I can’t drink Limoncello without thinking of Boston. After my daughter Emily graduated from college her first job as a teacher was at a private school in the small town of Milford, CT. The summer after her first year of teaching, I traveled from Denver to New York City, met my sister Laura there and we drove to Milford. We spent a couple of days exploring that charming town and eating a TON of lobster but then headed to Boston for five days. Five days of gorgeous weather, never seeing a whale on a boat we went out on just to see whales and meeting some of the most amazing people.

I’ve heard more than one person lament their own experience in Boston and it usually includes having to deal with rude and impatient people. We must have been blessed; our entire trip was filled with the most fun people imaginable. I do think we lucked out that we stayed at a gorgeous Bed and Breakfast in the North End; that turned out to be the perfect choice.  I’ve not been to Italy but this felt close; the language, the humor and the amazing generosity of spirit we experienced. Everyone was so friendly and fun, even the pet lobster from the Union Oyster House (featured with my daughter and sis above) .

Sure we made it up to Harvard, bought the requisite sweatshirts too and at least made of point of driving by Cheers (loved that show) but I could not wait to get back ‘home’ to our B&B and just visit with the local shopkeepers, have the best damn Eggplant Marinara sandwich imaginable at a small local deli and be treated by the owner of my favorite restaurant to Limoncello after dinner. Great dinner, windows open to the street, twinkle lights sparkling everywhere and Limoncello? It was almost magical.

I had never had Limoncello before and I can promise you this…I’ve never been without it since. I make a favorite lemon cheesecake and have found that adding some Limoncello does not hurt one little bit but typically I just drink it straight up; out of the freezer ice cold. I’ve got some I’ve made myself in my brewing facility (you might call it a garage) that is almost ready and I’ll be posting on that process soon but until then I had to share this amazing little cocktail with you today.

I was ready to do a post on the my home version but in just mentioning it to my friend Jenn (especially since I thought it needed another week), she told me about this cocktail she had made with Limoncello. I still had some in a bottle I had purchased and I just knew I had to do this. Originally a recipe from Giada De Laurentiis; Jenn had substituted raspberries for blueberries and since that combination is such a favorite of mine I had no intention of revising again; it was the perfect choice. While I’m certain this is a great light ‘cooler’ I did not have sparkling water on hand but I did have sparkling wine (no big surprise there right?). I am a huge fan of both Cava (sparkling wine from Spain) and Prosecco (the same from Italy) and love it mixed with other liqueurs…besides doesn’t Limoncello and Prosecco seem like the perfect Italian apertif? Glad you agree…cause I sure thought so! This was simply wonderful and I can see it going from brunch to dinner and with a bit of vodka even beyond! Salut!

Make this for a Mom in your life this Sunday…it would be perfect!

Earlier this spring I was contacted by Erika Kerekes with Deluxe Corporation, based in Shoreview MN, wanting to know if I could help put together an event for one of their clients, a local Denver sausage maker. Kathy Laurienti, the owner wanted to introduce their newest product, a dry Italian sausage that they sell along with fresh Italian sausage under the Paisano Sausage Company label. Luckily for everyone involved, I coordinate a local group of bloggers who meet once a month; I knew I could find a willing crew to participate.

Kathy’s late husband started the company over thirty years ago and she has been a part of this family owned business for many years. Upon his death last year, it fell on her to take over the reins of the operation. Not content to just do business as usual, Kathy decided to start producing a dry Italian sausage in addition to the fresh Italian sausage she produces daily.

On the day of our visit, 20 of us were invited into the heart of their operations and I think I speak for everyone that the cleanliness of their production facility was impressive. I was also a bit surprised but I can’t deny equally impressed that a health inspector inspects her facility every weekday before they start production. If we had visited during a production day we would all have been required to ‘suit up’ and wear a coat and hair net. I am glad we went on a Saturday. :)

I made a second trip with my friend Karen from Savoury Table so that we could see the sausage being made and pick up the packages promised to the members of our group. I’m thankful Karen brought her camera and allowed me to use these photos of the seasoning and stuffing in process. That’s Kathy on the left and I wish I had a more glamorous shot of her; I took some but she’s constantly moving and she was a blur in every photo; still the eyelashes tell the story enough, right? I’ve actually thought of making sausage myself and certainly followed a number of people who did for the Charcutepalooza event last year; looked easy enough but then their equipment might be a far cry above my KitchenAid attachment!

