Happy Hour Tuesday: The Corsican

Happy Hour Tuesday!

If you are not Italian or French you may not know that Corsica is a small island located to the West of Italy or to the South-East of France, thus a territory that in the past has been fought over between these two countries. Today Corsica belongs to France and it’s also called Island of Beauty, as it offers a variety of sceneries, from its beautiful beaches where scuba diving is almost a must, to its great trails along the mountains.

The Corsican Cocktail, similarly to the inner nature of the island, mixes a bit of French and a bit of Italian: the aperitif Lillet Blanc with Rometti limoncello. Given the refreshing, zesty taste of limoncello, these two ingredients marry well together since Lillet Blanc contains wine, orange peel and quinine. Their flavors combined make a remarkable, balanced, modern drink, not extremely bitter and with a moderate sweetness. In addition to Lillet Blanc and Rometti Limoncello, eldelflower syrup and club soda are added, which increment the sweet, floral taste that makes this cocktail an enjoyable treat for every occasion.

Ingredients:
3 ounces Lillet Blanc, chilled
7 ounces Rometti limoncello, chilled
3 1/2 ounces elderflower syrup
1 3/4 ounces freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 (10-ounce) bottle club soda, chilled
6 lemon twists (optional)

Combine the Lillet, Rometti limoncello, elderflower syrup, and lemon juice in a large measuring cup or medium bowl. Using a funnel, transfer to a 3-cup-capacity bottle (or 750-ml bottle) with a tightfitting lid and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.
When ready to serve, pour about 4 ounces of the mixture into a chilled cocktail glass and top with about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 ounces of the club soda. Garnish with a lemon twist, if desired, and serve. (Alternatively, you can combine all of the ingredients except the lemon twists in a 5-cup punch bowl and serve immediately.)

~Enjoy!

Recipe from http://www.Chow.com

Image from OHSOBEAUTIFULPAPER.COM

Happy Hour Tuesday: Tuscan Rosemary Lemon Drop

Happy Hour Tuesday!

as the countdown to Summer gets shorter – as a matter of fact Memorial Day is next week!- this week we chose another drink that tastes fresh, zesty, yet pungent but extremely earthly aromatic: Tuscan Rosemary Lemon Drop.

Herbs are perfect for cooking, however they also taste delicious in drinks thanks to their oils and aromas which are released especially after muddling their leaves. Rosemary does not need to be muddled because its needle-style leaves are so astringent that by only putting them in contact with the alcoholic mixer they contaminate its flavor (in a good way of course!). Believed to improve memory, rosemary is a source of antioxidants, iron, vitamin b6 and calcium.

Tuscan Rosemary Lemon Drop was created by Chef Kathy Casey during a friends’ wedding in Tuscany. Whether or not the wedding was the reason of her choice of using rosemary, its association with weddings goes a long way back. To the Middle Ages, when rosemary would be used in weddings as a love charm. Since then rosemary has played the folkloristic role of symbolizing love and loyalty in proportion to how big and strong the plant would grow, together with its believed ability of repelling nightmares and witches.

Whether it’s a friend’s wedding, a date night, a gathering with friends and family or a Sunday barbecue, Tuscan Rosemary Lemon Drop is an inspirational recipe that will refreshen your soul on a Summer night.

 

Ingredients:
Rosemary Sugar (recipe follows)
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 1/2 ounces vodka
1/2 ounce Rometti Limoncello
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounce Simple Syrup
1 rosemary sprig for garnish
Rosemary Sugar
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, coarsely chopped
1 cup superfine or baker’s sugar

 

To make Rosemary Sugar:
Mix the rosemary and sugar together in a small bowl, and spread the mixture on a rimmed baking sheet. Set in a warm dry place for about 4 days, until the rosemary is completely dried. Process in a food processor or spice grinder until finely ground. Store in a tightly sealed container for up to one month at room temperature.
Rim a large martini glass with rosemary sugar, and set aside. Bend 1 rosemary sprig and drop into a cocktail shaker. Fill the shaker with ice. Measure in the vodka, Rometti Limoncello, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Cap and shake vigorously. Strain into the sugar-rimmed glass. Float a rosemary sprig in the drink for garnish.

~Enjoy!

Recipe from Sips and Apps: Classic and Contemporary Recipes for Cocktails and Appetizersby Kathy Casey (Chronicle Books, May 2009).

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: Limoncello Granita with Raspberry Sauce

Happy Hour Tuesday!

After surviving the end of the world,, wrapping an uncountable amount of gifts, and packing for a Christmas holiday break, Rometti is finally back! The decorations are gone and our house looks a little empty without the Christmas tree, but we are ready to start this year in a fresh and bubbly way!
As soon as Christmas is over, it almost seems so natural to start looking forward to the Spring and Summer months. It might still be cold outside but if we close our eyes we can surely imagine the sunshine and those bright, playful colors that the snow has been covering up with its white mantel. If like us you want to anticipate the warmth of the Summer months then it’s time to start making some Limoncello Granita with Fresh Raspberry Sauce!

