Limoncello

Chris & I went to a limoncello-making class last night at the home of the bundle of energy known as Lucia Galizia (the heart of the Portland Italian community). For the next week, we're agitating our container of grain alcohol and lemon peels once a day, and then we'll add the water and sugar mixture that will actually make it palatable. Lucia let us sample the stuff she had in the freezer, made from the same recipe, and it was scrumptious - almost syrupy in texture, a lovely tart (but not too tart) lemony flavor, and refreshingly ice-cold.

Many people at the class last night were thinking they'd give away small bottles of the stuff for Christmas. Personally, I'm looking forward to making up a batch of limoncello gelato to see if I can get anywhere near the Mio Gelato version.

Before the class, we went to a quick dinner at Tabla with two friends who were also going to the class. Because we only had an hour, we didn't have a chance to really savor the food like we might have wanted to, but the meal did make me want to return to Tabla soon. The highlight was the Pappardelle with Rabbit Ragu - the sauce was absolutely out-of-this-world delicious. Everything was fabulous, but that was everyone's favorite dish. Chris' comment: "Y'know, rabbits are really cute and all - it's too bad they're so damned tasty."