The process for making both the fresh and dry sausage is similar but once completed, the dry version is salted and hung in their drying facility for at least 19 days. Once that time has elapsed and the moisture is removed, this sausage needs no refrigeration and is perfect not just for use at home as a snack or appetizer, but a great addition to trips away from home. If I were prone to hike I know it would be perfect. Since I’m not, I went the appetizer route and served it with these savory crackers and wine. Prepared with both mild and hot seasonings it was the perfect accompaniment for savory crackers with some jam and of course…wine! Kathy’s Italian sausage is primarily provided to local restaurants and one specialty meat store in the Denver area but their dry product is available online for shipping to the continental US.

After our groups tour of the facility we got on to the fun stuff; the food! Kathy had arranged varieties of her dry sausage for tasting with some unexpected elements for dipping. Marshmallow fluff? Caramel? Yes, there were savory offerings too but the sweet ones were unexpected and surprisingly good. I’m not sure why I questioned that…I sure love most anything with a combination of sweet and some heat! I can’t say I’m the biggest fan of dry sausage…opting to never have pepperoni on my pizza even, but this was good and the hotter version has a nice kick. Impressed with how well it married with those sweeter elements, Karen went off the charts and made some Chewy Salted Dry Sausage Praline  and I was lucky she saved one for me; salty, sweet, spicy, chewy…really OMG good!

I opted to do my own version of the sausage and peppers that Kathy served our group using her fresh Italian sausage. As a card carrying member of the ‘Green Pepper Haterz Club’ I just had to substitute something for those green bell peppers and in the making ended up with a much different dish. Kathy had sent each of us home with a basketful of goodies so I also wanted to incorporate some of the other local products she had given us including the Aiello’s spaghetti sauce and Balistreri Vineyards Sangiovese wine.

Was it so good because I was a part of the process and got to see it being made? As unique and fun as that was I don’t think so…it’s just great sausage. Most of their fresh Italian sausage is produced and sold to local restaurants (the one local retail outlet is Vinnola’s Italian Market in Wheat Ridge, CO) so I feel particularly blessed that we were given some to play with. I just happened to have some Tillamook Monterey Jack Cheese on hand which was perfect for this sandwich. You might not be lucky enough to have some of Kathy’s sausage in your neighborhood but just find some good fresh sausage and try this sandwich; it’s a keeper!

Not in Denver? Be sure to visit their online store if you love dry sausage; it’s made with care and it shows.

When I made this blood orange margarita in February I mentioned that I normally reserve margaritas for the summer. And this cocktail is the one I save until then. The first touch of warm weather and I start to think of margaritas; there is something about warm weather, a barbecue and having friends over that makes a pitcher of these a required element at my backyard get togethers. I say margaritas and my friends and neighbors know and I can count on them to flock to my backyard and I just know it’s not the food! I’ve been dying to do this cocktail for Happy Hour Friday but I had to wait until the time was right and FINALLY the time is now!

What makes this drink so special? It’s the attention to detail; from the type of tequila to the quality of ingredients and ending with the preparation. It’s not something you can throw together at a moment’s notice (though I do have a quick version) but the wait is worthwhile, trust me. Letting the different flavors meld together from the juices and zest infuses this cocktail with a bright citrus punch. The longer the zest and juice mixture is allowed to steep, the more developed the citrus flavors are in the finished margarita. If I’m planning ahead for company, I will let the citrus mixture steep for 24 hours, although the margaritas will still be great if the mixture is steeped only for the minimum 4 hours. If you’re in a rush and need to serve margaritas immediately go ahead and try the quick version; it’s good too but the more time the better.

If you’ve visited this blog for a bit, you know I live in Denver, Colorado. One mile high. Five thousand two hundred and eighty feet above sea level. Sea level being the place where recipes are written and then folks ‘up in the air’ have to revise for our altitude. I get it; I’ve been here a long time. Air is thinner and dryer so baking requires some adjustment. I think of those high altitude warnings on the side of cake boxes when I was growing up in a suburb of St. Louis; those warnings I got to blithely ignore, not even sure what that was all about. Atmospheric pressure was for classroom studies, the stuff you forgot as soon as possible when science was a requirement and not your passion and you lived at ‘normal’ altitude.

Still, getting it and getting things to always work are two completely different animals. I’ve never been afraid to bake here and after some fledgling snafus have come to realize that a smidge less of leavening with maybe a bit more moisture (even our flour becomes drier) usually does the trick. So when this months #Baketogether event with Abby Dodge was announced and it was Angel Food Cake, I had no fear. My only concern was not having an angel food cake pan so when I discovered one in my cupboard that I must have bought long ago at a yard sale, I think you can understand why I thought the fates were on my side.

