"WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS, MAKE LEMONADE!"

Or in my case...

LIMONCELLO

Limoncello puts a smile on your face!

This was much easier to make than I expected and only took 4 days to cure! The flavor is bright and refreshing. I cut down on the recommended sugar so not too sweet. It was a perfect ending to our Easter feast. And thanks to my friend Leslie Jackson these lemons were freshly picked!

Ingredients:
10 lemons
1 (750 ml.) bottle vodka
2 cups sugar
2 cups water

Preparation:
Using a sharp pairing knife remove the skin from the lemons in long strips. Reserve the lemons for another use. I juiced them to make the Lemon Sorbet. Trim away the white pith from the lemon peels; discard the pith.

This can be done by scraping the inside of the lemon peel with the pairing knife. 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 at least 4 days at room temperature.

Make the simple syrup:
Stir 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water together in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. Pour the simple 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 a month.

I let my lemons steep in the vodka for 5 days. After doing a little research I learned that 4 days is the magic number and although you can let it steep longer there is no significant benefit; meaning it has become as lemony as it will be after only 4 days.

The palate cleansing course I served for this year's Easter dinner was a...

LEMON SORBET

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups water
3 Tbsp. lemon zest
1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preparation:
In a large saucepan bring sugar and water to a boil stirring until sugar melts; about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the lemon zest and 1 1/2 cups lemon juice to the sugar water mixture. Cool completely in fridge for an hour or overnight. Freeze mixture in an ice cream maker for about 20 minutes or according to your manufacturers instructions. The mixture will be quite thin, but comes together nicely in the freezer.  Place in the freezer and chill for at least 4 hours.

If you don't have an ice cream maker you can freeze this in a shallow pan in the freezer stirring every 20 minutes with a fork until crystals have formed; about 3 hours. It then becomes a granita rather than a (churned) sorbet, but just as delicious!

If you were making this as a dessert you'd want to add a bit more sugar. As a palate cleanser it was perfect!

Next time I will share the Easter dessert course

...a Classic Italian Panna Cotta.

 

Until then, keep enjoying life in the kitchen!

 

And here are a few more shots from our celebration!

Deb giving the Creamy Parmesan Orzo with Asparagus a mighty stir.

Dorita and Karen relaxing before dinner is served.

The main event: Lamb stuffed with spinach,
feta, pine nuts, bread crumbs, and herbs.

 

Glasses awaiting vino.

Our angel vessel...a loving anniversary gift from my dear husband.

 

 

www.cookwithcindy.com

PORK STUFFED PORK--LIKE NONE OTHER!

This took a little fussing to put together, but was well worth it. One of the best pork roasts I have ever made or had! And the 'fussing' for me really is the fun part! This was the centerpiece of my Easter dinner. It is very special and would make you proud to serve for any holiday or special occasion.

I like themed dinner parties and for this one we did Caribbean. I served this stuffed pork roast with a slightly spicy Mango Papaya Salsa, but first let's talk about pork.

 

Ingredients:

For filling-

1 lb. ground pork
1 large onion-diced
3 garlic cloves-smashed and diced
1 apple-peeled and finely chopped
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 lb. kale-stems removed
2 tsp. +Kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary-chopped finely
1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary-chopped finely
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. Calvados or brandy (I used E&J brandy.)

Pork-
3 1/2 - 4 lb. pork loin-trimmed of fat and silver skin
1 tsp.+Kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
6 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto
5 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 medium apples-peeled and sliced
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup hard cider
1/2 cup chicken stock

Preparation:
Blanch kale in boiling salted water until just wilted-about 1 minute. Remove with tongs, dry, and transfer to tray or baking sheet and place in refrigerator to cool. Remove any large or tough ribs.

Melt 3 Tbsp. butter  in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced apples and cook until edges are just browned. Remove and set aside.

Using the same skillet melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook onion stirring often until golden-about 8 minutes. Add chopped apple, garlic, dried thyme and rosemary. Stir together to coat all with butter and cook for a couple minutes. Add brandy and cook until liquid is absorbed-about another minute. Stir in salt/pepper. Transfer mixture to a bowl and cool completely. After it is cooled, add ground pork and stir well to combine.

Preparation for pork:

Start by butterflying your pork loin. Using a sharp knife cut the loin in half without cutting all the way through. Pull the meat back as you cut and keep cutting until the entire roast is flat. Wrap the loin in plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet or rolling pin, pound to an even thickness. Liberally salt/pepper inside and out of the loin.

Next, place kale leaves on top of the loin in one even layer overlapping each leaf a little. Add the slightly sauted apple slices and then spread the filling on top. Drizzle the olive oil in bottom of roasting pan. I put additional apples in bottom of baking pan to add a little more moisture. Roll it all together into a tight cylinder and wrap proscuitto around the roast. Lay the rosemary sprigs on top and tie it all together. Place your stuffed, rolled, and tied roast in the pan. At this point you can set aside in the fridge. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before continuing.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a skillet large enough to hold your roast melt 1 Tbsp. butter. Get skillet very hot and carefully brown pork on all sides-about 5 minutes. Place the roast back into the roasting pan. Add 1/2 cup hard cider and the chicken stock to the skillet. Stir to combine any brown bits from the pork and reduce for 5 minutes. Add this to the roasting pan.

Roast the pork for about 1 1/2 hours (instant read thermometer registers 140 degrees for medium pork). Remove from the oven, tent with foil and let roast rest for at least 20 minutes before cutting.

Cut 1" thick slices and serve with Mango Papaya Salsa.

