homemade ricotta cheese

I made my own cheese last weekend.  No really, I made delicious ricotta cheese and it couldn't have been easier!  I saw it in the April 2014 Bon Appetit, the recipe inspired by the house made cheese served at Rich Table in San Francisco.  Here is the simple recipe--give it a try, and add your own touch--I could see it mixed with fresh herbs, dill, nuts, chives or even drizzled with honey.  Toss with pasta and olive oil, put it in desserts--the possibilities are endless.  Enjoy!

2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp (or more to taste) kosher salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or distilled white vinegar

In a heavy pot, bring the milk, cream and salt just to a boil.  Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice or vinegar. Stir gently till mixture starts to curdle.  Let stand for 5 minutes.

Pour mixture over 2 layers of cheesecloth set in a fine mesh sieve placed over a medium bowl .  Refrigerate for 20 minutes till spreadable or several hours for a firmer cheese.  Cover and chill cheese for up to 3 days.

chilled orzo pasta salad recipe

If you get Bon Appetit magazine, you probably know, that like alot of companies--it has gone through a re-make.  There is a new editor who comes from GQ and that means, of course, that the style and content has been revamped.  Content is interesting, with more and simple classic recipes, re-hauled, that can be executed at home, and alot of comments on what is in and what is out that will give you a retro chuckle.  One of the new issues suggested that we needed a fresh version of chilled pasta salad. What? The classic challenged? No worries, you can have the perfect chilled pasta, just  forget the butterfly pasta and go directly to orzo (melon seed pasta). This is the new designer pasta.  Here is my latest recipe:  serves two.

6 oz. orzo pasta, cooked in salted water, 5-51/2 minutes, drained and chilled.
olive oil
dry oregano
lemon juice
minced garlic
dash vinegar
chopped roasted yellow pepper
capers/vinegar
salt
pepper
crumbled feta cheese

Mix together 1/4 cup olive oil, dash oregano, juice of one lemon, 1/2 tsp. minced garlic, 1/4 cup chopped roasted yellow bell pepper, 2 tsp small capers, 1 tsp white vinegar, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper.  Toss with chilled pasta and 3 TBL of feta cheese.  Check for more salt and pepper to taste. Chill, then serve.

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