This post is a cheap imitation of Opinion in the Shorts … make that very cheap … but it’s a way to dispense some information.
With this being Christmas week, I realize upcoming posts will be around a different schedule – so here’s my hopeful plan for the rest of 2015
- The next post will be my Christmas post (on either Wednesday or Thursday)
- Several Explore posts between Christmas and the New Year (a light and easy agenda)
Many thanks to everyone attending my holiday party. It seems my new (non-Onion) gift supplier was a success … thus the challenge for next year. Nonetheless, thanks for all the smiles you gave me.
We enjoy watching the Kennedy Center Honors during the holidays. This year’s show is December 29th on CBS, so check your local listings. This year’s honoree are singer-songwriter Carole King, filmmaker George Lucas, actress and singer Rita Moreno, conductor Seiji Ozawa, and actress and Broadway star Cicely Tyson.
We finally saw the latest James Bond movie – Spectre. Typical Bond, thus enjoyable. During the holiday we hope to see The Big Short, Concussion, and maybe the latest Star Wars.
I enjoy making limoncello – a wonderful Italian drink that is sweet, lemony, and strong. It’s easy to make, and this past-post tells how. This year I’m in the process of making a variation – gingercello – sweet, gingery, strong, and a touch of heat – an interesting combination. I hope to bottle it soon, thus give away some to friends.
This remains a holiday classic in my warped world.
The Democratic candidates had a presidential debate this past Saturday. Yep – I didn’t watch – but I’ve put together a collection of fact checks: Annenberg, PolitiFacts, Associated Press, Washington Post.
As soon as I heard Hillary Clinton’s (D-NY) comment about the recruitment videos, I shook my head – and it seems that the fact checkers are backing up my apprehension.
Because The Mummies were above with Carol of the Belts, I’ll send you into the week with one of their songs. Have a good week.
A Frank Angle 
Happy Monday and Christmas week, my dear Frank and enjoy the Winter Solstice [Dec 22 / 04:48UTC] 🙂
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Marina,
In my haste I’ve forget to latch on to the winter solstice … love the music written around it!
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🙂 Hope you found some time to enjoy it! 😉
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Made gingerbread martinis this weekend. Awesome.
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Craig,
Wow … now that’s a new one for me. We could have one heck of a party!
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Enjoy your week and the Christmas holiday.
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Kim,
Thank you … and all the best to you this week as well.
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Thank you for the reminder about the Kennedy Center Honors. I always enjoy watching that, too.
Gingercello sounds interesting. A local restaurant (now closed) would offer a complimentary “cello” at the end of the meal. I remember having a peachcello. I will have to look at your recipe.
Enjoy your holiday week!
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Merril,
Wow … Peachcello is new to me, but I can vision it as it is probably made in similar fashion … but with the flesh. I have some gingercello that someone else made, but this is my first venture with gingercello, I’m curious about how mine comes out. Time will tell … but making cellos is very easy!
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We also had some other kind of cello there, but I don’t remember. They probably tried it with whatever fruit was on hand. Not the same, but the wineries around here make lots of fruit wines from local farms. One winery we visited even made a Bloody Mary wine from tomatoes!
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Bloody Mary wine? Wow … that’s a first for me. Definitely many fruit wines out there.
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We made our own limoncello, too, in past years and gave it for gifts. I was in charge of designing labels for the bottles! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Frank.
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Cynthia,
Yippee … another limoncello enthusiast … and my next batch will probably be made from basil. The best Christmas wishes to you, and hope you return Christmas Eve.
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Limoncello sounds delightful — ginger not so much (too many sick days with ginger ale!). I spent last night making my homemade Irish cream liqueur. So good. So fattening … so only a sample for me ;(
Happy Holidays, Frank!
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Elyse,
Limoncello is wonderful … my father-in-law calls it Nectar of the Gods … and he loves pouring over vanilla ice cream. In the past I’ve also made orangecello, meloncello, and a friend did limecello. Enjoyed all, but the melon was so-so .. but my MIL loved it. Meanwhile, I’ve heard of people making their on Irish Cream … sounds wonderful! Cheers … and best holiday wishes to you!
