Cheese

I finally got around to making some homemade ricotta cheese, courtesy of Frank Bonanno's cheese-making classes and recipes. It was actually really easy! I served a dollop at room temperature sprinkled with sea salt and drizzled with a good extra virgin olive oil. I sliced a baguette on the bias, drizzled the slices with olive oil, toasted them and rubbed them with garlic. Yum. Definitely better than what you buy in the store, and easy enough to make. I'm not sure if it would make a huge difference in a lasagna or something, but you can sure taste the difference if you're eating it on toast.

Of note, I also picked up a delectable little piece of heaven at The Truffle the other day - a funky, creamy French goat cheese that reminded me why cheese is one of my favorite things in life. It's called St. Maure de Touraine. Try it!

We ate both while sipping a bottle of Pra Soave, an Italian white.

Ricotta Recipe (c/o Frank Bonanno)
Serves 4

5 lemons (1 cup lemon juice)
2 quarts organic whole milk
1 cup heavy cream plus additional ¼ cup
1 cup buttermilk
Pinch of salt

Squeeze the lemons; set juice aside.

Bring 1 cup cream and milk to a boil. Add lemon juice, buttermilk and salt. Reduce heat and simmer; stirring until thick and chunky, about 10 minutes.

Have cheesecloth pressed over a strainer in a bowl. Pour hot liquid through cheesecloth; drain at least 15 minutes. Gather cheesecloth ends and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Whip ¼ cup heavy cream into ricotta until the consistency of soft ice cream.

Ricotta Al Forno: Oil inside of ramekins; fill with ricotta. Bake at 400 degrees 36 to 45 minutes until golden.
Sweet Ricotta: Add 1 cup of powdered sugar to the ricotta. Serve with strawberries.

Nutritional information per serving of ricotta: 591 cal., 44 g fat (27 g sat), 154 mg chol., 32 g carb., 19 g pro., 0 g fiber, 289 mg sodium.