A picture perfect Father's Day creation

My father's favorite dessert is Italian cheesecake and I made this as the finishing touch for his Father's Day dinner.

For those of you who don't know, an Italian cheesecake is different from it's American counterpart, often called New York style cheesecake. Italian cheesecake is made with ricotta cheese, not cream cheese. The recipe I have for this creation is simple, delicious and comes together in minutes with part skim ricotta, eggs, vanilla and orange extracts, confectioner sugar, freshly squeezed lemon juice and hand grated lemon zest.**** 

Cheesecakes taste best when you make them the day before you want to serve them and allow them to chill overnight. This truly allows the flavors to meld and gives a truly delectable result.

****DO NOT cheat here with that ready-made lemon juice you can buy. You will regret it. I know--I've tried.

Italian cheesecake, fresh out of the oven cooling on the kitchen table