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One day, when shopping in a department store, a book called ” Limoncello and Linen Water” by Tessa Kiros jumped off the shelf and begged me to take it home. When this occasionally happens, I take heed, realising that there is something special for me here, that I need to own the item. This book, although described as “A Trousseau of Italian Recipes” is actually much more than that, with family stories and magical photos taken around Italy. And I do love the book. I decided many years ago that I must have been Italian in a previous lifetime.
Tessa Kiros’ recipe for Limoncello is much the same as yours, and she suggests that the left over lemons (“it is desirable to use unsprayed lemons from the Amalfi Coast, but get what you can”, says Tessa,) can be used to make a Lemon Pie (yum!) and the Limoncello can be used, apart from drinking it pure, to make Limoncello Sorbet.
I fully intend making Limoncello one day. I love the flavour of anything lemony, and I figure that even if my family won’t help me drink it, the alcohol will preserve it, right? Plenty of time for me to enjoy alone. 🙂
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Joanne,
Thanks for sharing your limoncello story. Although Amalfi lemons aren’t easy to find, regular lemons will work. Keep in mind you are only using the zest. I then squeeze the lemons to make frozen lemon cubes for future cooking.
You are correct … it won’t spoil! I keep it refrigerated or even in the freeze (it won’t freeze). In terms of my current batch, I may bottle it this week. .. .and thanks for visiting my limoncello post!
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That’s right, alcohol won’t freeze. I will let you know when I make a batch, it will no doubt have to wait until next year though, being this close to the crazy days of Christmas and the New Year. I’m actually looking forward to trying out the recipe, and who knows, it may become a traditional drink in my house, if the family do enjoy it. 🙂
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Cheers to your willingness … and I look forward to hearing about the results whenever they may be.
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Hope you have a Merry Christmas Frank. The limoncello looks delicious.
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John,
Limoncello is delicious and served in small glasses that are easily refillable! If you are interested in making it, it is simple – just follow the instructions in my post. Merry Christmas to you … and enjoy walking on the beach Christmas Day. Meanwhile, hope you stop by my Christmas Eve post.
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I’ll be there
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I hope I’m on the list to receive a bottle of the gingercello! 🙂 Have a very Merry Christmas and a most wonderful New Year. As to the bells played by the mummies. . . they made me giggle.
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E-Tom,
I’ve only had a pre-sampling of the final product, so I need to compare it to a another version (which I have) … but it looks like I may have to develop a list. 🙂
Cheers to giggling to the Carol of the Belts. Meanwhile, here’s a song for you because I know you like it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYyeflyMAqI
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Are the Kennedy Center Honors always on during Christmas week? Seems like an odd time to have them.
Have a very Merry Christnas, Frank…:)
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George,
The actual event is taped in early December for airing between Christmas and New Years … thus edited for television. We love watching them!!! Merry Christmas to you and your family … and I hope you get a chance to stop by Christmas Eve.
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Mummies? Loved it. Wish I could tastes your Gingercello. I’m to busy baking to experiment with cocktails — Cheers!
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Audra,
A baking experiment involving cocktails? Oh my … there are recipes that use limoncello, so I imagine gingercello would be usable … but it seems the process would involve drinking on the job.
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Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year, Frank.
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Shimon,
Many thanks … and blessings to you during this holiday season.
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Who said cheap imitations couldn’t be fun, Frank! The limoncello recipe reminds me of my youth and a nice Italian boyfriend whose mother made great limoncello but wouldn’t share the recipe. Now I know why it packed a punch!
It seems zombies are everywhere, even Christmas. One night, after listening to yet another millennial TV house hunter claim that she wouldn’t buy a house unless it had a white kitchen, I wrote an essay response on millennial decorating tastes and the zombie apocalypse, far too satirical for my blog. It’s tucked away on a thumb drive for publishing in a distant time in a galaxy far far away. But it’s given me a whole new perspective on zombies 🙂
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Or, in this case, I guess it’s “mummies” – don’t think I’ll ever hear Carol of the Bells again without seeing it this way!
