Spaghetti al Limone

The backyard lemons continue to be in full bloom. As in the last post, I am always looking for ways to use up the backyard bounty of lemons.

I got this recipe via email from my Milk Street subscription. What appealed to me were the simple ingredients, quick preparation time (hello weeknight meal!), bright flavors, and the use of a lemon.

With this recipe, I also appreciated the use of starchy pasta water along with a generous bit of butter to thicken the sauce instead of some recipes which call for cream. This leads to a cleaner, lighter, and brighter finish.

This Italian-based recipe comes from the Campania region of Italy where there is an abundance of lemon trees along the Amalfi Coast.

Spaghetti al Limone (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 5 tablespoons salted butter, divided
• 6-8 cloves of garlic, minced
• red pepper flakes, to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon to start then adjust accordingly)
• 10-12 ounces spaghetti or linguini
• 3/4 cup dry white wine (plus extra for the chef!)
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 4-6 tablespoons lemon juice (start with 4 to judge your personal tolerance for lemon)
• 3/4 - 1 cup of chopped parsley (or basil leaves)
• finely grated Parmesan cheese
• Ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

• Prep lemon zest, herbs, and mince garlic. Preheat 2 quarts of salted water for pasta.
• In a large skillet, melt 3 tablespoons butter (I also added some olive oil to the mixture). Add the minced garlic and cook stirring for about 30 seconds.
• Add the red pepper flakes and cook for one more minute
• Add the white wine and simmer until reduced, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Bring pasta water to a boil. Cook the pasta until 2-3 minutes short of the directions (pasta will continue to cook later in the skillet).
• As pasta nears time, ladle off 1 1/2 cup of pasta water then drain pasta
• Return the skillet to medium high heat, stir in the reserved pasta water, and bring to a simmer. Add the drained pasta and stir to mix. 
• Lower the heat until gently simmering.
• Add 2 remaining tablespoons of butter,  a very generous grind of black pepper, the lemon juice and zest, and the parsley.
• Continue to simmer until the sauce has thickened and the extra water has evaporated. This is a key step. You don't want a watery sauce so simmer until the pasta glistens with starch and fat and the sauce has thickened. This can take 5 to 10 minutes depending on the heat level. Be patient and wait until all water is evaporated.
• Transfer to serving dishes and serve with some finely grated Parmesan cheese
• Garnish with a lemon slice or a sprig of fresh parsley or basil

Bee's Knees

With the weather warming up and no more rain in the foreseeable future, it's time to start exploring some warm weather cocktails. Add to that a lemon tree in the backyard bursting with lemons.

I was recently introduced to this drink through a friend who saw the recipe in a recent issue of Food & Wine magazine. Like me, he has a lemon tree and is always looking for ways to use them up.

The drink is a nice balance of tart and sweetness with neither dominating the drink. You can use any type of gin. I opted to use a St. George Terroir Gin that was given to me by a friend.

The first step is to chill a glass in the fridge ahead of time so it's ready when it's cocktail time. The recipe calls for a coupe glass but I didn't have any of those and used a traditional martini glass instead.

Also, honey can be difficult to work with due to its viscosity. So make a honey syrup (not unlike simple syrup) with equal parts honey and water. Either use a stove top or microwave to mix the ingredients together. It will keep in the fridge for a while.

Bee's Knees (makes 1 cocktail)

• 2 oz. (1/4 cup) gin
• 1 Tbsp. honey mixed with 1 Tbsp. warm water
• 2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice

Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice and shake well. Strain the drink into a chilled glass. Make a garnish of lemon peel and add it to the drink and serve. 

Here's a video on how to make it:

https://www.liquor.com/video/how-to-make-the-bees-knees/

Enjoy!

Limoncello Vinaigrette

Awhile ago, I started to experiment with making some homemade limoncello. After a few experiments, I had a 750 ml. bottle plus a ton of jars of it in the pantry. It's a recipe I still need to get back to and continue to perfect. But that's a lot of limoncello for the occasional "digestivo." I had more than a lifetime supply.  So I have been looking for alternative uses for all of my limoncello.

I tried a limoncello and tonic on a hot, summer day and it was pretty good. But I needed more ideas.

Then, I found this recipe online for a limoncello vinaigrette and thought this might be a good way to make a dent in the limoncello.

