Post #1 - RICOTTA CHEESE

Getting started is always the hardest part. I avoided writing my 1st post for 3 months now out of pure fear but then something amazing happened this week...RICOTTA. Yes, the light, creamy Italian cheese that I have fallen in love with because of its versatility and mild flavor. Ricotta cheese can be sweetened to make Italian desserts or seasoned for savory dishes like the most popular lasagna. 

I chose homemade ricotta as my 1st subject because it encompasses the 3 main purposes of my blogging:

 Learning to make ricotta allowed me to proudly EXPLORE a new technique I never imagined trying, cheese making. It was surprisingly EASY!!!  I typically use the ole store bought container ricotta with the questionable ingredients on the label. What in the world is Xanthan Gum??? The homemade ricotta tasted so much fresher and my lasagna dishes tasted so much richer.   

This recipe is special because we can CREATE homemade ricotta cheese from scratch using some basic kitchen items. And if you're anything like me, you probably have a bad habit of forgetting that milk or cream in the fridge and then curse yourself for "wasting money" if it's due date is tomorrow. Ricotta is the perfect solution. 

I hope that my quick and easy recipe INSPIRES you to experiment more in the kitchen too. You can really impress your guests by saying "I used acid to cause most of the milk enzymes to coagulate...it was no big deal, I'm just the best host ever".   

Ricotta Cheese Recipe
*Yields about 1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh cheese

Ingredients
3 cups Whole Milk
1 cup Heavy Cream
2 teaspoons Kosher Salt 
3 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar 



Instructions 

1. Line a colander or strainer with 2 layers of wet cheese cloth. Set colander or strainer over a large bowl to catch water (whey). 
2. In a sauce pan, over medium heat, combine the milk, heavy cream, and salt. Stir milk occasionally to prevent scorching on bottom of pan. 
3. As soon as milk comes to a boil, remove pan from heat and stir in white wine vinegar. 
4. Let mixture sit undisturbed for 15 - 20 minutes  as it curdles (what this looks like: small white chunks will form and separate from cloudy water). 
5. Slowly pour all of the curdled mixture in to the cheesecloth lined colander. Allow cheese to drain up to 1 hour. 
6. Remove cheese from cheesecloth and serve warm OR store in an air tight container in the refrigerator. Lasts for 2 to 3 days refrigerated. 

Note: Once ricotta cheese was finished I added fresh chives from my garden and seasoned it with salt and pepper. It was delicious. 

Note: Cheesecloth is essential to use when draining cheese. It is very inexpensive and found in most grocery stores (I paid about $1 at Publix for 2 yards).