Recipes to Rival: Bruschetta and Limoncello

The July challenge for Recipes to Rival was an interesting one for me. We have an antipasta (appetizer) and digestivo (after dinner drink). The first part of the challenge was bruschetta which I had made before and the second was limoncello. I am not a big drinker of alcohol so I was at first not too excited about that part of the challenge. But...making my own liquor started to sound very interesting. And from there I started to wonder what all I could use limoncello for....cakes, muffins, etc. Lots of possibilities!

Overall, neither part of the challenge was terribly hard or time consuming. The limoncello was not something you could whip up in a weekend however, so I actually got started fairly early this time. Because the grain alcohol need to sit with the lemon peel for a week, I figured it would be a good idea to not wait until the last minute for once!

The bruschetta was delicious as I expected. I loved the garlic rubbed on the hot bread. And the olive oil, salt, tomato combo has to be one of my favorite flavors ever. The only thing missing was the basil. I forgot to pick some up from the store and unfortunately...the basil I planted died. A combination of Texas heat + me forgetting to water will do that to a plant. To make my bruschetta even more delicious, I decided to make a homemade loaf of french bread. Thanks to my (somewhat ancient) bread machine, I haven't had to buy bread in months!

Even though I was excited to make the limoncello, I didn't expect to like it. I thought the alcohol taste would be too much for me. By itself, the limoncello was strong but not too bad. I doubt I drink it alone but I am sure I will be using it in baked and savory goods a lot. I made limoncello pasta one night last week and it was soooo tasty! I didn't get a good picture of it so I'll have to make it again soon.

I ended up with a ton of limoncello! I made the full recipe and had 1 full liter with 6 cups leftover. My Mom is a fan of limoncello so she'll be getting some as soon as I make a trip to visit!

Thanks to our host, Lauren of Fried Pickles and Ice Cream, for the interesting and fun challenge! You can see more bruschetta and limoncello here at the R2R blogroll!

Oh! A great use of all that lemon juice you have leftover after peeling the lemons...lemonade! I made a tasty batch based off of this one from Simply Recipes. I added a cup of sliced frozen strawberries and then blended. Delicioso!

Bruschetta
(4 servings)

4 slices Rustic Bread
2 cups chopped Roma Tomatoes
1 clove Garlic
4 to 8 leaves Basil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea salt

-Heat grill or grill pan to medium high heat
-Slice THICK pieces of bread
-Place bread on grill until each side has a nice golden color

-Rub garlic on top side of each bread piece
-Pile tomatoes on
-sprinkle one big pinch of salt per piece on top of the tomatoes
-generously drizzle oilve oil on top of tomatoes (about 2 to 3 tablespoons per piece)
-add basil to the top

Limoncello

1 liter grain alcohol
5 1/2 cups water
5 large lemons (or 10 small lemons)
2 1/2 cups sugar

-Gently wash lemons in cool water to remove any dirt
-Peel away zest from lemon leaving as little pith (the white stiff) as possible.
-Put peels in a large sealed jar or container (I reused the alcohol bottle)
-Pour alcohol over peels and place container in a cool place.
-Leave the mixture for 7 days.
-Every day give the container a little swirl. You will see the alcohol become darker and darker every day.

-After 7 days, strain the alcohol by using a coffee filter.
-Prepare the simple syrup. Bring the water to a boil and add the sugar to dissolve.
-Mix the syrup with the alcohol. BE CAREFUL... DO NOT DO THIS NEAR A FLAME!!!
-Pour the limoncello into bottles or containers. Let cool completely. Store in the freezer until ready to serve!

*Date your limoncello. After a year it will no longer be delicious.