I have the worst sore throat today. The only thing that is keeping me going at the office is cup after cup of this peppermint and licorice infused “Comforting” tea that I impulse shopped at Aveda a few months ago. It’s absolutely lovely. Wincing in pain every time I attempt to swallow a sip — not so much.

CK works from home now. I’ll give you a moment to digest that. Believe me I’m jealous on a daily basis as I drag myself out the door and he happily waves goodbye from the comfort of his Herman Miller Mirra chair in the new home office (formerly our guest bedroom). His new work day does have some perks. For example I can now ask him to fetch things at Whole Foods on an almost daily basis. Last week he filled our fridge with soda pop though.

I’m very anti calories in beverages that don’t come “shaken or stirred” so I was a little annoyed at this new caloric clutter, but than I figured “what the heck” and opened a bottle. I was quite surprised to discover that it was outstanding! “Grown-Up Soda” or “Gus” as its name has affectionately been shortened to is 100% natural and not super sweet like so many other sodas and colas. In fact Gus is actually sweetened with natural cane sugar. It’s also kosher and doesn’t contain preservatives or caffeine and at only 90 - 98 calories in each 12oz. bottle you wont completely ruin those morning runs if you occasionally treat yourself. And believe me, you’re going to want to indulge.

So far I’ve fallen in love with the Ginger Ale (I may never buy Schweppes again) and CK is gaga over the Dry Cola. The Cranberry Lime is probably my second favorite choice since it tastes like a Cosmo minus the vodka. Note to self: try with booze! There are other flavors too such as Dry Pomegranate, Meyer Lemon, and Crimson Grape. Ready to sample this soda for yourself? To find out where you can buy Gus in your area please check out the Grown-Up Soda map.

Guess who’s back, back again!

Erin and I have a weekend morning tradition of starting off nice and slow with some sort of breakfast and a freshly pressed cup of coffee. As much as we’d like to take credit for starting this trend in our home, it really was something I “borrowed” from elsewhere.

I have a lot of family in Connecticut, and one of the places I love to visit while there is Uncle Bob and Aunt Leslie’s house near the shore. Occasionally I would stay over, and in the mornings, they would have a big pot of French press coffee off to the side in their kitchen all ready to go. I was always impressed by the flavor of the coffee, and this was just about the time that I became more interested in coffee and coffee drinks, thanks to the Starbucks near my work. It wouldn’t be long before I decided to start brewing my own.

When it came time to start really making coffee at home for Erin and myself, there was really no other choice but to get a French press.

The Press

In deciding to go the French press route, I was already partial to Bodum’s Chambord line, specifically the Chambord 8-Cup model. The 8-Cup model is 32 ounces, and makes 4 US Cups, or 2 CK and Erin “Weekend” Cups of coffee. While I haven’t tried too many other French Press variants, I am a huge fan of the glass models, as opposed to something like the all-metal variety, which I feel cools the coffee down too quickly for my tastes.

The Coffee

Once you’ve decided on a press, the next logical portion of the coffee brewing experience is, of course, the beans. Rule number one when it comes to coffee is to make sure your coffee is fresh. This can mean as little as buying freshly ground coffee beans from a shop like Starbucks or Peet’s to as much as roasting and grinding your own beans. I like to take the middle ground and buy freshly roasted beans from Peet’s (we’re currently enjoying their Anniversary Blend) and grind them up right before brewing.

The Grinder

I’ll admit I haven’t spent as much time in picking out a grinder as I probably should have - This will undoubtedly change once I start inevitably dabbling in espresso and espresso drinks. For now I am content with the Braun KSM2 grinder, which definitely gets the job done, and was even capable of doing a fine grind of espresso beans for Erin’s infamous Flourless Chocolate Cake.

The Process

After many rounds of trial and error, my basic process for making coffee in the 8-cup press is as follows:

1. Bring a kettle of cold water to a whistle, and then let it sit while preparing the rest.
2. Put 5 Bodum Scoops of coffee beans (translates roughly to 8 Tablespoons) into the grinder.
3. Grind for approximately 8 seconds, or a medium-coarse ground.
4. Take the grounds out and pour them into the press.
5. Pour the hot water from the kettle over the grounds, filling to the top (in the Chambord, you can pour to the metal ring near the top), Then stir in the grounds so they mix with the water.
6. Let sit for 4 minutes (I usually last about 2, so 2-4 minutes will definitely suffice).
7. Plunge the top in and pour into mugs.

