Lemoncello: It Tastes So Good, Why Not Make Your Own?

After a perfect Italian meal there are many desserts to choose from, but please allow me to recommend a nice one.

Place a bottle of lemoncello (available at your friendly neighborhood liquor store) in the freezer along with a couple of small glasses. Lemoncello is a lemon zest infused vodka, so it can stay in the freezer indefinitely and will not freeze. After dinner pour a few ounces of the thick yellow goodness into the chilled glasses. It is tart and sweet and packs a kick. Sip it slowly. Watch the gondolas float by.

And if you'd like to go for bonus points, here is a recipe for making your own lemoncello:

You'll need 18 lemons (Meyer or Eureka) washed and dried. You'll need one 4 inch rosemary sprig (also washed and dried). You'll need 4 1/2 cups of sugar and two 750 ml. bottles of 100-proof vodka. You're ready to go. This is easy to do, but it takes three months.

• Peel the lemons with a sharp vegetable peeler, taking only the zest (top layer) and avoiding any white pith. Put rosemary in a one gallon glass or ceramic container with a tight seal, and then add zest to jar.

• Pour one bottle of vodka over the rosemary and zest and seal the container. Let it sit undisturbed in a cool, dark place. Leave it there for 40 days.

• Has it been 40 days? (Don't cheat on this. It's worth the wait!) In a saucepan, bring five cups of water to a boil and add the sugar. Cook, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Let the sugar syrup cool to room temperature, which will take about an hour.

• Pour the syrup and the remaining bottle of vodka over the lemon-vodka mixture, stir, and seal the container once more. Let it sit in a cool, dark place for another 40 days.

• Today is the day! Hopefully, it was marked on your calander. Pour the limoncello through cheesecloth or a fine sieve, into the bottles of your choice.

• This will make 425 two ounce servings! Salut!