This dish is a perfect example of why everyone has urged and pleaded with us our whole lives to read through a recipe in its entirety before starting to recreate it.  It’s really not just something your mother says to wind you up or question your cooking abilities.  Case in point, these ricotta pancakes that almost made me quit cooking for good.  No sympathy please.  It was my own fault.

I had just finished making that Mojito Pound Cake, and I really should have gone in the other room and passed out on the couch in self-satisfied exhaustion, but I’d been staring at a highly stylized image of golden fluffy pancakes sprinkled with plump summer berries for several weeks now and I desperately wanted to know what they tasted like.   Plus it was only 10:00 AM.  I could make two recipes in one morning, right?  Not so much apparently.

My first error in judgment occurred when I decided to use the last of my so-called “grammy eggs” in hopes of achieving the ultimate in vibrant yellow coloring.  I separated the yolks from the whites and promptly tossed the whites down the sink.  I was happily mixing my way through the first step and moving onto step two when it dawned on me.  The egg whites were part of the recipe!  I frantically read through the rest of the instructions getting more annoyed by the second.  Then I cracked three more eggs and threw the yolks down the sink.  At this point I’d wasted a total of three eggs for this recipe and I wasn’t even close to being done.  CK sat at the kitchen table staring at me warily, I glared back and he put on his headphones.

The rest of the construction went without incident.  I whipped the whites into peaks and folded them into the bright and sunny batter.  I ladled the correct amount onto my readied pan and waited.  And waited.  And waited.  But apparently not long enough because my pancake promptly broke in half and made a complete mess of its sister pancake when I attempted a gentle flipping motion.  Then I had a hissy fit, because when frustrated in the kitchen I tend to revert to my kindergarten level coping skills.   After listening to me curse out our breakfast, CK saw fit to relieve me of my cooking duties.  I sat off to the side pouting while he patiently cooked the remainder of the pancakes.  Let’s just say he’s had more than a little practice as my “kitchen closer.”

The pancakes ended up being very fluffy and light and the citrus coated berries and powdered sugar were great on top, but I would never make these again unless I had one of those large grill pans that fits over two burners.  I just don’t have the patience to cook two pancakes at a time in a medium skillet for 10 minutes.  Next, time I think I’d rather have a handful of Dunkin Donut Munchkins and call it a day.

Ricotta-Lemon Pancakes (originally published in Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Healthful Cooking).
Serves 4 (Note: If they don’t stick to the pan).

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup 1-percent milk
3 large eggs, separated
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
Kosher salt
Pinch of cream of tartar
4 cups mixed berries such as whole blueberries and raspberries or trimmed and sliced strawberries
1 Tablespoon fresh Lemon juice
1 teaspoon canola oil
1-2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Preheat over to 250 F (120 C)

Place the ricotta in a large bowl. Add the milk, egg yolks, and granulated sugar and whisk together until blended. Add the flour, lemon zest, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, and using a rubber spatula, fold until just blended.

In a separate bowl, combine the egg whites and the cream of tartar and, using a whisk or a handheld electric mixer set on medium speed, beat until soft peaks form. Using the rubber spatula, carefully fold the beaten whites into the ricotta mixture just until blended.

In a bowl, combine the berries and lemon juice and stir gently to blend. Set aside.

Place a large nonstick griddle or frying pan with low sloping sides over medium heat until hot enough for a drop of water to sizzle and then immediately evaporate. Brush the surface with a thin film of canola oil. For each pancake, ladle a scant 1/3 cup batter onto the hot surface. Reduce the heat to a medium-low and cook until small bubbles appear around the edges of the pancakes and the bottoms are lightly browned, 4-5 minutes. Carefully turn and cook until the other sides are lightly browned, 2-3 minutes longer. Transfer to an ovenproof platter and place in the oven to keep warm; do not cover the pancakes or they will get soggy. Repeat with the remaining batter. You will have enough batter to make 12 pancakes, each about 3 inches in diameter.

Using a fine-mesh sieve, dust the warm pancakes generously with confectioners’ sugar to taste. Serve the pancakes with the berries on the side.

