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First off, no big, slightly sweet, Sicilian lemons at my grocer. So I settled for a bag of regular lemons and compensated for residual sugar by pouring in 3 Tablespoons of Moscato wine.

My Italian friend tells me: "Don't scrimp on the oil and the parmesan cheese - get the good stuff. And get the expensive dried grated cheese in the specialty deli section."

So I spring for $10 of the good stuff. Except for the hassle of squeezing lemons (cheap by the bag), this is a Simple Simon dish with an amazingly complex taste. The high-acid dish calls for a complimentary higher acid wine and Raffaldini's Pinot Grigio does the trick. Raffaldini markets itself as the only North Carolina winery making Italian-style wines. So I like the poetry of this pairing.

The Ronda winery also produces Vermentino, Sangiovese and Montepulciano - classic Italian wine grapes.

Ingredients:

· 12 lemons

· Eight ounce box of your favorite spaghetti pasta

· 6 oz Extra Virgin Italian Olive Oil

· 8 oz grated, dried Parmesan cheese

· 3 TBS of Moscato (or Riesling)

· 2 cups diced fresh basil

· Black pepper to taste

Directions:

· Cook pasta as directed, drain, set aside

· Squeeze and strain 12 lemons in a very large mixing bowl.

· Add to mixing bowl the olive oil and the white wine and whisk.

· Add to the mixing bowl the fresh basil and whisk

· Add the cheese to the lemon juice/olive oil and whisk to a creamy consistency. (You can add more cheese if available and you like a thicker consistency.) Add black pepper to taste.

· Add the cooked pasta and blend all ingredients thoroughly.

And my Italian friend was right. I was blown away.