I am responding to some of the questions about limoncello, as far as color and aging time. I have traveled to Italy every year since childhood to visit family and friends and I have been experamenting with limoncello for quite a few years, both on my own and with advice from my Italian relatives. The color of your homemade limoncello is largely dependent on the type of lemon you are using. Lemons grown in Italy, particulary in Southern Italy are a much brighter yellow in color than lemons we are likely to buy at our local grocery store or farm market here in the States. Any of you who have ever been to Italy will surely agree that the Italian lemons from the Napoli region, where limoncello became famous, are not only brighter in color than most lemon varieties but are also two to three times the size of an average lemon. Keep in mind also that many of the off the shelf brands we buy here in the US or even some in Italy, surely some food coloring has been added to enhance the color a bit. In regards to aging, I was always a believer that once the lemon zest lost its color, it was ready to proceed to the next step. However, my aunt in Italy said the paleness of the zest only affects the color, and it is the oils in the zest that affect the flavor. My aunt leaves the zest in the alcohol for approximatelt one month, she then strains the zest out of the alcohol and adds the sugar/water mixture and then lets it rest again together for about ten days, she then bottles and puts in the freezer. I have gotten various tips from many other relatives in Italy and what I have come to realize is that there is no set way to make limoncello, you have the basic principles and you then experament from there until you achieve an end product that is to your liking. On a final note I would however say that authentic limoncello is made with grain alcohol and not with vodka, not that I am against using vodka, but in the tradition of keeping limoncello pure to its roots I always recommend that people use the grain alcohol, the vodka is a bit unbalanced, where the grain alcohol gives you the slight tartness of the lemon, the sweetnees of the sugar add mixture and the kick of the alcohol. Hopefully i was a bit helpful!

I've made cordials from wild black cherries and from wine berries (a wild berry similar to, but not the same as, red raspberries. The color of each was sensational and the taste was very good. The cherry cordial was deep garnet red. The wine berry cordial was a beautiful rosy pink. My purpose was to preserve the essence of those fruits, which were not useful for most other purposes in the small quantities I had them. I used vodka in about twice the volume of the fruit and added a cup or so of sugar to the partial liter bottle at the same time. Not very specific I know, but I think the proportions are not critical. Just be sure there is an ample quantity of spirits so spoilage doesn't happen. I let the cordials age in a cupboard for several months, shaking them up occasionally. Then I strained them. There was no trouble at all with clarity. I had intended to make a blackberry cordial, but somehow I missed the peak of the season. I want to make some citrus cordials now. I will use the zest. Later, maybe I will attempt something like Benedictine or Chartreuse. That would be a fun challenge. Making cordials takes very little effort and pays off with a nice product. Jim

Oh, yes, that pottery is staying as a centerpeice on my kitchen table were I can see it everyday. I love it and the thoughts behind it. They did surprise me with it as I has asked an evil someone not to post my birthday. Ah Hm. EJ. As for all the food, I can honestly say that we have had something leftover at dinner or lunch this week. Yup, they need to come back and cook again. It made dinners this week very easy. David, you are joy to know. I saw the number and was so happy to hear from you and Cathy practicaly ripped the phone from me. And to those that weren't here, my door is always open to you.

Looks like this thread motivated a lot of people! I've had the bake stone that came with our Wolf DF range sitting in a box for nearly a year. After reading about Trailrunner's pizza party and various other pizza successes on GW, I figured what the heck, it was time to dig out that bake stone. Used the link to "A Pizza Primer" on the Fresh Loaf site. Made two pies that were very good (froze the remaining two dough balls for our next attempt) but would like to improve the crust next time (need it thinner and crisper)as well as getting the dough to the stone more easily. Couple of questions for those who use their bake stone frequently. First, we had some trouble getting the dough off the peel and on to the hot stone. No surprise there, seems to be the tricky part! Used a lot of flour on the peel, but still had issues. What technique do you use to transfer the pie to the stone? Is pre-baking the crust quickly (a la Trailrunner) the way to go? Second, after baking and cooling the stone is blackened in spots (to be expected). I cleaned it as per the instructions (scraper, then damp cloth when completely cooled) but wonder - will the residue smoke on its next use? Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Looking forward to more pizza and breads (soon!).