dEste - The Bible of Homemade Italian Liqueurs ...and the finest pastries to serve with them

Someliqueurs use vegetables as main ingredients; there is an Artichoke, a Basil andeven an Onion Liqueur. Differentliqueurs have different uses. Ina pleasant ladies afternoon you can serve violet Rosolio with little almondspastries, while in a summer evening you can prefer a prickly pear Ratafiserved with marzipan stuffed dates. Flowerand fruit liqueurs are also used as ingredient for traditional pastries; thisbook is plenty of examples such as ricotta and tangerine pudding or NacatuliBruntzisi or Gueffus. Spicesand vegetable liqueurs are often used to flavor salty dishes, for exampleToasted Tuna Roe Bread or Stuffed DriedPlums. Useyour fantasy and moisten a roast with Onion Liqueur give more taste to aRisotto with Porcini Mushroom Liqueur.

Duringthe Renaissance, while French and Belgian monks were engaged in brewing strongbeers, Italian monks developed the science of herbsliqueurs.
Alongside the more common Eucalyptus or Rhubarb liqueurs, Italian monasteriesproduced Birch or Nettle or Centerbe (one-hundred-herbs)liqueurs. Italiansdrink those digestive liqueurs at the end of heavy dinners, often serving themwith same taste homemade candies. Inthe past most Northern Italian families used to distill their own Grappa athome. Those Grappa were so tasty and alcoholic (often 70 or more) that it was quiteimpossible to drink them as theywere. They were so strong that it was considered rude for a woman to drinkthem, so Those Grappa taste were refined using honey, fruit, vegetables,herbs.
This book will offer you some recipes to prepare delicious, soft Grappa such asFresh Cream or Fig or Pear or Olive Grappa. Alsowines (especially Marsala) were treated to produce newflavors.
There is the fragrant Hawthorn but also the Sapa (Sardinian cooked wine), usedto prepare the delicious Sapa Bread.

Or the Barolo Chinato, a Piedmont recipefamous all over the world. Italiansuse to offer something to eat with their homemadeliqueurs.
This book offers you plenty of traditional recipes, from cookies to fritters totruffles from various Italianregions. I hope you enjoy the matches Ive done, but fell free to change them and toexperiment different taste combinations. Thisbook also will teach you how to prepare cocktails the Italianway.
Most of the liqueur, in fact, can be used to prepare well known or completelynew cocktails, using flowers, fruit, champagne, ice cream Enjoythis book, its flavor, its recipes but most of all enjoy the ancient and slowart of liqueurs making.

FLOWERS LIQUEURS

Carnation Rosolio

Ingredients: 1liter of alcohol 95 7oz of red carnation petals 1pinch of red cochineal food coloring (or other
scarlet food coloring) 7oz of sugar (for the carnation) 14oz of sugar (for thesyrup) liter of water. Put the red carnation petals and 7 oz of sugar in an
airtight jar.

Let soak for 4 days. Add the alcohol and the food coloring. Let soak for 2 weeks. Filter. Make a syrup with 14 oz of sugar and the water. Add the syrup to the alcohol.

Bottle and let rest in a dark, dry place for 1months. Puta green candied cherry in a Martiniglass.
Put in a shaker 1 part of Carnation Rosolio, 1 part of White Rum and 1-2 dropsof bitter almond extract for each serving, sprinkle a lemon zest in the liquid,shake and pour in theglass.

Carnation Flavored Almond Ice Cream

Ingredients: liter almond milk 3 oz sugar 3crushed cardamom seeds redcarnation petals cup fresh cream 1pinch of red cochineal food coloring (or other scarlet food coloring) Boilthe almond milk with the sugar and the crushed cardamom seeds until it isreduced to half a liter. Letcool and filter. Gentlychop in 2-3 parts a little handful of carnation petals. Mixthe almond milk, the fresh cream, the chopped carnation petals and the foodcoloring. Putin the ice cream machine for 45 minutes (or follow your ice cream machineinstructions).

Putthe ice cream in dessert cups and decorate with red carnation petals.

Jasmine Rosolio

Ingredients: 200 jasmine blossoms 1 liter of alcohol at 95 3 cups of sugar liter of water Put the blossom and the alcohol in an airtight jar. Let soak 15 days. Make a syrup with the sugar and the water. Filter the alcohol and add the syrup. Mix2 parts of Jasmine Rosolio, 1 part of vodka and 3 parts of watermelonjuice.
Pour over ice in a large glass.
Let float 3-4 jasmine blossoms on the surface

Flower Petals Cookies

Ingredients(for 60-80 cookies): 1 cups butter 10 tbsp sugar 2 eggs 2 cups flour a pinch of salt cup of rose petals cup of jasmine petals cup of orange blossoms cup of violet petals 2 tsp of Red Roses Rosolio 2 tsp of Jasmine Rosolio 2 tsp of Orange Blossom Rosolio 2 tsp of Violet Rosolio Mix the butter and the sugar until the mixture iscreamy. Mix2 parts of Jasmine Rosolio, 1 part of vodka and 3 parts of watermelonjuice.
Pour over ice in a large glass.
Let float 3-4 jasmine blossoms on the surface

Flower Petals Cookies

Ingredients(for 60-80 cookies): 1 cups butter 10 tbsp sugar 2 eggs 2 cups flour a pinch of salt cup of rose petals cup of jasmine petals cup of orange blossoms cup of violet petals 2 tsp of Red Roses Rosolio 2 tsp of Jasmine Rosolio 2 tsp of Orange Blossom Rosolio 2 tsp of Violet Rosolio Mix the butter and the sugar until the mixture iscreamy.

Add the eggs, the flour and a pinch of salt. Knead the dough and divide it in 4 parts. Add the rose petals and the Red Roses Rosolio to 1stpart, the jasmine petals and the Jasmine Rosolio to the 2nd part,the orange blossoms petals and the Orange Blossom Rosolio to the 3rdpart and the violet petals and the Violet Rosolio to the 4th part. Make four dough balls and let rest half a hour inthe fridge. Roll out the dough cm (0.2 inch) thick. Cut out 15-20 cookies from each part with a flowershaped cookie cutter.

Preheat the oven at 350 F. Put the cookies on a baking tin covered by bakingpaper. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the cookies arepale golden. Serve cold.

Orange Blossoms Rosolio

Ingredients: 1 cups of orange blossoms 1 liter of alcohol at 95 10 tbsp of sugar (for the blossoms) 3 cups of sugar (for the syrup) 1 liter of water Crush the orange blossoms with 10 tbsp of sugar in amortar. Put the blossom and sugar mixture and the alcohol inan airtight jar.

Let soak 15 days. Make a syrup with 3 cups of sugar and the water. Filter the alcohol and add the syrup. After a week, filter again, bottle and let rest foranother month before serving.