Limoncello

Have you ever had limoncello? Its a sweet, lemon-infused drink made with vodka that originated in southern Italy. Its served in cold shot glasses after heavy meals, and I've seen it in several Italian restaurants across Indy. (Amalfi makes their own limoncello and lime cello!)

I made it over Thanksgiving break, and it actually turned out pretty great--at least Ted and I think so! It takes some time because it has to infuse for several days (or several weeks, depending on which recipe you use), but its really worth it. I used this recipe from Giada DeLaurentis. She's Italian, so....I trust her:) Her's was the fastest I found, requiring about 5 days of prep.

All you need is:
a bottle of vodka (750 mL)
10 lemons
3 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups sugar (I actually only used 2 cups of sugar and liked the way it turned out)


A couple of notes: be careful when peeling the lemons, because any of the pith (white stuff between the zest and the fruit) ruins it. I used my vegetable peeler and although the peels weren't long and beautiful like I'd get with a knife, it scrapes down shallow enough to only get the peel. Also, I only used 2 cups of sugar for the simple syrup and it turned out fine. Its a really sweet drink anyway, so you won't miss it.


I left it on the counter for 4 days, but I found recipes that say to do it for 40 days. I don't have that kind of patience! Make sure to chill it really well. Ted and I had a few shots (apparently we only own college fraternity shot glasses, which makes us really sophisticated) on the couch, feet up on the coffee table, after a long weekend of eating, and it was perfect:)

Try making your own limoncello and let me know what you think! It could be a fun thing to have around during the holidays as an alternative to the usual beer and wine. Salud!

3 Days in Paris

We went to the Indy Winter Farmer's Market over the weekend. Its in City Market now, and it was totally hopping when we got there. I meant to get some of the produce on my grocery list, but ended up getting a few yummy things in jars instead, that I'll blog about a little later!

We had lunch there at a place called 3 Days in Paris. They make sweet and savory crepes and WOW. They're good. Judging from the huge line, we knew they had to be something special.








Here's a shot of the savory menu. We opted for the Red Eggs and Bacon ($6) which was a buckwheat crepe filled with egg, havarti cheese, crumbled bacon, spinach and roasted red pepper sauce.















I love watching people make crepes with those little wooden twirly sticks (I'm sure there's a real name for those!). It looks so artistic and meticulous; everyone watching was sort of mesmerized:)


I had a brief moment of regretting my order when I saw a crepe getting stuffed with banana slices, nutella, whipped cream and crushed graham crackers....but the regret vanished when I took a bite of my own. This thing is GOOD! Sometimes crepes can be too thick or dry and overpower the ingredients inside, but not the case here. It was light and mild and the roasted red pepper sauce was the star, in my opinion. Ted and I passed it back and forth until it was gone, and we were both full afterwards, so this is definitely a good meal for $6.


If you're at the market next Saturday and need a good meal, I highly recommend one of their crepes!

Pecan Pie

Growing up in my family, Thanksgiving and Christmas meant a couple of pies on the counter--usually pumpkin and pecan--to sneak a slice from every time you walked past. Especially at my grandma's house in Alabama, where Thanksgiving meant a food-induced coma on the couch, half watching the Cowboys game/half asleep, fire crackling, with the thick aroma of sage and salty ham hock hanging in the air, a quilt snuggled up around your legs, and a slice of pie somewhere within reach. That will always be my gold standard for Thanksgivings.

Then I got older and had my own kids, and started reading labels and being careful what I feed my family. I go out of my way to try to buy organic and natural and keep sugar grams down. So when I decided to make pecan pie this year in an effort to make Thanksgiving what it should be, I was shocked--shocked--to discover a ton of corn syrup is in it. I have somehow managed to live in blissful ignorance of this fact for 28 years. I won't pretend to know the difference between corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup (one's sweeter?) but I know those are words to avoid on labels. After searching for variations on the recipe, guess what? Pecan pie isn't pecan pie without it. So go get yourself a bottle of Karo Corn Syrup and get over it. It's Thanksgiving.

This picture made me a believer. (I could never take photos this mouthwatering...this one is from Pioneer Woman's blog) I use her recipe because its pretty much like all the others (a classic doesn't change much) except she uses some brown sugar in hers. It is, like she says, life-changing.