Not so fast Barbara. Trust me, over the years I have done my share of ‘fixes’ if things don’t go quite as planned. The most popular method of going awry in my kitchen is to have something develop a crater in the center. Too much leavening and the cake rises too fast in our thinner air, the cell structure does not bake quickly enough to hold and the result is that the rise then collapses and voila…a sinkhole. Because I always make some adjustments,snafus are now seldom and typically minor and the addition of some fruit or an extra dollop of frosting is all it takes to right that wrong.

Not today. No…today I present you with my Chocolate Angel Food Pancake; though I guess Flat Tire Cake would be more appropriate. I thought it could have been a bit higher in the pan when I took it out but it was still about 4″ up the sides and I thought I could live with that. Angel food cake pans have little feet on them that are attached to the cake rim, once baked, they are turned upside down to rest on those feet while they cool for an hour. After that, run a knife around the cake to release it and voila…you ‘should’ have an Angel Food cake. Me? I turned to something else in the kitchen for a moment and when I glanced back I noticed my cake laying under the pan on my butcher block. I lifted off the pan and this is what I had. Definitely an #AngelFoodCakeFail. I measured it too; poor thing is just a bit taller than an inch. I actually thought it would taste fine but when my neighbor Sally came over to get some of the brownies, we tasted it. Um. No. It’s pretty pathetic; something is lost without the volume and lightness. Not Abby’s fault; so many ‘flatlanders’ have done amazing versions as testimony to that. Of some solace was my call to my local blogger friend Karen; I thought she could commiserate and I would see what she did to succeed. What I found was that I was not alone!

I’m not one to do a lot of experimenting and testing; for me it either works or it doesn’t and I move on. I won’t say I won’t try this again with some revisions but not today; I’m out of cake flour and don’t have enough eggs so a shopping trip would be in order and I don’t have the time. I guess I could have left with this story except for one thing. The Bourbon Caramel sauce I made for this cake was so good; it would have been a shame to just ignore it, right?

So I’ve punted. LONG. I wanted a chocolate angel food cake  so had chocolate on my mind so brownies seems to fit the bill and I had enough ingredients for one of my favorite recipes too. I’ve topped them before with a cream cheese frosting and had a sneaky suspicion that a bourbon caramel frosting would work just fine and I was so right. I’m doing this again for the Kentucky Derby; something about  bourbon and brownies with pecans just seems perfect and will transport me just a bit back to the south where stuff like this never happened. I suppose it’s a good thing we get to put a spin on Abby’s recipe cause I spun this one like an LP! I’ll try again and I’ll let you know when I do; altitude is NOT the boss of me.

Make sure you visit Abby’s website for the original recipe and lots of different variations and join us if you want. Abby gives us a recipe on the first of each month as inspiration and we have a month to do our own  thing, posting anytime during the month and chatting on Twitter via the hashtag #baketogether. It’s a great supportive community and a fun exercise for both novice and experienced bakers alike.

I made these brownies, substituting pecans for walnuts and then topped them with the Bourbon Caramel frosting.

This recipe for strawberries that are mixed with egg whites, whipping cream and sugar and then frozen between layers of crunchy nuts was a favorite of mine a long time ago.  I still remember the reason I didn’t make it very often though and why it eventually lost favor with me. It was a mess to make. Whipping the egg whites and whipping cream was easy enough but it was the addition of those strawberries that did me in. They would wrap around the beaters of my little handheld mixer and whip that mixture all over the place. So making this dessert was a true labor of love; it also meant wiping down not just counter tops but the floor and often cabinets too!

So what inspired me to give it another try beyond nostalgia (trust me I  had no nostalgia for the mess!). A couple of things. First, I can’t discount my love of strawberries and how I love to find new ways to use the bounty of the amazing berries we get in the spring; I’m remembering how much I love this dessert and it was time. The resulting texture is much like ice cream and when coupled with the combination of the brown sugar, flour, butter and nut crumble; they are simple yet simply divine. Secondly I had the notion that my larger capacity stand mixture would make easier work this time around and thankfully that was true. I did put the mixer attachment on that is actually used to make adding flour and other dry ingredients easier as a protective collar and it was just enough to catch the few droplets that were determined to make their way to my white cabinet doors.

