Homemade Grand Marnier

Last year, I attempted making Limoncello for the first time, and it was a great success. (We still have lots in the freezer, though, and I'm told it only lasts about a year, so I'm going to have to start recruiting people to drink it before the new batch is ready.)

This year, I halved the recipe for the Limoncello, and decided to try something new: orange liqueur.  My sister-in-law loves to have French Coffee, which is just regular coffee with a splash of Grand Marnier.  After looking through a few recipes online, I settled on this one from "Foodie Misadventures" because it seems pretty simple, and only takes about 4 weeks.

I'm very happy with the way the peels turned out, and it took a lot less time than zesting all of the lemons for the Limoncello, because I use a zester for that recipe that grates the peel, rather than producing slices. 

This time, I used my favorite vegetable peeler, the one that slips on your finger like a ring, rather than the kind with a handle, and it did a fantastic job of peeling away just the orange part of the peel, without any of white pith (which would make the liqueur bitter--not good). It's the only vegetable peeler that I use now when I cook, because I find the traditional handle one a little cumbersome.   This is it, click the link or the photo at right to find it on Amazon.com:

Now, all I have to do is keep it in a cool, dark place (my spot of choice: a shelf in my bedroom closet), stir it up once a week, and wait 4 weeks before proceeding to Step 2 (which is adding the simple syrup, straining it all, and then bottling.  I'm exciting to try something new, and will do a follow-up post to let you know how it turned out.  Fingers crossed!