~Lemon Drop Champagne Punch

The Recipe

Ingredients: (for 6 to 8 guests)
3 lemons
1/2 cup sugar
1 bottle champagne, chilled
3/4 cup vodka, chilled
4 ounces candied lemon peels

Remove zest from each lemon, juice lemons, and strain pulp. You should end up with 3/4 cup of juice. A trick to removing the zest is to use a vegetable peeler, peeling in a continuous spiral. Lemons are easier to peel, and will release more juice, at room temperature than when chilled.
.
In a saucepan over medium high heat, heat the sugar and a 1/2 cup of water, until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, and remove from heat. Add zest, and let the "syrup" cool completely, about 2 hours.

Pour champagne, vodka, lemon juice, and syrup into a punch bowl, and stir. Serve your glasses of punch with candied peels.