1920s, and it’s from the 1920s’ irreplaceable actor with mustaches, hat and cane, that it takes the name after. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce you to Charlie Chaplin!

Charlie Chaplin – the drink, not the person!- was made prior to 1920’s and it became the Wastorf-Astoria signature of those years when silent movies started to break out. The original drink is made by equal parts of apricot brandy, sloe gin and lemon juice, however to add some zesty flavor and a  little kick, we substituted the 1 oz lemon juice with 1/4 oz Rometti Limoncello and 3/4 lemon juice.

Almost as sweet as the slapstick acrobat that made generations laugh for decades, Charlie Chaplin is a blend of fruity, earthy and citrusy notes, delightful as after dinner.

Ingredients:
1 oz gin
1 oz apricot brandy
1/4 oz Rometti Limoncello
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice

Shake all the ingredients with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with a sliver of lemon zest and serve.

~Enjoy!

Fridaylicious: Limoncello Macarons

Thank God It’s Friday… Thank God It’s Sweet!

Welcome to Rometti Limoncello’s new blog Fridaylicious focusing on the use of Limoncello for culinary purposes. Yes, Limoncello is not good only by itself or as ingredient for flavory cocktails, but it can also be used in cooking, especially with desserts! We hope you will enjoy such a delicious Friday blog to end your working week on a high note and start your weekend in the sweetest way!

For our first Fridaylicious entry we couldn’t help but picking a classic dessert, a pearl of French cooking: Limoncello Macarons AKA Meyer Lemon Macarons with Lemon Curd and Blackberry-Thyme-Limoncello Jam.

Macarons come in quite a big variety of colors and flavors, they consist of a meringue-like cookies with a soft cream sandwiched in between. The colors often suggests the flavor, and they are extremely pleasant to present!

We found this amazing recipe posted by Mardi Michels on her food blog Eat. Live. Travel. Write. If happiness comes in small quantities, Mardi’s recipe will deliver it under the resemblance of sweet, chewy little bites!  These macarons made with the addition of Rometti Limoncello will brighten up your parties, receptions, bridal showers, and will be a tasty, buds-blowing gift for friends and family!

Ingredients:

For the Meringue (French Method):
1 3/4 cups + 2 1/2 tablespoons of almond flour
1 3/4 cups of powdered sugar
6 egg whites
1 cup + 3 tablespoonsof granulated sugar
2/3 cup water
yellow colored paste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl sift together almond flour and powdered sugar. Mix it together and add 3 egg whites in it. With a spatula stir it until it becomes a thick almond paste.
In a small saucepan combine granulated sugar with water on a medium-low heat. It needs to become a syrup, once it reaches 248 F take it off the stove.
Take the remaining 3 eggwhites and whisk them into a mixing bowl until they softens up. At that point pour in the syrup down the side and continue whisking for 2-5 minutes until stiff and glossy. Add a pea-size of yellow colored paste.
Finally, mix in the meringue with your almond powder mixture and fold it in until the meringue forms a thick and uniform texture.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Fit a pastry bag with a 3/8-inch #4 round tip, and fill with batter. Pipe 1-inch disks onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. The batter will spread a little. Let stand at room temperature until dry, and a soft skin forms on the tops of the macaroons and the shiny surface turns dull, about 15 minutes.

Bake, with the door of the oven slightly ajar, until the surface of the macaroons is completely dry, about 15 minutes. Remove baking sheet to a wire rack and let the macaroons cool completely on the baking sheet. Gently peel off the parchment. Their tops are easily crushed, so take care when removing the macaroons from the parchment. Use immediately or store in an airtight container, refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.

ps: if you, like me, need a sylicon baking mat, Mastrad offers a whole kit for Macarons-aspiring-chefs: get your Mastrad macaron baking set here!

For the Curd (Recipe from the Flavor Forecast):
9 eggyolks
2/3 cup Meyer lemon juice
1/4 cup Rometti Limoncello
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter, cold cut into tbsp pieces

For the Meyer Lemon Curd, mix egg yolks, Meyer lemon juice, Limoncello liqueur and granulated sugar in large heavy saucepan with wire whisk until well blended. Whisking constantly, cook on medium heat 8 to 10 minutes or until curd is thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter, one piece at a time. Spoon into large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight until chilled and set.

For blackberry with Limoncello and thyme (recipe author: Mardi Michels):
1/2 cups blackberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup Rometti Limoncello
2 tsp dried lemon thyme (or 1 tsp finely chopped thyme and 1 tsp Meyer lemon zest)

Combine blackberries, sugar, Limoncello, thyme and zest in a medium heavy saucepan.
Cook over medium heat until the blackberries begin to soften a little.
Use a wooden spoon or a potato masher to break up the fruit.
Reduce heat to low and cook, uncovered, stirring often, until the mixture begins to thicken, about 30 minutes.
The jam won’t be as firm as you think it should be but it will definitely firm up once it cools down.

Once everything is ready, pair up the meringues and lightly spread on the flat side of each some of the lemon curd. On only one side add a pea-size worth of blackberry jam, put the two meringues together and here you go: you have made your first Limoncello Macaron!

