Limoncello Update

So, remember a while back when The Frugal Hostess made all kinds of booze treats?  They had to sit and mellow, then get sugar added, then sit for another six weeks.  Well, Dear Readers, today was the day that the various booze treats were unveiled.  And, since it's football day, The Frugal Hostess had some willing tasters to help her out.

Item One - Limoncello

The Frugal Husband: Uh, that's tart.  [Takes sip.]  That's really tart.  [Makes face.]

The Welder: Yeah, that's real tart.  [Slams back whole glass.]

Mr. Francalotta: [Makes face.  Gags.  Coughs.] That's, um, tart.  [Pours remainder out into spittoon.*]

The Frugal Hostess: [Takes small sip.  Gets instant heartburn.  Remembers that she doesn't care for limoncello.]

Item Two - Raspberry Lemonade

2oz limoncello
1oz raspberry liquor
1oz homemade grenadine
Shake with ice; serve up.

The Frugal Husband: This is like the free shot we get at darts. [Laughs nervously.]


The Welder: [Slams back whole glass.]

Mr. Francalotta: Um, that's better.  [Makes face.  Gags.  Coughs.]  [Pours remainder out into spittoon.*]


The Frugal Hostess: [Remembers that she totally loves raspberry liquor.]

*Spittoon = empty glass.  There isn't a real spittoon in The Frugal Homestead.  Yet.

Item Three - Raspberry Limoncello Mojito


2oz limoncello
1oz raspberry liquor
1oz grenadine
Muddled basil or mint leaves.
Shake; pour over crushed ice.
Top with soda water to taste.

The Frugal Husband: Are you trying to get us drunk?



The Welder: What's in this?  [Slams back whole glass.]


Mr. Francalotta: Uh.  [Makes face.]


The Frugal Hostess: [Remembers that she adores mojitos.]

Item Four - Apricot Vanilla Cordial

The Frugal Husband, The Welder, and Mr. Francalotta: [Take sips.] GROSS!!!

The Frugal Husband: That's terrible.

The Welder: That's disgusting.  It reminds me of when my brother tricked me into eating a block of unsweetened chocolate, and then punched me in the face.  [Does not slam back whole glass.]

Mr. Francalotta: [Makes a face not unlike when someone tastes poison for the first time.  Face sticks in that position for approximately five minutes.  Face relaxes into a more recognizably horrified face.]

The Frugal Hostess: [Takes sip.  Finds concoction delicious.  With an aftertaste of Band-Aids.]

Item Five - Lime Cordial

The Frugal Hostess had a small sip of this in the kitchen and, finding it to taste like nail polish remover, didn't give any to the boys.

The lesson?  You need WAY more sugar syrup than the recipe calls for, and you should only drink limoncello in a cocktail.  Otherwise, gross.

The Frugal Hostess is stuck here in a house with a bunch of dudes. Please comment. You can also join the Frugalistas on Facebook for exclusive content follow on Twitter @frugalhostess, or subscribe so that you always know when a new post appears.

MIYM: Grenadine

Do you remember when you were little and went out to a special dinner with your family? The only thing that made it barely bearable was getting to drink a Shirley Temple filled with extra cherries by a server who was trying to keep you from throwing crushed cracker crumbs all over the floor. Shirley Temples are still the cocktail of choice for the toddler set, and The Frugal Hostess will admit to craving them every now and then (like, every time she is sick, or sad, or bored, or eating fried seafood - who knew?).

As we all know, The Frugal Hostess is also a fan of fully-leaded cocktails, especially old-fashioned ones that require muddling and steeping and other such nonsense. In her old age, TFH admits to a relatively new fondness for the much-maligned Girlie Drink - that sweet, easy-to-drink concoction that will kick your ass if you aren't careful. [This is in contrast to her former self, when TFH used to be a self-proclaimed drinking snob: gin and tonic in the summer, bourbon or rye and ginger ale in the winter, the end.] And, while The Frugal Husband prefers a straight-up gin martini with olives to just about anything (including TFH), he is ever so sweet and always on the look out for a new potion to mix up for his ungrateful wife.

It was during one such excursion into the lore of the Girlie Drink Slash Old Style Cocktail that The Frugal Husband discovered that grenadine is a frequent ingredient in his beloved's favorite style of libation. He dutifully proceeded to the liquor store to pick some up, and he found that every brand on the shelf listed as a main ingredient high fructose corn syrup. Now, there are ton of commercials the say HFCS is the same as sugar, blah blah blah, and, while that may be true (it's not), the dastardly sweetener is not welcome at The Frugal Homestead. So, Gentle Readers, The Frugal Husband did what any normal guy would do. He made some. From scratch. Which is unbelievably delicious. And also easy. Do it.