For this of you who are not so familiar with granita, it is a water and sugar semi-frozen dessert typical of Sicily, Italy. There are different consistency of granita throughout Italy, but the most common one has a tiny, little, crystalline ice texture. Granita can be served by itself or mixed with other ingredients, like coffee or almonds. So why not mix it with Rometti Limoncello and turn it into a delicious drink!, just ilke Jennifer from Spoon With Me suggests.

To make Limoncello Granita you just need to make a sugar and water syrup, to which we’ll add long strips of lemon zest, lemon juice and Rometti Limoncello. A puree of raspberries will increase the consistency and give it an inviting, fun color.

Ingredients for the Granita:

6 Lemons
2/3 Cup sugar
5 Tbsp Rometti Limoncello
2 Cups water

Peel the lemons to make long, thin strips. Use the same lemons to make 1 cup of fresh, lemon juice.
Heat 2 cups of water with the 2/3 cup sugar over a medium-high heat. Stir until dissolved. Add lemon zest, and simmer for 30 additional seconds. Stir in Rometti Limoncello and the lemon juice. Let it cool at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Discard the zest and strain the mixture into a baking pan to place into the freezer. After 45 minutes scrape the first ice crystals with a fork. Put it back into the freezer and repeat scraping every 20-30 minutes until the liquid is all granular.
When it is time to serve, in each glass place some raspberries and cover them with the granita. On top add some rasperry sauce and decorate with fresh raspberries and lemon zest.

~Enjoy

Recipe and image from http://sponwithme.com

Happy Hour Tuesday: Limoncello Collins

Happy Hour Tuesday!

This week we are going to present you with a timeless, classic cocktail, adequate for every occasion, including holiday parties, this cocktail is a perfect anecdote to break the ice and start a conversation: Limoncello Collins.

Limoncello Collins is a variation of the classic Tom Collins, which appeared for the first time in Jerry Thomas’ “The Bartender’s Guide”. It is also possible that the name was taken after the British writer John Collins, as some claim, although both drinks are listed in Thomas’ masterpiece.

What is known with certainty about this drink is its connection to a non-existing character, Tom Collins, who was portrayed as a mysterious man who in 1874 would go around and speak behind everyone’s back. “Have you seen Tom Collins?” became the most popular question for people living in New York, Pennsylvania and surrounding states, to make the listener agitate and look around for Tom Collins, while Tom Collins was nothing more than a prank! This joke eventually grew and became the Great Tom Collins’ Hoax, at the point that newspapers in order to get the attention of the media of the time started publishing articles about Tom Collins’ sightings.

The herbal taste of the gin marries very well with the sweetness of the limoncello (originally the Tom Collins cocktail uses only lemon juice), and together with mint leaves create an explosion of freshness and zesty flavors.

Ingredients (8 drinks):

16 oz Rometti Limoncello
12 oz Gin
8 oz Fresh lemon juice
24 Lemon slices, thin
16 oz Club soda, chilled
8 Mint springs

Combine Rometti Limoncello, gin and lemon juice in a pitcher. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Take 8 collins glasses and press the lemon slices against the inside of each of them. Add ice. Stir the Rometti limoncello and gin mixture and pour it into the glasses. Stir 2 oz of Club Soda in each glass and garnish with mint.

~Enjoy!

image and recipe: http://www.foodandwine.com

Happy Hour Tuesday: Raspberry Basil Limoncello Cocktail

Happy Hour Tuesday!

Have you ever felt like the week has just started and Saturday already couldn’t come soon enough? If you need a drink that regenerates you from the stress of  work, traffic, and everything in between then we recommend this vibrant escape.  This week our refreshing cocktail called is the Raspberry Basil Limoncello Cocktail.

Created by the American chef Bobby Flay, the drink pairs fresh basil leaves with fresh raspberries. Herbs play such a fundamental role in dishes: they add unbelievably flavorful aromas, while balancing ingredients and reminding us of the season we’re in, and depending on the origin of each herb they can take us on a multitude of journeys throughout the world. This recipe is a great example of how fresh food ingredients can play well in the sand box of many drinks,  including the play yard pals of mojito, martini, margarita, etc.

Raspberry Basil Limoncello Cocktail is a mixture of minty and almost spicy unmistakeable taste of basil, and the flowery sweetness of raspberries. We highlight the zesty taste and color of Rometti Limoncello which provides some great balance to the citrus vodka.

Great if paired with cold pasta salads, herbal tartlets, crackers covered in creamy cheese, and dont forget tiramisu!

Ingredients:

1 pint fresh raspberries, plus more for garnish

12 fresh basil leaves, roughly torn, plus sprigs for garnish

1 lemon, cut into sixths, plus wheels for garnish

1/4 cup simple syrup, chilled (more if you prefer the cocktail a little sweeter)

2 ounces Rometti Limoncello

4 ounces citron vodka

Crushed ice

Sparkling rose wine, chilled

Combine the raspberries, basil, lemons and simple syrup in a small pitcher and muddle until the raspberries are mashed. Add the Rometti Limoncello and vodka. Let chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Put crushed ice into rocks glasses and add some of the raspberry mixture. Fill to the top with sparkling wine. Garnish with lemon and raspberries and basil sprigs if desired. (Courtesy of Bobby Flay)

ENJOY!~

Image taken from http://www.somedrinksrecipes.com