~Enjoy!

Happy Hour Tuesday: Limoncello Renaissance

Happy Hour Late Tuesday this week…

as Italian, I am very familiar with bitters: if you spent some time in Europe or if you are a passionate in the field, you probably know of Amaro Montenegro, Aperol, Averna, Campari, and a whole bunch of other bitters used for mixers or by themselves as digestifs. Interestingly, bitters were not born as liquor, how they are mainly know nowadays. It appears as the earliest bitters were instead used in the ancient times (back to the Egyptians and all the way through Middle Ages and American colonization) for medical purposes. Apothecaries would often stock bitters to cure, thanks to their herbal infusion, stomach sicknesses, and moreover they were used in mixers of preventive medicinal cocktails with tonic water.

From ancient remedies to difestifs, bitter have become today a synonimus of ammazzacaffe’ (Italian for “coffee killer”: yes because after a festive meal a coffee is not enough to help your stomach processing all the food!) , amaros, or even more commonly, simple liquor.

Among all the different types of bitters I ever tasted and heard of, there is one kind that I have to admit sounds new to me: the Peach Bitter. Introduced by the Bitter Truth, a German spirits company, back in 2006, Peach Bitters are “a contemporary interpretation of a classic style of bitters“. More delicate and fruity than what I am used to, this bitter is perfect for flavoring cocktails of all kinds, from martinis to tonics to gimlets.

So we tried it and found out that its bittersweet taste works perfectly with the zesty, sweet flavor of Limoncello in a cocktail called Renaissance, a mix of Cognac, Vermouth, Limoncello and of course Peach Bitter. It will warm you up on a winter night, but thanks to its delicate notes it will fast forward you to the awakening of Spring.

Ingredients:
8 Parts Cognac
5 Parts Vermouth, Sweet
1 Part Rometti Limoncello
2 Dashes Peach Bitters
1 Peel Lemon

Fill a mixing glass with ice cubes. Add all ingredients. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon.

Enjoy!

Recipe from http://www.absoloutedrinks.com
You can find more information on Peach Bitters at: http://the-bitter-truth.com/bitter/peach-bitters/

Happy Hour Tuesday: Champagne Lemon Cocktail

Happy Hour Tuesday!

with our displeasure, Christmas holidays have officially left us. It’s been fun to hang out for a little longer with our friends and family while enjoying some traditional cuisine. And now, all we have left of those cheering and cozy days spent cuddling up around a fireplace are a few more pounds to carry around. As reality hits back, it’s time to put away the comfy snowflakes sweaters we very much loved throughout the season and take out of the closets our work out clothes!
To start the new year with a sparkling drink that won’t ruin all of our work out efforts yet it will flavorfully give us an excuse to keep cheering with our beloved ones, we selected a simplistic, bubbly Champagne Limoncello Cocktail. Champagne unlike other alcoholic beverages has less sugar intake, furthermore Brut champagne – which is dry thus has an even lower sugar content- only has about 65 calories per pour (about 4 oz). Limoncello although syrupy, if added in the right amount will be enough to enrich the drink with its citrusy flavor without “enriching” it too much in calories. Because of this, after a great work out session, you can still meet up with friends and raise your glass without feeling guilty! Enjoy!

Ingredients (serves 8):
8 (3 x 1/2-inch) lemon rind strips
8 tablespoons Rometti Limoncello
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 (750-milliliter) bottle brut Champagne, chilled

Roll up the lemon rind strips and place each one of them in 8 champagne flutes. Add 1 tbsp Rometti Limoncello and 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice per glass. Pour in Brut Champagne and serve. This drink only has about 105 calories!

~Enjoy!

Recipe from http://playing2lose.wordpress.com
Photo credits: Mark Thomas

Happy Hour Tuesday: Colony Records

Happy Hour Tuesday!

1621 was a year that marked forever our history as Americans. This coming Thursday, three hundred and ninety two years later, we will still gather around a table, reminiscent of all the great people and good times that this past year has been blessing us with, and give thanks for everything/everyone that makes our life special.
To make sure that you will be cheering at this Thanksgiving with a delicious cocktail, we found an amazing recipe online called Colony Records, by Allan Katz, distiller and Liquor.com advisory board member, and nonetheless Director of mixology & spirits education for Southern Wine & Spirits of New York. Colony Records has a fruity, bittersweet flavor  -especially with our own addition of Rometti Limoncello to it!- combined with a spicy touch will be the perfect complement to a Thanksgiving meal.

Ingredients:

2 oz Cruzan Single Barrel Rum
1.5 oz Fresh grapefruit juice
.75 oz Cranberry Syrup*
a splash of Rometti Limoncello
2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Combine 1.5 cups of Fresh Cramberries, 1 cup of water, 3/4 cup of sugar in a small saucepan on medium hear. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer for 10 min until the cranberries start to fall apart. Strain into a bowl and let cool. You just made cranberry syrup! Cover and store in the refrigerator.
Add rum, grapefruit juice, cranberry syrup, Rometti Limoncello and Angostura bitters in a shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.