But one of the main reasons? I think a great example of our food culture is within the story of this dessert and it serves to illustrate again why I feel so strongly about the current food blogging notions regarding  ‘recipe ownership.’ That notion coupled with the immediacy of the Internet has made this a situation that I think in many ways ruins the entire sense of how food has fit into many of our lives for decades. It’s meaning for me has always been a way to nurture those I love everyday, that time and attention to detail that says ‘I care’ in every bite. To show others that same sense through a gift of cookies, a pot of soup during an illness or a special cake for an even more special event.

Now it’s too often about inbound links and hits and revenue and an ugliness in that quest for those that has an entire generation of cooks not just claiming ownership of recipes but publicly maligning those they feel have ‘stolen’ from them. It’s not just ugly and rude; it’s plain wrong.Yes, I’ve had my own experience. A demand to take down my version of this Strawberry Pie recipe that I’m sure I was making before the person making the demand was born…another recipe from this very same cookbook as a matter of fact!

Why did this dessert so clearly illustrate to me why this is so often too much ado about nothing? I saw Amy of the website ‘She Wears Many Hats’ publish a post last summer about Strawberry Squares and she made a point of attributing them to her Aunt Carole’s  “Hearts Go Home for the Holidays” Cookbook; a cookbook her aunt had compiled for family members with her favorite recipes. I knew as soon as I saw the recipe that it was the same one I had used for years from an old version of ‘Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook’ published in the early 70′s. I suppose if I were BH&G I could make quite a scene with Amy about this not being her aunt’s recipe but before this whole food blogging thing, the sharing of recipes with friends and family was a given. No one expected that their name would forever be attached to a recipe. We just wanted to share with others something we loved. It really was that simple.

I for one think that one thing in this story of ‘recipe wars’ that is totally forgotten is that in the making of a recipe some ownership has got to be handed over to the maker of the dish. It’s not as if the ingredients miraculously hop off the page onto a prepared table where a camera is setup and ready to snap a pic with no interference whatsoever from human hands. Once I put my time and effort into anything…that recipe has MY name on it too. I’ve said it before and I remain steadfast in this. If I use a recipe from someone else, I will attribute but I will not forgo including the recipe on my site. This is my journal of what I prepare, not a marketing tool to push the websites or cookbooks of others. Weren’t they equally inspired in some way?

I’ve started a new practice that is particularly eye opening. After I develop something on my own and feel it’s successful enough to blog about I do a Google search. The results serve to prove my own point. Sorbets combining garden herbs and liqueurs from my bar? Done. A patty melt with jalapeno peppers and pepper jack cheese? That too. Strawberry Squares? Lots of different ones including an almost identical one on AllRecipes.com and Cook.com and none referencing the one I have that precedes those by decades.

What is my point? Well, first this is a great dessert and I for one am happy that Amy chose to include this recipe from her Aunt Carole’s cookbook. As a reminder for me and I’m hoping as something new for someone else because first things first; it’s particularly perfect in spring or summer when fresh strawberries are in abundance. Beyond that it’s just a reflex to the continuous complaining that gets wearisome. Food and the preparation of it is about nurturing and caring for others. Our sharing it should be for the same reasons. That is all. :)

I’ve enjoyed this venture into cocktail making but can I share something with you? I don’t drink a lot…no, really I don’t! I come from a family with a history of alcoholism and as a result I’m as cautious as any one person could be to be aware of my drinking habits. So…do I drink the cocktails I make for these posts? Not always. I only make cocktails that I already know I enjoy or if it’s something new that I’m happy with and consider blogworthy, then I have definitely tasted the end result but depending on the time of day, that might be all I enjoy. If they’re made later in the day and photographed I just might enjoy a tipple…but not two. Until last night.

I simply LOVE gin and tonics and throwing anything with Bombay Sapphire Gin into the sink was not going to happen. Can you blame me? Despite last night’s forecast of potential snow (not all that unusual for spring in Denver), yesterday was a gorgeous spring day and I definitely think of a Gin and Tonic as one of my favorite warm weather cocktails. Light and so refreshing with just a touch of citrus from fresh lime juice, it’s just a perfect warm weather cocktail.

Gin was first created by Dr. Franciscus Sylvus, a Dutch chemist, in the 16th century. Originally developed in an attempt to cleanse the blood of those suffering from kidney disorders, Dr. Sylvus named his creation genièvre, French for juniper, the primary botanical that is a part of the distilling process. When King William III used his grudge against France to ban expensive liquor imports from there, mass production of gin in England made it affordable and that made it easier for the Brits to deal with the ban.

