This post has been submitted as part of the Social Media Ice Cream Social event put on by fellow bloggers Savor The Thyme , S cotty Snacks and Tangled N oodle.  Follow the links to learn more about this event and see the round-up of delicious ice cream posts.  You can also follow along on Twitter at #icsocial.

It’s time, again, for the latest edition of Serious Eats: Weekend Cook & Tell.  This week the theme is Food Souvenirs.

When I first contemplated the challenge, I thought about my favorite entrees from Paris and considered recreating one of them.  It would have been especially fitting since last year at this  time, Tony and I were in Paris celebrating our 5-year anniversary.  Except, as it happens, we are enduring a sweltering heatwave here in northern California, and I simply cannot bare the thought of firing up a single burner in my kitchen.

All I could think about over the weekend were cool, refreshing elixirs.  And, refreshing elixirs make me think about my sizzling hot Italian honeymoon. But, not in the way you might think.

Perhaps you recall the record breaking European heatwave of June 2003, that killed tens of thousands of people?   Well, that’s when we were in Italy on our honeymoon.  So naturally, a large portion of our trip was spent seeking out and consuming numerous icy refreshers.  Needless to say, our quest was not in vain, and we made many wonderful discoveries.  My favorites being from the Venuto region.

A View of Venice from the San Marco Tower

On our very first night in Italy, we left the Venice airport in our zippy little rented convertible and soon found ourselves careening along convoluted foreign highways with signs we could scarcely understand, on our way to Padova (Padua).  By the grace of the travel gods, we somehow made it into the town intact.

In a failed attempt to find the restaurant I had arranged for us to dine at, we happened upon — by way of passing it repeatedly as we drove in circles — a restaurant with a lovely courtyard that appeared to be a local favorite.  No one spoke but a few licks of English in the whole place, and Tony and I had about 30 words of Italian between us, but we managed, and a fantastic meal ensued.

As we dined al fresco, night fell on the charming courtyard in whatever square it was we found ourselves on the edge of, but the heat and humidity were so extreme that our delightfully light, refreshing and surprisingly not-at-all-sweet regional chilled red sparkling wine actually perspired to the point that the label gave up and fell right off the bottle and onto the table where it stood.

While finishing our meal, we noticed several diners at tables around us enjoying what appeared to be a an ice cream baswed frothy after dinner beverage, and inquired as to what it was. The waiter called it “Sorbetto,” stating that it was lemon gelato, prosecco and vodka.

Without hesitating we ordered two.  By the third sip we both confirmed it to be one of the most delicious concoctions either of us had ever consumed.  Throughout our trek across northern Italy, we requested this wonderful concoction to no avail.  None of the restaurants we patronized in Florence, Bologna, Modena, Verona, Levanto, or Lago di Gardo offered it, and most didn’t seem to even know what we were talking about.

Finally, the owners of a little cafe in Portovenere, along the Cinque Terra, recognized it as something that existed, and after discussing it briefly amongst themselves,  they benevolently mixed us up a couple.

Portovenere

We were grateful for the sorbettos in Portovenere, and they were lovely, but they were nowhere near as fantastic as the ones we had that first night in Padua.  It turns out the Lemon Sorbetto cocktail is specific to the Venice/Padua area, which is where it originated.

Since even their fellow countrymen seem to be relatively unaware of it’s existence, I think it’s high time someone let the rest of the world in on this marvelous secret.

So, without further ado, I present the “Lemon Sorbetto”, otherwise known as Sgroppino al Limone:

Recipe for The Venetian Lemon Sorbetto Cocktail

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 cups (16 oz) lemon ice cream or gelato, softened  (recipe for Iced Lemon Cream, below)
2 tablespoons vodka
1/3 cup Prosecco or other sparkling wine , chilled (or more, to taste)
Lemon Zest

Preparation Method:

Chill 4 champagne flutes.

Place first three ingredients in blender, blending until smooth.  Pour mixture into chilled champagne flutes.  Sprinkle with lemon zest, and serve immediately.

Recipe for Iced Lemon Cream  (Ice Cream Maker not Required!)

Adapted from The Love of Eating by Renny Darling

Ingredients:

1 Pint Heavy Whipping Cream

1 Lemon - zest, juice and pulp

1 Cup Granulated Sugar

Preparation Method:

Stir ingredients to combine, making sure all sugar is completely dissolved.  Pour into an airtight container and freeze until firm.

This silky tart creme glace can be enjoyed on its own, mixed into the lemon sorbetto recipe above, or with a berry coulis such as raspberry or blackberry.

Enjoy!!