I made cheese… at home! I had no idea it would be so easy until I read this ricotta cheese recipe on Smitten Kitchen. I prefer her recipes. They are clearly written and full of helpful little details. With only 4 ingredients, it looked simple enough.
That was a month ago. I never remembered to buy whole milk and cream. I needed a thermometer. Then the Nor’easter came to town last weekend’s while hunkering down, suddenly I had time to dig around for cheese cloth and whip up a fresh batch of cheese. This ricotta is rich and also very tender and (it’s official) is easy to make! Since I was snowbound, I also slow roasted some tomatoes. At a low 225 degrees, plan to tack on another 3 hours. I didn’t make everything. The ciabatta is from Scratch Baking. let’s not get too crazy!
Recipes from Smitten Kitchen:
Homemade Ricotta >
– 3 c whole milk from Ronny Brook and 1 c of heavy cream.
– Curds strained for 1 hr, they will firm up even more in the fridge.
– Total yield: 1 c
Twilight at Morningside
The ricotta is shockingly easy to make! If I can handle it, anyone can. Yes, you have a good eye, I added a few drops of special olive oil friends brought us from Round Pond Estate in Napa. http://www.roundpond.com
PS: my mother also eats cottage cheese with pineapple, is that a Hawaii thing?
J. Kami
Hi Elizabeth,
You are getting to be quite a cook! The homemade ricotta cheese looks yummy, especially with the dried tomatoes on the ciabatta. Never attempted making cheese although my dad used to make cottage cheese when I was growing up. He was the only one in the family that enjoyed it and used to eat it with pineapple and potato chips.
Is that olive oil flowing under the roasted tomatoes? Pass the vino!