I used it for the first time on a recent dinner. We had some beautiful heirloom tomatoes from our box and some mozzarella cheese. I sliced up the tomatoes and topped them with slices of mozzarella. I added some backyard basil chiffonade and a drizzle of the limoncello vinaigrette on top.

On another night, we had an eggplant so I sliced it, tossed it with some olive oil, and roasted them on the barbecue. As they cooked, I brushed the slices with the vinaigrette with excellent results.

Most recently, I marinated some shrimp in the vinaigrette. I went on to cook them in the skillet for a tasty, weeknight pasta dish. Carnivores can try it with chicken.

Here is another idea:
Mario Batali's Grilled Lobsters with Limoncello Vinaigrette

It's a tasty and versatile vinaigrette with lots of possibilities.

Limoncello Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup limoncello
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard (original recipe called for 1 1/5 but 2 or more for me)
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I went a little more than that)
• 1/2 extra virgin olive oil
• freshly cracked black pepper
• Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to mix. Keeps for a week or so.

Limoncello 1.0

During the holiday travels from Stockton to Healdsburg, we managed to amass a large number of lemons. All from the backyards of friends and relatives who said, "Please, take some lemons." With all these lemons on hand, I decided to give limoncello a try.

The first time I had limoncello was in Italy. It was homemade by my wife's Italian relatives. It was a powerful but tasty "digestivo" that was served at the end of a meal. He gave me a bottle which survived the suitcase ride back to the States.

I decided to start with this recipe I found on the Food Network by Giada De Laurentiis.

The result was tasty but a little too sugary and not enough kick. So there are some lessons to be learned. But this first taste was right afterwards. The finished product should sit in a pantry for a few weeks to a month to let it mellow.

Alcohol
During the time that this first batch was steeping, I was doing some online research and noticed that other recipes called for 1 bottle of vodka and one bottle of everclear (or sometimes grappa). I am told that one can get pure alcohol in Europe. Which is probably what I tasted in Italy. I have seen jars of "moonshine" at BevMo so I may try that in version 2.0.

Time
Steeping for 4-5 days is not enough. It should be two weeks to a month in a cool dark place. A few sites recommend using a large sun tea jar so that you can screw it shut.

Appearance
Another thing was the fact that my limoncello was clear. The limoncello I remember was opaque. Now it is possible that with more steeping time the alcohol may begin to get opaque. This recipe (which is closer to what I'll try next time) says that adding the simple syrup while it's warm will make the mixture opaque.

Links
This is a great site that clearly explains all of the steps.
Another excellent site with lots of explanations.
Lots of different ideas in the responses.
LA Times article.
Rick Steves article on the topic.

How to Serve
Keep the lemoncello in the freezer and serve straight up in a small glass after dinner.
You can add a little ice and club soda for a refreshing summer drink.
Here is a site with lots of drink recipes that include limoncello.
Or perhaps a limoncello collins.

Lemon Pancakes

Sunday is egg day. We always have eggs for breakfast on Sunday. But as we approached this last Sunday I noticed that we only had three eggs left. One short of our usual pair of two-egg omelettes. What to do?!? 

 I remembered a memorable breakfast that was served to us when we spent a weekend at our friend's house near Chicago. They made us a wonderful pancake breakfast one morning. We're normally not big pancake fans but these were unique, fluffy, and flavorful. Fortunately, I got the recipe and it called for three eggs. A plan was falling into place! A Saturday afternoon trip to the store provided any missing ingredients. 

  Lemon Pancakes 

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs, separated
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 stick melted butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest (just do the zest of 1 small to medium lemon)
• raspberry or maple syrup

Preparation:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees
• Separate the eggs into two bowls
• Beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks
• Add flour, cottage cheese, butter, sugar, salt, and lemon zest to the egg yolks
• Beat the mixture until well mixed
• With a large spatula, fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture
• Stir until they are well mixed with no clumps of white or yellow
• Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat
• Grease lightly and spoon 2-3 tablespoons of batter for each pancake
• Cook slowly for about 90 seconds to two minutes and then flip and cook on the other side for 60 seconds
• Keep the pancakes warm in the oven until ready to serve

Serve with warmed raspberry or maple syrup and powdered sugar on top. The original recipe calls for some berries on top of the pancakes. I added a ripe banana this time just because it needed to be eaten. Any good fruit will work. Use what you have on hand. It will all be good. Oh, and those are Morningstar veggie sausages.