~Enjoy!

Recipe and image from Liquor.com

Happy Hour Tuesday: French 75

Happy Hour Tuesday!

“Whatcha drinking?”, how many time have you heard this question at a party or at a bar? Cocktails are always a good way to start a conversation, but how many times have you stopped and thought why your favorite drink was named like that? This week’s drink, for example, is called French 75. If like me you are not so widely informed about guns and weapons, you probably would have never imagined that yes, it does take its name after an artillery piece, French 75mm. Why? Because the mix of its ingredients is as strong as being shelled by a French 75!

Although barman Harry MacElhone, who worked at the New York Bar in Paris back in 1915 seems to be the actual creator of such a powerful drink, there are rumors that claim it to have been created by a World War I fighter pilot who thought that champagne was not that strong enough for soldiers who like him ended up stuck in a trench with only bottles of champagne and gin (or cognac), thus he mixed the two.

Two of the most famous books with drink recipes, The Savoy Cocktail Book from 1930, and The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks from 1948 present French 75 respectively with gin and with cognac. Whether it was gin or cognac, we probably will never know, but what we do know for sure is that next time you are at a party you should be holding in your hand this strong, masculine drink so that when someone asks you “Whatcha drinking?” you can proudly respond: French 75.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz gin

1 1/2 Rometti Limoncello

Champagne (more or less, depending on how concentrated you like the drink)

Shake the gin and Rometti Limoncello with ice and strain into a champagne flute. Top with champagne and garnish with a lemon twist.

~Enjoy!

Image from Madtini.com

Happy Hour Tuesday: Rosemary and Mint Martini

Happy Hour Tuesday!

Another week, another Tuesday. Rometti Limocello is here to light up once again the second day of the week, aka the average day per excellence. In fact while Monday is also known as don’t-wake-me-up-i-do-not-want-to-go-to-work day, Wednesday is hump day, Thursday is pre-weekend day, Friday is TGIF, and of course Saturday and Sunday were invented to have fun with family and friends, Tuesday is that day of the week that no one would like to be stuck on as it does not taste like pretty much anything. So we decided to give it a connotation and make it taste like… Limoncello!

After saying goodbye to Veteran’s Day, this week does not anticipate any other holiday event to look forward to. Perhaps on this average Tuesday you are working at your desk until late. Perhaps you have already closed all your college books and are just about to meet up with friends for a coffee before going out to happy hour. Or perhaps you just picked up your kids from school and are starting to cook a homemade meal for tonight. No matter what your plans are, you can find some time to sit back and relax: Happy Hour Tuesday is bringing you a cocktail that smells like Fall, Rosemary and Mint Martini.

Rosemary and Mint Martini‘s main ingredient is gin, with its particular pine smell that inevitably brings us back to our childhood’s Christmas holidays, while mint and limoncello lift up our spirit like a breath of fresh air. To top if off, a hint of rosemary with its comforting smell gives to this drink that cozy sensation that takes you home, no matter where you are.

Whatever today brings to you, perhaps this average Tuesday you will be finding some time to sit down and enjoy a delicious Rosemary and Mint Martini!

Ingredients:
(Makes 2 Martinis)
1/4 cup Rometti Limoncello
6 oz. gin
splash of Vermouth
ice
2 sprigs of rosemary, for garnish

Combine Rometti Limoncello, gin, Vermouth, and ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake until you can’t shake anymore! Pour equally into two martini glasses. Garnish with the rosemary sprigs.

~Enjoy!

Recipe adaptation and image by Rachael, http://www.tokyoterrace.com

Happy Hour Tuesday: Maiden’s Blush

Happy Hour Tuesday!

Among the list of drinks with a name of uncertain origins, make sure to add Maiden’s Blush, a fruitily savory cocktail that must have a deeper story behind its name than the color from a blushing maid!

1930 Savoy Cocktail Book features two recipes for Maiden’s Blush, one with absinthe and one without, as the absinthe probably overwhelmed the rest of the ingredients.  The cocktail had been revised by another book, the Cafe’ Royal Cocktail Book, where Maiden’s Blush appears to have absinthe once again but in less quantity (1/8 vs 1/3). Also we find raspberry syrup and powdered sugar in this recipe, instead of grenative and orange curacao. The most interesting story is the one that features Maiden’s Blush to be Toulouse-Lautrec’s favorite drink, also made with absinthe, plus mandarin, bitters, red wine and cognac.

For this week’s recipe we decided to keep it low key considering all the partying and celebration from las week, so we would like to present you with the Maiden’s Blush recipe from the Savoy book from 1930 with our own Limoncello twist of course.

Ingredients:

2 dashs Rometti Limoncello
4 dashes Orange Curacao
4 dashes Grenadine
1 glass Dry Gin

Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with crushed ice. Add the ingredients, cover the shaker and shake for 10-15 seconds.
Strain the mix into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a twist of orange peel or lemon and serve ice cold.

~Enjoy!

Image from 12BottleBar.com