Click on the Pioneer Woman's link and follow the recipe. I cheat and use a prepared pie crust. Immaculate Baking Co. makes a great one (actually, they make great everything)

Roughly chop your pecans.

Put the nuts in your pie crust, pour the golden goodness all over the top and bake it at 350 for 30 minutes covered in foil, then another 20 uncovered.

Pour a tall glass of milk and you've got one more thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

1933 Lounge

My all-time favorite restaurants in Indianapolis are St. Elmo and Mama Carolla's. They each have the trifecta: consistently amazing food, super-friendly service, and an ambience that makes you feel unexplainably happy:) So I was very excited to discover a way to visit St. Elmo a lot more frequently without going bankrupt....the 1933 Lounge upstairs.


Ted and I went there for date night recently. It's the perfect date spot, in my mind, for fall and winter. The atmosphere echoes the steakhouse downstairs: super manly dark wood, low lighting, rich colors and fabrics, a huge fireplace, a long bar, and plenty of nooks to sip a cocktail with your honey. I love dressing up for dates, and in a world where almost everything has become casual, this is a place that makes you want to get pretty--or handsome:)

They offer a light menu with some of the usual St. Elmo faves like the famous shrimp cocktail and individual sliders, plus some other appetizers. The cocktail menu is short and sweet, and unique.

I had the French 75: gin, St. Germain, lemon juice and champagne. Smooth. Tasty. Kind of intoxicating! I know the price tags on these drinks are on the large side, but pretend its like getting 2 drinks, because they do NOT skimp on alcohol, flavor or portions when they pour here.


Love this place!

Venison Chili

My husband killed a deer a couple weekends ago. This is not the actual deer, its just a picture I found on the internet here. The deer looks less alive in the real picture so I'll leave it off! Everyone has a different opinion on hunting. Personally, I approve of getting your own meat in a responsible way. There is something about eating meat from an animal that was killed in the wild and presumably had a nice life prior to becoming dinner that seems infinitely more appealing than eating ammonia-laced quarter pounders from grain-fed McCows. (for the record, I do eat McDonald's hamburgers on road trips, but not without some degree of guilt, that I inevitably forget during my next road trip).

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg recently decided to only eat meat that he's personally hunted. I think that's awesome. He's now eating chickens, pigs, lobster, and I heard he even hunted a bison on a California ranch. I'm sure that compared to other carnivores in America, he eats less meat and it means a whole lot more.

My latest issue of Garden and Gun magazine has a great story about a boy who accidentally killed a bird, felt the need to do it justice by eating it, and the change that happened within him when he discovered the hunting/eating cycle, death begetting life, etc. I read it out loud in the car to Ted one day, and we just loved the article. It made us die laughing in some parts, and reflective in others. We're obviously not all in a position to go out and kill an animal, but I think there's something to be said about seeking out meat that's been raised, killed and prepared in the right way.

So we now have a freezer stocked with venison: ground venison, breakfast sausage, steaks, and even summer sausage and jerky. All I've used so far is the ground venison, and I made a big pot of chili that we shared with some friends on Halloween before hitting the trick-or-treating trail. The recipe is the same chili recipe I always make with ground beef, so of course you can use that instead if you make the recipe!

Venison Chili

1.5 lbs ground venison or ground chuck
2 cans (16 oz) chili beans or pinto beans
3 cans (16 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (16 oz) diced tomatoes
1 small can (about 1/2 cup) diced mild green chiles
1 medium shallot
a quart of beef stock, maybe a little less
3 tablespoons chili powder
salt/pepper

Brown the meat in a large stock pot. I use about an 80/20 venison to beef ratio, just because venison is so lean, it needs a little extra fat so it doesn't stick to the pan and it gets more flavor. Even using 20% beef, I didn't have to pour off any grease after it was cooked.


Add a minced shallot and cook with the meat until translucent. Then, just add everything else in whatever order you want, stir, bring to a boil and then reduce to let it simmer for at least 2-3 hours so it can thicken, the flavors can marry, and it can become magical:)

I serve it with shredded cheddar-jack cheese and sour cream, and my husband absolutely can't eat chili without saltine crackers. This chili makes for excellent game-day food, since you can wander into the kitchen all day long and refill your bowl:) It also tastes even better the second day!