Limoncello

Each year we look for some small token we can share from our kitchen with family and friends for holiday giving. The past few years it had been Dark Chocolate Covered Salted Caramels. But this year we were looking for a new "gift" to give.

We came across some lovely looking Meyer lemons at Costco that prompted us to try to make some limoncello that we had always talked about making. 

Then we found a recipe on Food Network by Giada that we thought we'd give a try. And really as long as we planned ahead it was a doable project. Zesting the lemons was tedious but with both of us doing it together it went pretty quickly actually.

After letting the lemon rinds infuse in the vodka for 4-5 days you add some sugar and water and let it sit one more day.

Really the most challenging part of this project was finding some cool vessels to bottle them in.

It was a great project and a small way to share our home with the ones we love for the new year.

RECIPE:

Limoncello (adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)

10-15 Meyer lemons

1 (750-ml) bottle vodka

3 1/2 cups water

2 1/2 cups sugar

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.