Let us know what you think of the recipe and be sure to share your own coffee secrets!

After a long and involved process the Limoncello was finally sampled on Saturday.  Beforehand though I spent hours in the kitchen prepping dinner.   Unfortunately several glasses of wine into the evening it completely slipped my mind to take any actual shots of the cooked food.  No doubt, a common hazard of the “job.”

In reality I served a Roasted Vegetable Lasagna (specifically Portobello Mushrooms, Red Pepper, Zucchini, and Spinach) with spicy Turkey Sausage, Baked Artichokes with Gorgonzola and Herbs, and a Strawberry and Marscapone Granita.

I should warn you that even though Giada said you can eat the artichoke leaves, I thought they were really too chewy.  So I cut up cubes of Seeduction Bread (I know…I know…I’m obsessed) and served the artichokes as a sort of mini personalized fondue.   The fact that those leaves were so gross really annoyed me because it took 20 minutes to snip off the tips of six artichokes and those ends didn’t just fall gracefully to the counter in a neat pile, they flew all over my kitchen with an audible ping.  Zoom!

As for the Limoncello…well…I sort of had a hunch that I wouldn’t like it.  I haven’t been a fan of lemony cocktails in years ever since an unfortunate incident with some Bacardi Limon in college.   But my other guests didn’t seem to mind it.  CK actually liked it!  He drank his in the form of a modified Gin and Tonic.  My friend Melissa had the best response of all:

Anyway, I have two full wine bottles of the stuff left so if anyone has any good ideas on what I can do with it (besides drink it) I’d be forever grateful.

I feel like I’ve suddenly acquired a lemon slice filled aquarium. Should I name the curly pieces of zest that float about in their sea of Absolut all day? Lucy? Lola? Is that you?!

Honestly I had no idea that making lemon flavored booze would illicit such a strong and varied response from the world at large. I suppose I should have guessed as much given the vast array of recipes and tips I found online for making limoncello at home. I essentially closed my eyes and pointed to pick the one I used. C’est la vie!

Last evening I finished step 2 (the addition of a simple syrup concoction) in what I’ve been warned might possibly yield a frozen lemon mess with bitter overtones — to which I can only reply, I assure you, I’ve drank much worse.

Limoncello (Recipe originally published by Giada DeLaurentiis)
10 lemons
1 (750-ml) bottle vodka
3 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups sugar

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the lemons in long strips (reserve the lemons for another use). Using a small sharp knife, trim away the white pith from the lemon peels; discard the pith. Place the lemon peels in a 2-quart pitcher. Pour the vodka over the peels and cover with plastic wrap. Steep the lemon peels in the vodka for 4 days at room temperature.

Stir the water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. Pour the sugar syrup over the vodka mixture. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. Strain the limoncello through a mesh strainer. Discard the peels. Transfer the limoncello to bottles. Seal the bottles and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 month.

Thanks to a post on Bostonist and urging from my fellow Google Reader addicts I decided to test my hand at making Limoncello. Today I completed the first step in this 3 part recipe. Honestly I’m a little scared of Limoncello. We all know what happened to Danny Devito after having a few too many with my boyfriend George Clooney. Tune in on Tuesday for Part 2 of my adventures in alcohol infusing. On a completely different note, while my kitchen smells like a lemon scented heaven what can I do with the 10 zestless lemons that are now sitting on my counter (besides the obvious gallon of lemonade)? Any thoughts?

Limoncello (Recipe originally published by Giada DeLaurentiis)
10 lemons
1 (750-ml) bottle vodka
3 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups sugar

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the lemons in long strips (reserve the lemons for another use). Using a small sharp knife, trim away the white pith from the lemon peels; discard the pith. Place the lemon peels in a 2-quart pitcher. Pour the vodka over the peels and cover with plastic wrap. Steep the lemon peels in the vodka for 4 days at room temperature.

Stir the water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. Pour the sugar syrup over the vodka mixture. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. Strain the limoncello through a mesh strainer. Discard the peels. Transfer the limoncello to bottles. Seal the bottles and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 month.