Fate must have played a strong hand in this month’s Recipe Swap; a group event where we are given an assignment that consists of an old recipe from a vintage cookbook; we’re currently working out of a book called The Ford Treasury and this recipe is from the Hotel Dilworth which the recipe itself indicates is located in a noted vacation area in Michigan. I recall very fondly two trips that I took to the Petoskey, MI area so I did a search and lo and behold I found that the almost 100 year old historic building is in that area and is currently undergoing a renovation and expected to re-open this year! Small world indeed.

The recipe we are given is simply an inspiration and our challenge is to put our own spin on this treasure. It’s always great fun to not only devise our own dish but to see the creativity that comes from our members each and every month. After my homage to excess last month with a fabulous pound cake filled with blood orange curd and a mascarpone frosting, something lighter was certainly on the agenda this time around.

When I saw this tomato pudding with tomatoes, bread and butter I could almost taste Panzanella salad, an Italian salad using the simplest of foods that come together in an equally simple but fantastic salad. I was so sure of my choice that I put little thought into it and simply scheduled the time and date for the post and inserted the recipe for my use when I was ready to pull it together.

But a small and incessant niggling started in my head that I could eventually not ignore. This was not tomato season and tomatoes are the star of this dish. Fresh, warm from the summer sun tomatoes. Tomatoes so full of juice and flavor that taking the time to cut them seems to just prolong an ecstasy that any true tomato lover knows. The beauty of the tomato stance even; bending at the waist, arms and torso outstretched so that the ground becomes your plate and you casually ignore that feeling of tomato juice running down your chin, even your forearms. This is tomato nirvana and it is those tomatoes that this salad is made for. So I decided to punt and make something else. Or so I thought.

You know how once you get something in your head sometimes there is simply no letting go? I tried, I really did but this I could not let go. So my challenge became to find the best tomatoes I possibly could, to rely on some fabulous croutons and a great dressing to stand on their own and if I’m honest to plead with you to make this salad but not until this summer. I can not wait to do it again…right after I clean the dribble off of my chin from that ‘first’ tomato! Still, as if on cue my semi weekly box of organic fruits and veggies from Door to Door Organics appeared magically on my doorstep. Red, ripe organic tomatoes and a head of fresh lettuce and I was rescued and ready to stay on task.

Panzanella is a Florentine salad of bread and tomatoes popular in the summer. It includes stale bread that is soaked in a dressing and tomatoes, often accompanied with onions and basil which is dressed with olive oil and/or vinegar. Florentine traditionalists disapprove of using other ingredients but I’m not in Florence so I like to serve mine with some lettuce, garlic, mustard and Parmesan cheese.

There is nothing difficult about this salad but some things are important to me to insure it’s the best it can be. I always drain the tomatoes and then use some of the tomato water in the dressing. Then I dress the tomatoes first and give the flavors some time to meld together before adding the bread cubes. I’ll let that mixture sit for just a couple of minutes; I want the bread dressed but not soggy…and so do you, I promise. Piling that mixture on top of fresh greens and then finishing with some freshly grated Parmesan is the making for an almost perfect salad. Later this summer. Promise me you will do it then; I know I will!

Be sure to check out the contributions from my Recipe Swap-mates!

When the folks at Tillamook approached me several weeks ago to  participate with them and other blogs in celebrating National Grilled Cheese Month in Grilled Cheese Recipepalooza of course I said yes; who doesn’t love that combo of butter toasted bread with some gooey cheese melted inside. I hoped that they would love my take on something new for me and it does seem that my Apple, Pancetta and Sharp Cheddar on a Grilled Croissant sandwich has been well received. I know it might be my most favorite grilled cheese ever!

Though the apple/cheddar/croissant match was magical…I could not quite get over the other sandwich I thought of doing; well, actually did. The problem? I’ve lately been using Google ‘after’ I finish making a recipe to see what else is out there like it. I’m a strong believer that it’s next to impossible to make something totally and completely unique anymore and this exercise often proves that point so I wasn’t surprised to have that confirmed with my new search practice.