To make the salsa peel and chop 1 large and very ripe papaya and 3 mangos. Add 1/2 red onion finely diced and a little heat--use either dried hot pepper or add a diced fresh jalapeno. I used the fresh pepper. Add salt to taste. Let sit for at least an hour so flavors meld. Can be made the day before serving.

Next time I'm going to share the dessert I made for our Easter celebration. Pineapple, coconut, banana upside down cake! I made this the night before so it was perfectly gooey and wonderful next day.

We started this feast with a couple traditional Caribbean cocktails and yummy hors d'oeuvres so we will get into those as well.

Until then, please keep having fun in the kitchen.

My husband, Jerry and I, all decked out in our Easter bonnets.
I love Easter!

TUNE IN AGAIN SOON FOR ANOTHER EPISODE OF:

 

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BREAD, WINE, AND THOU...

I love to make bread. This past Easter I made a very special Challah. Thanks to my friend Tobi I now know how to pronounce it correctly! The Ch starts way back in your throat with a gutteral, scratchy Huh and K sound all at once. Try it...it's fun, especially if you really exagerate it!

CHALLAH BREAD

This eggy bread is not reserved for the Jewish Sabbath or Easter, but can be enjoyed any time. Challah, known by many different names, is used in cultures all over the world. The recipe I made is easy to include with any big dinner party as you make it ahead, freeze and bake just before serving. Leftovers (if there are any!) make delicious French Toast or yummy fried sandwiches. Go heavy on the egg wash using two coats and be sure not to over-bake.

Ingredients:
3 3/4 tsp. active dry yeast; about 1 1/2 packages
1 Tbsp. plus 1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup lukewarm water (too hot and it will kill the yeast; not hot enough and the yeast won't "work")
1/2 cup vegetable oil; more for greasing the bowl (I used butter for greasing.)
5 large eggs
1 Tbsp. table salt
8 to 8 1/2 cups white flour
1/2 cup raisins (optional) plumped in hot water and drained
Poppy or sesame seeds for sprinkling (I used poppy.)

Here is the dough all raised after sitting in a warm spot for 1 hour,
ready to be punched down and rise again...get the symbolism?!?

 Preparation:
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 Tbsp. sugar and salt. This is a good way to "test" your yeast. If after a couple minutes, the yeast does not foam up, it is no good. Start over with new yeast. Within 5 minutes it should be nice and foamy.
Whisk oil into yeast, then beat in 4 large eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar and salt. Gradually add flour. When dough holds together, it is ready for kneading.
Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Use more flour as necessary so dough does not stick. Clean out bowl and grease it using either oil or butter, then return dough to bowl. Swirl it around so all sides and top benefit from the oil/butter. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for at least an hour until almost doubled in size. Punch dough down (with love), cover and let rise again in a warm place for another half hour.
At this point you can knead the raisins into the Challah, if you're using them, before forming the loaves. Traditionally Challah is braided. You can use a fancy 6-braid technique or simply do what I did which is divide dough in half. Form 3 strands for each loaf and braid as you would hair. Pinch and fold the ends together and under so braids don't unravel. Either keep as a loaf or bring the two ends together to form a circle for a round loaf.

 

Beat the remaining egg and brush it on loaves.

Either freeze breads or let rise another hour. If baking right away keep at least 2 inches between loaves as they will grow again upon final rising and still more when baking.

If baking immediately, preheat oven to 375 degrees and brush loaves one more time with any remaining egg. Sprinkle bread with seeds, if using and bake for 30-40 minutes.

If freezing, wrap each loaf individually in plastic wrap and then foil. Unwrap and remove from freezer 5 hours before baking. I added another egg bath for good measure.

Bake in middle of oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden. Cool on rack. The aroma of this baking bread is intoxicating.

Note: Straight loaves of braided Challah are eaten throughout the year--typically on the Sabbath--round Challahs, often studded with raisins, are served for the New Year and other High Holidays.

 

My husband and I recently slipped away to the beautiful historic city of Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1636 by Roger Williams (that's him atop that sculpture!) makes it one of America's oldest cities.

 

This fascinating small city is teaming with things to do; lots of art, culture, fabulous food and history. Providence is also home to Brown University and The Rhode Island School of Design. Don't miss the RISD Museum! We stayed in a lovely B&B (The Old Court; www.oldcourt.com) right in the heart of everything. It was fun to depend on our feet rather than wheels for 48 hours! While in town I visited a unique wine store (www.bin312.com) featuring 300 wines priced under $20. I tried a Malbec blend that was truly one of the best wines I have ever tasted...and was under $20.

TUPONGATO VINEYARDS-MENDOZA, ARGENTINA

Tupungato is the northernmost sub-region of the Uco Valley in Mendoza. The region lies at the foot of the Mt. Tupungato volcano, which, at 21,555 ft. high, is one of the highest peaks in Argentina. The 2009 Tupongato Malbec blend (mainly Malbec with some Merlot and Cab), which the owner of Bin312 selected for me, was a complex and delightful mix of black cherry, hint of currant, coffee and chocolate. You really could separate and taste each of those flavors!

 

Here is my THOU...

 

Providence is located at the head of Narraganset Bay and has 4 rivers running through it-The Providence River, Woonasquatucket, Blackstone, and Moshassuck River. If you are a hopeless romantic (as we are!) a gondola ride is a must.

 

All for today...hope you enjoyed my ramblings.

 

Tune in again soon for another episode of

 

www.cookwithcindy.com

 

In the meantime, keep cooking!