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LOL … Maybe this version will help you forget it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9GtPX6c_kg
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Oh, that’s a great one, Frank – I love The Piano Guys! Here’s one of my favorite versions of Carol of the Bells, from a cool tech point of view – enjoy! https://youtu.be/F9XNfWNooz4
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Lynn,
Cellos definitely definitely pack the punch … and the sweet and basic ingredient are part of the deception. I may be bottling my gingercello soon (well, depending on time availability). Meanwhile, in terms of your satirical piece, maybe you could post it here!
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I’m sorry I missed the blog party! But I am VERY intrigued about the gingercello and would love to hear more about that sometime . . .
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Kerry,
In terms of the gingercello, it is as I described – sweet, strong, gingery, and a touch of heat in the after taste. Lemon or orange cello is a great place to start if you want to make some. It’s easy …. (see past post). I’ll keep readers posted regarding the gingercello, which I will be bottling soon.
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I’ve made limoncello so I understand the basics. Did you have a recipe for quantities for the ginger or just freewheel amounts? Sounds yummy!
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All my source said was 3 pieces from the store. The problem is that ginger comes in a variety of sizes. I can say that his ginger is yellower than mine … so did I use too much or too little? I don’t know.
BTW – Peel the outer skin, then either shave or slice – not grade because of the filtering required.
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Thanks for the additional info! I’ll look forward to hearing how yours turned out!
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PS: Gifts still remain … so stop by the party post!
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Your movie picks mirror ours. We liked ‘Spectre’ a lot (my wife thought the writing was especially good), ‘The Big Short’ and ‘Concussion’ are absolute must sees, and I’ve read good reviews about ‘Joy’ which releases Christmas Day. As for ‘Star Wars,’ looks like I’m going to get dragged to it on our annual holiday trip to Virginia where my relatives say it’s good BECAUSE of the absence of Jar Jar Binks.
Special thanks for including the two ‘Here Come The Mummies’ videos. I plan to forward them to my wife’s Indiana nephew who played sax with the group for several years before deciding to unwrap and become a math professor at DePaul University.
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Tim,
Your link to The Mummies is fascinating … but I will not place this comment into my golf bag. I look forward to comparing our movie thoughts in January.
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We want to see The Big Short as well. Limoncello sound divine. We are busy being foodies in our own town this year and it’s delicious. Happy happy Frank. 😄
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Brigitte,
As lines people flock to Star Wars, the others may be easy to attend. Cheers to wanting to see The Big Short. … Meanwhile, limoncello is wonderful and very easy to make. Tomorrow, I hope to bottle my first-attempt at gingercello.
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Sorry I missed the party, couldn’t be helped I am simply overwhelmed. You are killing me Frank, Carol of the Belts…..killing me.
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Val,
I had the feeling you would appreciate Carol of the Belts … and I know you will appreciate this version of the song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9GtPX6c_kg … Regarding the party, gift bags remain, so feel free to go over.
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Thank you Frank for all of the smiles you brought me over this last year.. I hope that you and your family enjoy a wonderful Christmas Holiday.. Sending Love and Blessings for the New Year..
And many thanks for your support
Hugs Sue
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Sue,
Many thanks … and bountiful blessings of the season to you and your family. Hope you stop by for my seasonal post that should be ready when you awaken on Christmas Eve.
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Thank you Frank.. 🙂 I hope too.. 🙂 ❤
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Have a wonderful holiday, Frank! I haven’t watched any of the debates. I care about the quality of my sleep! 🙂
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Oh, Here Come the Mummies are fun! I just saw Star Wars, Frank, and loved it. I think you’ll enjoy it. I wanted to see The Concussion movie, too. I just heard a NPR interview with Will Smith and it sounds really good. Happy Holidays, Frank. I love these posts. Looking forward to your party.
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Sounds like a fun Holiday week coming up. Enjoy the movies! Wow… those Mummies are quite unique. LOL
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Resa,
Carol of the Belts is just too funny. Being in the biz, you know this time of year is great for movies, so we’ll see a few … well, we hope to.
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