Ingredients
2 parts pomegranate juice
1 part sugar

Directions
1. Bring to a boil.
2. Reduce. Simmer until thickened to your taste.
3. Let cool. Refrigerate for quite some time.

The Frugal Husband is a way better cook than The Frugal Hostess. Luckily, TFH is a way better blogger than her husband, or this blog would be full of recipes for ribs, wings, and shots of Irish whiskey.

Photo by The Frugal Hostess

Make It Yourself Monday on Tuesday: Booze Treats

The Frugal Hostess had a busy weekend, so busy that she forgot to post this yesterday! So, please enjoy a special Tuesday edition of Make It Yourself Monday.
Fair Reader, you may remember that The Frugal Hostess mentioned making vanilla and vinegar for holiday gifts. This, along with comments from reader Liza's, set TFH off on a bender of booze-making. Here are some of the things she made:
1. Vanilla: Nothing could be easier. Buy the cheapest vodka you can find. Pour some out into a jar. Shove in a bunch of vanilla beans. [Vanilla beans are expensive, but this is the cheapest place to get them - only $20 per pound!] Use a funnel to fill the bottle up with as much as you can of the vodka you poured out. Stick in basement or back of closet for a few months (four to six). Decant into little bottles, make cool labels, and give as gifts. This is really the best vanilla you will ever taste.
2. Vinegar: Save all of the dregs of your bottles of red wine. TFH understands that you usually drink all of your wine and doesn't blame you. However, you might try pouring half a cup into a jar for a few weeks (days? You wino!). When you have a good amount, cover the top with a coffee filter, paper towel, or piece of cheesecloth and hide in basement or dark closet. After six months, you will have vinegar. Please note that you won't want to add more wine after you've started, as it will prolong the amount of time it takes to vinegar-ize. Just keep saving the wine in a different container, and start a new vinegar when you have enough. A jar or crock with a spout is good for making vinegar, since you can use the spout to pour off what you need. Also, The Frugal Mother recommends filtering one's vinegar through a coffee filter, but The Frugal Hostess is just rebellious enough to have ignored that advice. This is another thing that is cool to bottle and give as gifts.
3. Limoncello and other infused boozes: Also super easy. TFH followed a recipe for the limoncello and then modified it to make other stuff. It will be ready in about six more weeks, so stay tuned for an update. Essentially, you put your flavoring agent (lemon zest, leftover limes food-processed to death, and dried apricots are currently brewing) into a jar of cheap, nasty vodka. Let these sit for two weeks, shaking daily. After that, make simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar boiled into a syrup), and add to vodka that has been drained of flavoring agent. You can also add flavors to the simple syrup, such as lemon juice for the limoncello. Time will tell if this turns out to taste good!
4. Ginger beer: Beer is a stupid name for this, in The Frugal Hostess's humble opinion. It is non-alcoholic and has no bubbles. In fact, it tastes sort of like poison until you mix it up, at which point is turns delicious. But TFH gets ahead of herself. Peel a bunch of fresh ginger. This is supposedly an easy thing to grow, but TFH hasn't tried yet, so she bought about two pounds of it. Once peeled, cut into uniform pieces (you know, just so they'll fit in the Cuisinart; don't kill yourself over it). Put in food processor with one cup of water and process like crazy. Then, and this is the messy/annoying part, scoop the pulp into a mesh sieve positioned over a bowl. Using a plastic scraper or spoon, press down on the pulp to push out all the juice, which is - strangely enough - bright yellow! It smells so good, too. You should do this two or three more times (process with cup of water, squeeze out juice). You'll get a lot more juice than you expect, so have a large container for it. (TFH filled a handle-sized vodka bottle and a large jar.) Add one cup of fresh lime juice and three cups of sugar, then shake it up. You're done! However, it will be very strong, so here is TFH's recommendation for consuming. Fill a tall glass with crushed ice. Pour in a quarter cup of ginger beer, and add two ounces of dark rum. Stir, then fill the rest of the glass with soda water. Garnish with a lime. Enjoy!

Ginger beer recipe modified from "Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It" by Karen Solomon.
Photos by The Frugal Hostess.