Seasonal
The flavor and texture of preserved lemons are unique and cannot be replicated with other ingredients. They can be added to soups, stews and salads to give familiar dishes new life. Preserved Lemons make a lovely and practical holiday gift for the food lover on your list.
Chef Dennis Pitchford shows you how to do it, step by step.
1. Start by cleaning with soap and boiling water a small ramekin, a 1-quart glass jar and its air-tight lid. Allow to dry completely.
2. Thoroughly scrub the lemons and wash with soap and water. Slice the small bumps off both ends of the lemons.
3. Quarter each lemon pole to pole.
4. If you are giving the lemons as a gift, you may wish to remove the seeds and trim the pith (the white material that runs from top to bottom through the lemon).
5. Pour salt into a bowl. Place each lemon slice into the salt, one at a time, rolling it until the lemon is heavily caked in salt.
6. Place the salt-caked lemon into the glass jar. Repeat until the glass jar is almost completely packed.
7. Pour the lemon juice into the jar, leaving 1/2 inch of space at the top. Add a tablespoon of salt.
8. To ensure the lemons remain completely submerged in lemon juice, place the bottom of the ramekin through the mouth of the jar and on top of the lemons.
9. Leaving the ramekin inside the jar, close the lid and clamp it shut.
10. Turn the jar over to make sure you have a tight seal. Allow the lemons to pickle for 30 days at room temperature, turning/shaking the jar each day to redistribute the salt throughout the liquid. The lemons will be fully-preserved after 30 days. The preserved lemons can be transferred to refrigeration and stored for up to 6 months.
11. Tie a nice bow around it, and you’ve got a lovely and unique holiday gift.
Click here to see the full recipe in our recipe section.
Georgia is known as the Peach State, but more and more people are beginning to discover the fine wines produced by the vineyards and wineries of north Georgia. These wines are gaining national recognition and fueling the emergence of this area as a prominent wine region. The mountains in north Georgia have a delightful combination of the perfect terrain, soil, drainage, and elevation necessary for vineyards like Wolf Mountain, Frogtown, Three Sisters, Blackstock, Chateau Elan, Tiger Mountain and Persimmon Creek to produce their award-winning wines. The soil composition is very much like that of Italy’s Piedmont region, which produces some of the most prestigious wines in the world. With grape varieties such as Merlot, Viognier, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Vidal, and Tannat, the wines produced in our area rival some of the finest wines in the world. Wakoola Water Gardens in Cumming, Georgia has made it their mission to stock our new wine corner with one of the largest collections of wines from north Georgia. We do this not only to support the local economy but to help spread the word about one of the “best kept secrets”.
Wakoola’s new wine corner is currently stocked with wines from two other categories as well: organic and sustainable wines, and “Way Cool” wines (wines we love, not easily found elsewhere). Organic wines are becoming very popular and we are stocking Cono Sur Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile. We also have several selections of their sustainable wines including Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. “Way Cool” wines include restaurant selections, great tasting bargains, and some excellent wines with cool bottles, fun labels or stories.
We’ve also had our Thanksgivings when we traveled to other homes, and even a few restaurant Thanksgivings. One of our fondest memories is the year we were expecting our first child and the doctor had advised no travel. We were hours away from the nearest family, and the idea of lifting a turkey in and out of an oven with baby weight in the way was, well, unappealing.