Meyer Lemon Margaritas

I just love the 4th of July. Friends, fireworks, and freedom all rank high on my list of good things. This holiday was extra special since it was spent with both near and far friends in Amelia Island soaking up the sun and sea.

We indulged in many of our homemade things: our sausage, gin and tonics, pickled jalapenos, alligator and fish tacos, and these Meyer Lemon margs made from the (frozen) juice from our lemons.

{The marsh off the back porch.}

{Nearby live oaks}

Ingredients (makes one drink):

1 1/2 jigger of tequila
1/2 jigger of Contreau
1 jigger of freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (or juice from a regular lemon)
1 jigger of simple syrup (1 c water + 1 c sugar, brought to a boil, then cooled)

Add all ingredients to a glass with ice. Mix well. And toast to good things.

Limoncello

When life gives you lemons, make limoncello. Limoncello is a lemon liqueur that I was first introduced to while studying in Italy in collage. On a weekend trip to Cinqueterre, five tiny fishing villages that are placed on cliffs right on the Mediterranean, my sister and I stayed at a woman’s house who rented out a room for tourists. She spoke no English, but greeted us warmly with a tiny glass of limoncello to welcome us into her home. I’m sure it had to do more with the intoxication of the beautiful Italian everything than the tiny sip of sweet lemon liqueur that stands out in my memory; nevertheless, the smell of it can bring me right back to the Riviera. So, ever since I’ve had a yard full of citrus, limoncello has been made.

As I’ve posted about before, our fairly tiny urban yard has a Meyer lemon tree, a Mandrian orange tree, a limequat tree, and my favorite: a cocktail tree! What is a cocktail tree, you ask? It’s a tree which has five different kinds of citrus grafted to the stem. So, our one cocktail tree produces Navel oranges, Honeybell oranges, Meyer lemons, Ruby Red grapefruits, and Persian limes. Truthfully, not all of them do wonderfully–our Persian lime branch is pathetic, and the grapefruits taste terrible–but three out of the five are awesome.

{The Honeybells are on the top, and the Meyer lemons are on the branch at the bottom. The grapefruit is on the other side.}

Most limoncello recipes I’ve found are really liquor-y, which makes me not really a big fan. But this recipe cuts the liquor with whole milk, making it like a spiked lemony ice-cream.

Ingredients:

8 organic lemons
2 organic oranges
1 liter (33.8 ounces) vodka, or 4 1/4 cups
8 3/4 cups whole milk
5 pounds sugar (10 cups)
1 shot glass whiskey
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

To make this recipe, you have to start well in advance. I’ve experimented with all kinds of lengths of time to soak the zest. You need AT LEAST a week, but preferably a month.

That said, here’s the rest of the instructions. Zest the lemons and oranges with a vegetable peeler. Try not to get the white pith. Put the citrus peels in a glass bowl with the alcohol. I used a large cylindrical glass container with a lid. You want to make sure that it’s covered tightly, or it will evaporate. Also, make sure you use organic citrus; the alcohol will leach out all the oils from the citrus, but it will also leach out any of the residual pesticides.

After either a week or a month, enough time for the alcohol to take on the flavor of the citrus, then you’re ready to make your limoncello. Strain the liquid and discard the peels. Pour into a very large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. I use my 15-quart one. The larger the better. I will get to the reason why you need something large in a second.

Add the milk, sugar, whiskey, and vanilla. Bring all of this to a boil. BUT NEVER TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE POT, EVER! I have to stress this because one time I almost burned down the house making limoncello (this drink would NOT have been the fabulous memory-maker that it is if that happened.) I’m not quite sure why the combination of these ingredients tends to foam up when it starts to boil, but it does as soon as it reaches 212 degrees. And, because this is half alcohol, it’s mega-flammable. Even though I used my biggest pot, and was definitely trying to keep my eye on it before it boiled, it foamed up when it reached the boiling point, boiled over the edge, and I had a giant fire-ball on my stove top. NOT COOL. Fortunately I had the lid nearby (which I recommend you do) and I shut off the gas to my stove and covered the pot and the flame extinguished. Please do not make this mistake. Use your biggest pot, keep the lid nearby, and never take your eye off of it when you’re bringing it to a boil.

Okay, that said, once it does get to a boil, immediately reduce the heat and just let it bubble for five minutes. Stir continuously. Remove from heat and let it cool completely. A thin film will form on the top, but that’s normal. Skim it off and discard. Pour into bottles and freeze.

I keep this in mason jars in the freezer (it will make 4 quarts), and it will last for a long time. I use it as a digestive for after dinner when we have guests over. It just might make you be hungry for Italy.

