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Poached Oranges with Solerno Liqueur
This is the time of year for feasts, really big feasts, but even the grand gourmands among us need a respite. If you are looking for a light but elegant dessert to close your holiday meal, try this most typical Italian dessert. Poached oranges, chilled, served in their syrup and topped with candied orange peel and Solerno are a snap to make, and can be made the day before you plan to serve them. What more could you possibly ask for? Oh, and about the Solerno – my favorite orange liqueur, it is distilled from Sicilian blood oranges and is just perfect here, its clean citrus flavor and alcoholic bite tempering the sweetness of the sugar syrup. If you do not have any Solerno, substitute Gran Marnier, Triple Sec or Cointreau. Read the remainder of this entry »
L’Americana – a Cocktail for Amanda Knox
Oh, how I waited on this one. Don’t confuse this with the classic cocktail, The Americano. No, I did not misspell anything. For four years I have followed the saga of Amanda Knox, the young American student jailed in Perugia, Italy for the November 2007 murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher. I followed Amanda through her original trial, her incarceration and appeal, and finally through this last most excruciating weekend. I emailed with friends halfway across the globe. We agonized for Amanda, her co-defendant Rafaelle Sollecito and especially for the Kercher family. Lady Justice, as they say, grinds slowly, but she grinds finely, and she freed Amanda Knox. Even now, Amanda is most likely on her way back home. Amanda’s home now. Read the remainder of this entry »
Solerno – Sicilian Blood Orange Liqueur
Who said you couldn’t get blood oranges in August? Trust me. You can. But first, if I gave awards for the best packaging, this decanter-like bottle from William Grant & Sons would take the Blue Ribbon. The bottle is a clear light red at its squat base, slowly darkening to a smokey red hue that travels up and over the rounded shoulders darkening even further along the thin neck up to the lip at the top. But it’s the punt, the depression in the bottom of the bottle, that wins the “How cool is this award?” Read the remainder of this entry »