After a long and involved process the Limoncello was finally sampled on Saturday.  Beforehand though I spent hours in the kitchen prepping dinner.   Unfortunately several glasses of wine into the evening it completely slipped my mind to take any actual shots of the cooked food.  No doubt, a common hazard of the “job.”

In reality I served a Roasted Vegetable Lasagna (specifically Portobello Mushrooms, Red Pepper, Zucchini, and Spinach) with spicy Turkey Sausage, Baked Artichokes with Gorgonzola and Herbs, and a Strawberry and Marscapone Granita.

I should warn you that even though Giada said you can eat the artichoke leaves, I thought they were really too chewy.  So I cut up cubes of Seeduction Bread (I know…I know…I’m obsessed) and served the artichokes as a sort of mini personalized fondue.   The fact that those leaves were so gross really annoyed me because it took 20 minutes to snip off the tips of six artichokes and those ends didn’t just fall gracefully to the counter in a neat pile, they flew all over my kitchen with an audible ping.  Zoom!

As for the Limoncello…well…I sort of had a hunch that I wouldn’t like it.  I haven’t been a fan of lemony cocktails in years ever since an unfortunate incident with some Bacardi Limon in college.   But my other guests didn’t seem to mind it.  CK actually liked it!  He drank his in the form of a modified Gin and Tonic.  My friend Melissa had the best response of all:

Anyway, I have two full wine bottles of the stuff left so if anyone has any good ideas on what I can do with it (besides drink it) I’d be forever grateful.

I feel like I’ve suddenly acquired a lemon slice filled aquarium. Should I name the curly pieces of zest that float about in their sea of Absolut all day? Lucy? Lola? Is that you?!

Honestly I had no idea that making lemon flavored booze would illicit such a strong and varied response from the world at large. I suppose I should have guessed as much given the vast array of recipes and tips I found online for making limoncello at home. I essentially closed my eyes and pointed to pick the one I used. C’est la vie!

Last evening I finished step 2 (the addition of a simple syrup concoction) in what I’ve been warned might possibly yield a frozen lemon mess with bitter overtones — to which I can only reply, I assure you, I’ve drank much worse.

Limoncello (Recipe originally published by Giada DeLaurentiis)
10 lemons
1 (750-ml) bottle vodka
3 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups sugar

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the lemons in long strips (reserve the lemons for another use). Using a small sharp knife, trim away the white pith from the lemon peels; discard the pith. Place the lemon peels in a 2-quart pitcher. Pour the vodka over the peels and cover with plastic wrap. Steep the lemon peels in the vodka for 4 days at room temperature.

Stir the water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. Pour the sugar syrup over the vodka mixture. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. Strain the limoncello through a mesh strainer. Discard the peels. Transfer the limoncello to bottles. Seal the bottles and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 month.

Thanks to a post on Bostonist and urging from my fellow Google Reader addicts I decided to test my hand at making Limoncello. Today I completed the first step in this 3 part recipe. Honestly I’m a little scared of Limoncello. We all know what happened to Danny Devito after having a few too many with my boyfriend George Clooney. Tune in on Tuesday for Part 2 of my adventures in alcohol infusing. On a completely different note, while my kitchen smells like a lemon scented heaven what can I do with the 10 zestless lemons that are now sitting on my counter (besides the obvious gallon of lemonade)? Any thoughts?

Limoncello (Recipe originally published by Giada DeLaurentiis)
10 lemons
1 (750-ml) bottle vodka
3 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups sugar

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the lemons in long strips (reserve the lemons for another use). Using a small sharp knife, trim away the white pith from the lemon peels; discard the pith. Place the lemon peels in a 2-quart pitcher. Pour the vodka over the peels and cover with plastic wrap. Steep the lemon peels in the vodka for 4 days at room temperature.

Stir the water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. Pour the sugar syrup over the vodka mixture. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. Strain the limoncello through a mesh strainer. Discard the peels. Transfer the limoncello to bottles. Seal the bottles and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 month.