Gluten-Free Lemon Bars

Truth be told, I love gluten. Crusty baguettes, chewy pizza crusts, chocolate cakes: gluten equals glorious in my book. Neither Gary nor I are gluten intolerant, but we know many people that are. So I’ve had to learn how to cook and bake around glorious gluten for gatherings. Some recipes haven’t always turned out — my sugar-free and gluten-free clafoutis was an EPIC FAIL! — but I keep on trying. My challenge last night was to make a dairy- and gluten-free desert (the little guy COULD have butter, thankfully), and not only did this recipe fit the bill, it turned out pretty darn good, in my opinion; thus I thought I’d share.

Our Meyer lemon tree is loooooaded, as you can see. (We even have to have wooden stakes to prop up the branches so they won’t break from the weight of the fruit!) Meyer lemons are the absolute best. They’re a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange, so they have a slightly sweeter flavor than regular lemons, and are fantastic for baking. If you can find them in the store, use them.

Ingredients:

1 c butter, softened
2 c sugar
2 1/3 c gluten-free flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free flour)
4 eggs
3/4 c lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/2 t salt

Instructions:

First, turn the oven on to 350 degrees. Next, beat the butter, 1/2 c sugar, and 2 c flour together in a mixer. (The flour I used was garbanzo beans and other legumes, so when I tried the batter, I was not impressed and worried the off-flavors would hinder the bars, but the lemony cream completely canceled out the weird non-white flour taste.) Put this in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes until the butter sets (this took about the same time that the oven needed to pre-heat for me). Press the dough into the bottom of a 9 x 13″ pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until firm and golden. While it’s baking, beat together 4 eggs, 1 1/2 c sugar, 1/3 c flour, 3/4 c lemon juice, and the salt. Once the crust is ready, pour the lemon mixture over the crust and bake for another 20-30 minutes. Sift powdered sugar over the bars to serve.

Gin and Homemade Tonic

Although it’s not really G&T season for the rest of the States, down here in Florida, the weather is still nice enough to call for a good old gin and tonic in the evening on the back porch. For an extra tasty G&T, one calls for homemade tonic.

Quinine is the ingredient in tonic that has made it a sought-after drink now for centuries. It comes from the bark of the cinchona tree, grown in South America, and was found to be an early cure for malaria. (For a good account of the importance and value of cinchona bark, I’d recommend Elizabeth Gilbert’s beautiful new historical fiction: The Signature of All Things. She delves into the early European cultivation of the crop in her novel. And is a fantastic writer to boot.) Fortunately nowadays, one only has to click a button on a computer to have cinchona bark delivered to your doorstep instead of traveling across the ocean by boat.

We used our lemons, limes, oranges, and lemongrass for this recipe.

Ingredients for the tonic:

4 c water
1 c chopped lemongrass
1/4 c powdered cinchona bark (you can get it online at herbal stores)
Zest and juice of one orange
Zest and juice of one lemon
Zest and juice of one lime
1/4 c citric acid (I got this at Walmart in the canning section)
1 t whole allspice berries
1/4 t Kosher salt

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Once the mixture starts to boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Once cool, the mixture will be thick. Some recipes say you can filter with a coffee filter; we’ve never had luck with that. We rigged up our own system to filter the tonic.

If you cut off the bottom of a 2 liter pop bottle, it will act as a funnel to filter the precipitants (we used a wine bottle here–WAY too difficult to cut glass. Don’t try it. Just use a plastic pop bottle.) We put the cap on, and inverted it in another 2 liter bottle that had the top cut off. We poured in all the tonic mixture, and let it stand overnight. Most of the precipitants will settle. The next day, pour off the liquid on the top into another bottle, and you have your tonic!

To make your gin and tonic, use this recipe:

1 1/2 jiggers gin
1 jigger tonic
1 jigger lemon juice
1 jiggle simple syrup (to make simple syrup, heat 1 c sugar + 1 c water until it dissolves.)
Top with seltzer water

Add all this to a glass full of ice and use a lime wedge as a garnish. Depending on the tonic, you may have to use a little more simple syrup or a little less lemon juice. You might have to tweak this recipe to your liking. Cheers!

Meyer Lemon Margarita

One of my most beloved trees in our backyard is a Meyer lemon. Although the tree isn’t that old, it produces hundreds of lemons every December. I feel like the fruit is such a special gift since the rest of the country is often under a blanket of snow. Every winter, I juice every single lemon my tree produces and freeze the extra that I don’t use for baking or cooking in Tupperware containers. Then, come summer, I thaw one container at a time to use for these delectable margs.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 jigger of freshly squeezed lemon juice (Meyers are wonderful, but any lemon will do)

1 1/2 jigger of tequila

1 jigger of Contreau

1 jigger of simple syrup or agave syrup

Top off with seltzer

Enjoy!