Cara Cara Orange Liqueur →

The Cara Cara orange was discovered in Venezuela in 1976. A cousin to the Blood Orange, it is often mistaken as a cross between a grapefruit and a Navel orange. Cara Caras are medium-sized, seedless oranges with red to pink flesh and a pronounced sweet citrus flavor. While the Navel orange is sweet and a bit acidic, the Cara Cara has a more complex sweet, tart flavor with notes of cranberry, blackberry, raspberry, and rose. Not surprisingly this cross between a Washington Navel Orange and a Brazilian Bahia Navel Orange has become widely popular with cooks and chefs. When my wife surprised me with a bag of Cara Caras, the game was necessarily afoot. If you enjoy Limoncello or other homemade fruit liqueurs, you will love this Cara Cara Orange Liqueur. If you can’t find Cara Cara oranges, try Navel oranges, Blood Oranges, or Tangelos. Salute!

Cara Cara Orange Liqueur
Yield: about 4-5 wine bottles

INGREDIENTS
·  10 Cara Cara (or other) oranges: juice and zest
· 6 cups sugar
· 2 cups water
· 1.75 liters vodka (100 proof)

PREPARATION
1.  Sterilize a gallon glass jar with a tight lid by running it through the dishwasher or immersing it in boiling water for 10 minutes.
2.  With a vegetable peeler, remove the peel, not the bitter white pith, from the oranges. Cut the strips of zest into 2-3 inch pieces. Place the zest into the jar.
3.  Juice all the oranges to yield about 4 cups of liquid. Strain the juice through a fine strainer, pressing to remove the pulp and seeds.
4.  In a saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil. Add the juice to the sugar syrup in a steady stream, stirring continually. Bring the flavored syrup back to a boil, then pour into the jar.
5.  Allow the mixture to cool completely, then pour in the vodka. Shake the jar well to mix, cover tightly and store it in a cool dark place like the back corner of a closet or your basement. After one month, strain the liquid using multiple layers of cheesecloth. Pour the liqueur into sterilized bottles with caps or corks. It will be ready to sample then but will become even more flavorful after it ages for another month. Be patient and you will be rewarded! Salute!
6.  Serve chilled.

Adapted from a recipe by Cathy Barrow: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12370-cara-cara-citrus-liqueur

Lemonade →

I’ll say it again and again, I love anything lemon! Here’s an easy recipe for delicious homemade Lemonade.

Lemonade
Yield 1 ½ -2 quarts

INGREDIENTS
These are the basic proportions of lemon juice to water and sugar for classic lemonade. You can adjust these proportions to suit your own taste.

• 1 cup of lemon juice (about 8 to 10 large lemons)

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1 1/2 quarts water (6 cups)

PREPARATION

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, make a simple syrup by mixing 1 cup of water and 1 cup of granulated sugar stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside.

2. While the simple syrup is cooling, cut the lemons in half; juice them with your juicer of choice and strain the juice.

3. Mix the juice with the remaining 5 cups of water and the simple syrup.

4. Adjust the sweetness/tartness to your own taste.

5. Chill in the fridge for an hour before serving.

Limoncello →

Close family friends brought this recipe back from Italy 50 years ago. Many homes in Italy keep a chilled bottle of homemade Limoncello in the fridge to serve as an after-dinner “digestivo”. It’s so easy to make, with a little patience you will never buy Limoncello from the store again. Salute! Note: waste-not, want-not. You can easily make delicious homemade Lemonade with the leftover peeled lemons.

Limoncello

Ingredients:

• 10 thick-skinned lemons

• 750 ml bottle 100 proof vodka

• 2 cups sugar

• 2 1/2 cups water

Steps:

1. Wash the lemons with hot water and a soft brush to remove any wax. Dry.

2. Carefully peel the lemons avoiding cutting into the bitter white pith. Alternatively, you can use a Microplane to zest the lemons. Put the lemon zest and ½ bottle of vodka in a jar and seal for 2 weeks. Note: if using a lemon peeler, break up the lemon peels so they are submerged in the vodka.

   After 2 weeks:

3. Make a simple syrup: in a small saucepan, over medium heat, mix the water and sugar until the sugar is dissolved; let it cool and add it to the jar with the zest and the remainder of the vodka.