Welcome to a new feature on ErinCooks.com in which I’ll attempt to answer “burning questions” posed to me by honest to goodness real people with actual food related concerns. Need some advice? You can always Ask Erin Cooks.

Dear ErinCooks: The onion has long been my sworn enemy. I know it adds flavor and whatever to dishes but onions disagree with me so I avoided them. Since I stopped eating Smartfood Popcorn and cereal as meals, became a vegan and started cooking proper food for myself I decided it was time to make my peace with the onion. My body definitely rebelled when I started feeding it vegetables and fruits, but it adjusted and so I started actually adding onions to things when called for and now they don’t bother me. Well, not exactly and that brings me to my onion related questions:

1. I hate handling onions because the smell lingers on my hands and repulses me. Why in the age of convenience food, when you can buy precut everything, can’t I find precut onions? Do they not keep in the cut state? Do they exist and I just can’t find them? Is this the dumbest question you’ve ever heard?

2. If I do indeed have to handle onions, how do I get rid of the smell? Someone told me you can rub lemon on your hands, but then my hands just smell like onions and lemons.

Help me, ErinCooks. You’re my only hope.
– Anna D

Dear Anna D: This is your lucky day because you can actually buy pre-cut onions (I’ve definitely seen them at Whole Foods). You can also purchase frozen onions but if you tell anyone that you’re doing that they will mercilessly ridicule you (i.e. I will point and laugh). Or you can pre-chop and freeze them yourself for future use. If you do buy pre-cut onions just keep in mind that you’re going to be paying at least twice as much for them.

As for your concern about the onion smell staying on your hands, I’ve never really noticed this with onions. I am however horrified on a daily basis by the smell of garlic on my hands. I’ve woken up many nights in bed completely disgusted by the smell emanating from my hands after having chopped up garlic for a dish. For that reason, I try to touch the garlic as little as possible and wash my hands with a lemon based soap immediately after dropping the smelly stuff into whatever concoction I’m making. Lately I’ve been using a peppermint soap from Williams-Sonoma and that seems to do the trick as well. I think the key is to wash your hands as soon as humanly possible after you come in contact with the ingredient you dislike, and if you still really can’t stand it you could always invest in a package of latex gloves.

I also wonder if you might like using shallots better than onions? In fact, people like Anthony Bourdain recommend that you use shallots instead of onions. Apparently it’s one of the things that make restaurant food taste so great, and why we can never duplicate the flavors at home (you know besides the gallons of cream, oil, and butter of course). Or you could buy one of those Vidalia Chop Wizards. I’ve never used one personally, but they seem to have really good reviews online.

There’s a brief scene in the movie The Holiday where Kate Winslet decides to cheer up Jack Black by making him Christmas Fettuccine (start around 3:20 on the video above). So if it’s good enough for Kate Winslet, it’s good enough for me. I attempted searching around a little bit to see if this was a common practice that I’ve been missing out on, but it appears that unless I grew up in an Italian family Fettuccine really isn’t a go-to holiday meal. Although I did find it in a menu for “An Italian Holiday Party” on Cooks Illustrated (you’ll need to have a paid account to view the details though). So break out the green pasta, zest up a lemon or two and enjoy something a little less traditional during your holiday get together.

Fluffy Parmesan	Zest & Juice
Heat and Melt	Boil the Pasta
Warm the Bowls	Combine
Mix	Merry Little Christmas

Fettuccine Alfredo (Originally Published by Giada De Laurentiis)
Serves 6

18 ounces fresh fettuccine
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups grated Parmesan
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Drain.Stir 2 cups of the cream and the lemon juice in a heavy large skillet to blend. Add the butter and cook over medium heat just until the butter melts, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Add the pasta and toss. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of cream, and Parmesan to the cream sauce in the skillet. Add the lemon zest, nutmeg, salt, and white pepper. Toss the pasta mixture over low heat until the sauce thickens slightly, about 1 minute.

Note: Cooks Illustrated suggests heating your individual serving bowls with hot water before plating. This will keep the pasta and sauce creamy longer. No one wants to eat congealed Christmas Fettuccine!