Still…I was a bit surprised to see that indeed, what I thought a new spin on a Patty Melt was in fact widespread; as in Carl’s Junior widespread. Sigh. Pepper Jack cheese and jalapenos even. I won’t deny I was a bit bummed especially since I had really loved it…still, on the back burner it went. Then I made it for some friends who 1. Also LOVED it and 2. Like me, had never been to a Carl’s Junior. They convinced me to share it on my blog; for their sake. Besides, though this photo of the Carl’s Junior Southwest Patty Melt looked OK; it just screamed ‘food styling’ and we didn’t see someone eating it after the photo was finished. Here? It’s always a race to get it made, put together and photographed right before someone takes a big bite…but I hope it looks more ‘real’ too!

By the way, if you aren’t familiar with Tillamook cheeses, well you should be; they are one of my favorite brands. In my own personal effort to know more about the food products that I eat and the companies that produce them, Tillamook measures up. They have a strong commitment to local and state dairy associations and to the quality of their product, expecting that anyone supplying them with milk has been certified that their milk producing cows have not been treated with artificial growth hormones. I appreciate attention to those values and the ultimate benefit to all of us. That I love how it tastes is a given. :)

NOTE: This recipe calls for grilled onions; make your favorite recipe or if you need inspiration, take a peek at our recipe for making caramelized onions overnight in a crockpot or if you prefer a stovetop recipe, here is one from Simply Recipes.

Some more grilled cheese sandwiches you might enjoy:

• http://www.recipe4living.com/articles/a_recipe_collection_for_cheese_lovers.htm
• http://www.recipe4living.com/articles/15_mouthwatering_melts.htm
• http://www.recipe4living.com/recipes/turkey_apple_melts.htm
• http://www.recipe4living.com/articles/top_10_grilled_cheese_recipes.htm

Disclosure: I was provided with the cheese for this post from Tillamook Cheese. All recipes and opinions are my own.

I might have had a moment in college when I tried an underage drinking experiment but the truth is, drinking to excess has never been my thing and worrying about getting into trouble kept me from having too many of those experiences. So turning 21 was actually a big moment; when I could order a cocktail if out with friends after work or on a date with my boyfriend. I don’t remember exactly the first time I had a Bacardi Cocktail but I do remember is was my favorite drink to order; long before I considered the beauty of making cocktails at home.

Fast forward to my 28th year when I moved with my than husband from St. Louis to Raleigh, NC and to the relative jolt of going out for one of our first meals, ordering a cocktail and finding out about North Carolina’s dry laws. No cocktails, nope. You could bring a bottle of wine in with you or a bottle of hard liquor and order a mixer for it but the days of ordering a favorite cocktail in a restaurant were over for us. So, we could drive around with an open bottle of bourbon in the car but could not order a mixed drink at a bar. Today that seems the opposite of good practice if you want to curtail drinking but it stopped me cold. Until I thought about making my own. Why yes, I can do that!

According to a story in the Washington Post in 1937, at the end of Prohibition, the Bacardi Cocktail began to unseat the Martini as the most favored cocktail, something most thought could never happen. The Bacardi Cocktail was originally the same as the Daiquiri, containing rum, lime juice, and sugar. The Grenadine version of the Bacardi Cocktail originated in the US, while the original non-red Bacardi company recipe originated in Cuba. Combining Bacardi rum, lime and Grenadine in a cocktail shaker with ice and shaking until cold seems a precursor to today’s Cosmopolitan…pink, both sweet and tart and certainly trendy.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to make my own Grenadine syrup using pomegranate juice, sugar and a sliver of orange peel. It has a fabulous flavor and I loved it in the Sparkling Pomegranate Margarita but I had to go about it differently for Grenadine for this cocktail. Why? That result, using half sugar and half juice was in between pomegranate simple syrup and pomegranate molasses; it was thick and it was leading towards brown after cooking down with some orange added. This had to be red (or at least burgundy!) and it was as simple as just preparing the juice like a regular simple syrup, just enough heat to have the sugar melt…no cooking down this time around. It is gorgeous and a far cry from Rose’s Grenadine which might be called Grenadine but is without a single bit of  Grenade (French for pomegranate) in it . Made with high fructose corn syrup, red dye #40 and a smidgeon of blue dye #1 to up the surreal hue just a bit; it’s flavor is closer to that of cough syrup than pomegranate!

This is not that. This is the perfect combination of sweet and tart and boozy and in my take…just a bit effervescent too! The taste is every bit as improved as the appearance with the homemade grenadine. This time around, so many years later I made it for myself and a very sweet friend that I met on Twitter but bonded with over Starbucks, biscuits and bacon. Sommerset was in town on company business and she was sweet enough to ‘help’ me test this effort. I hope we can do it again soon!