4. Let it sit in a dark, cool place for 6 weeks.

   After 6 weeks:

5. Strain through several layers of cheesecloth into clean bottles and seal with a cap or tight-fitting cork.

6. Keep Limoncello in the fridge or freezer because it is best served cold.

Waste-no, want-not. You can make delicious homemade Lemonade with the leftover peeled lemons.

Lemongrass-Basil Vodka Gimlet →

Here’s an exotic riff on the classic Gin or Vodka Gimlet. Fragrant, delicious, and refreshing, it’s easy to imagine yourself on a white sand beach in Thailand while sipping one of these. Like any recipe, it is a road map for you to use to fine-tune the finished drink to your tastes. Once you have made the lemongrass simple syrup, the drink comes together in minutes. Tchin-Tchin!

Lemongrass-Basil Vodka Gimlet
Yield: 1 drink
Ingredients:

• 1 stalk lemongrass chopped into 1-inch pieces and smashed

• 1/4 cup + 2 teaspoons sugar

• 1 cup of water

• juice of 1 lime

• 3 large leaves of basil

• 2-3 ounces Vodka (to taste)

• ice, to chill

Method:
Make the lemongrass simple syrup:

1. Chop the lemongrass stalk into 1-inch pieces, and bruise using a mortar and pestle or rolling pin.

2. Place them in a pot with 1 cup of water and 1/4 cup sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the syrup infuse for about 2 hours before using.

3. Strain the syrup, pressing down on the lemongrass stalks to extract maximum flavor. Chill until ready to use. Once the syrup is strained, it will keep in your fridge for a couple of weeks.

To build the cocktail:

4. Arrange a cocktail glass on a work surface and place 1/2 teaspoon sugar in the glass. Add the lime juice to the glass along with the basil, and muddle together.

5. Pour in 2-3 ounces vodka and 2 ounces lemongrass syrup. Add the mixture to a cocktail shaker with a ½ cup of ice and shake to chill.

6. Strain into a coup or small martini glass neat, or a cocktail glass over ice and serve garnished with a lime round or basil leaf.

Adapted from: https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-thai-style-lemongrass-lime-mojito-recipes-from-the-kitchn-214658 by Michelle Peters-Jones

https://www.liquor.com/recipes/vodka-gimlet/

Strawberry Daiquiri →

c. foodblogchef 2020

Every Spring here in the Connecticut River Valley we eagerly await strawberry season. The ruby-red, sweet, succulent berries can be eaten as a healthy snack; they are great in salads or sauces and made into refreshing drinks. This delicious slightly non-traditional daiquiri recipe adds a touch of orange liqueur to balance the lime and add some complexity to the drink.

Makes one good sized daiquiri or two smaller drinks.
Ingredients:

• 4-6 fresh strawberries or frozen, unsweetened (depending on the size)

• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

• 1-2 teaspoons sugar (to taste)

• 2 ounces light rum

• 1 ounce Triple Sec or other orange flavored liqueur (optional)

• ½ cup ice

Add all the ingredients to a blender and process until smooth. Enjoy!

Watermelon Agua Fresca →

Photo: c. foodblogchef 2019 - Watermelon Agua Fresca

makes 6-7 cups

Ingredients:

• about 7 cups of cubed, seedless watermelon flesh

• 1/3 cup sugar

• ¼ cup lime juice

• 1 cup of ice makes 6-7 cups

“Licuados” or “aguas frescas” are popular drinks in Mexico. Pineapple, melon, watermelon, papaya, mango, or strawberry licuados and agua frescas are sold on the streets and in the markets all over Mexico. The difference between a “licuado” and an “agua fresca” is milk or water. A “licuado” is a Mexican smoothie with milk and fruit, and an “agua fresca” uses water and fruit. Since the purity of water and ice can be suspect in many parts of Mexico, I usually prefer to make my own agua fresca at home. Easy to make and refreshing served over ice with or without alcohol...add a shot of Vodka and a splash of seltzer for a cool, easy sipping summer beverage.

Preparation:

1. Add all the ingredients to a full size blender, cover and blend until smooth.

2. Add more or less lime or sugar to taste.

3. Serve over ice.