Birchwood Inn

Lenox, Massachusetts

Specialty Recipe

Ginger-Lemon Sauce

Ingredients

1-1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup lemon juice (Realemon is fine)

2-1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1 lemon rind, finely minced

2 Tablespoons fresh ginger root, finely minced

Mix all ingredients in a large sauce pan and bring slowly to a boil, stirring frequently. Let simmer for about 15 minutes, taking care not to allow it to boil over. (It expands exponentially once it starts to boil and makes a bloody awful mess of the stove.) Strain through a fine-mesh strainer and serve with gingerbread pancakes.

Hint: You might want to serve the syrup warm with a dollop of lightly salted butter melted in it at the last minute. I personally don't like it that way, but most of our guests do. The syrup will store indefinitely, unrefrigerated, in a bottle with good seal (e.g., a commercial juice jar).

• You found this recipe on 1st Traveler's Choice Internet Cookbook. (www.virtualcities.com)