Homemade Ricottta Cheese

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Ricotta cheese is a versatile, useful product for many applications, including appetizers, entrees, and desserts.  Although ricotta is referred to as a “cheese,” it is actually a cheese by-product; but who wants to think that they are eating a “by-product”.   So, we will follow the cheese path that was forged by our cheese making friends to ease our mental hesitation.  There are many good ricotta products on the market, but it is so easy to make and so much tastier when you make it at home that once you make it, you will have a hard time going back to store bought products.  There are only a few ingredients that are needed to make ricotta cheese, but there are many variations on the basic recipe.  The main ingredients are whole milk, heavy cream, salt and acid (white vinegar or lemon juice).  The equipment you will need is a heavy bottom sauce pan, a bowl, a colander, and cheese cloth. 

Although the active process of making this cheese is very brief, you do need to think ahead as it needs several hours to sit and drain.  Use our trusty friend, the internet, to browse recipes and try different variations, but the basic process is heating your milk, cream, salt and acid to about 180 degrees, using an instant read thermometer to check the temperature.  If you don’t have an instant read thermometer, I recommend purchasing one as they an invaluable tool in the kitchen.  You don’t need to spend more than $20 to get a good, digital thermometer.  The key to a good one, though, is that it is “instant-read”, so that you get a quick, accurate temperature.   This proves especially valuable when making cheese like this and with baking – think crème brulee.  But, I digress; crème brulee will have to wait for another day.  As your milk mixture is heating, remember to occasionally stir it, and prepare a colander by lining it with several layers of cheesecloth and place the colander over a bowl or container.  Pick a bowl that is large enough to capture all the liquid that will drain out.  Early on, as your mixture heats, you will see the milk start to curdle – this is a good thing.  Once you reach your 180 degrees, carefully pour the mixture into the cheesecloth lined colander.  Let this drain for several hours.  Discard the liquid that has drained off; what we want is the curds in the colander.  The amount of draining time is up to you though.  Wait a long time for dryer ricotta, but for a moister product remove the curds early on.  This is often a personal preference, but different applications would require different moisture levels.  I like a moister ricotta for my lasagna, but a dryer ricotta for my cannolis.  When making my ricotta, I have a slight preference for lemon juice over vinegar.  I just like the little extra flavor you get from the juice.  As a general rule of thumb, don’t go over 5% acid to milk; too much acid and it will be acidic, too little acid and it won’t curdle.  And always use whole milk versus skim milk; we want the fat of the whole milk.  To make it a little leaner, omit the heavy cream.  Most of all, have fun!

Happy eating!

What is Roux?

Roux

Roux: Equal parts of flour and fat (most commonly unsalted butter).

A roux is used as a thickening agent when making sauces, soups, gravies and stews.  When making a roux with butter, measure out both ingredients in equal proportions by weight.  Start the roux in a heavy sauce pan by melting the butter (if you are using butter), and once the butter is melted, slowly incorporate the flour.  Continue stirring over medium heat until all the raw flour is cooked out; the roux will smell like toasted almonds.  It is ready to use at this point, although some recipes, particularly Cajun cooking, call for the roux to be dark.  This will add color and flavor to the dish.  This is achieved by continuing to cook the roux over a medium heat until the roux is dark brown in color, another 2 – 3 minutes.

Some recipes call for the roux to be made in the beginning stages of the sauce.  For example, béchamel is a classic white sauce often used as a base for other sauces, most often cheese sauces or in Italian cooking.  It is made by whisking scalded milk into a white roux (a roux that hasn’t been cooked long, thus the light color).  The process is sometimes reversed depending on the application.  Grandma’s famous turkey gravy is made by adding the roux at the end of the cooking process giving the sauce time to simmer and marry flavors without scorching to the pan.

For those people out there with celiac disease, cornstarch is a great option to thicken something without adding any gluten.  Sometimes cornstarch is preferred for different applications and can even add a nice sheen to a sauce.  More often than not, I go for the roux for the extra body, flavor and depth I get from it versus the cornstarch.

Be creative, use the internet to find recipes and most of all, have fun with it!

Enjoy!

SUMMER VEGETABLES

Summer Vegetables

It’s that time of year, when all the hard work of the spring-time planting season is paying off.  Delicious beans, peas and herbs, soon to be joined on the table by squash, tomatoes and corn.  If you’re like me, the abundance is plentiful, but a little too plentiful at times.  “What are we going to do with all those extra vegetables?”  is the common question around my home.  Well, besides sounding like your mother and telling you to “eat all your vegetables”; there are many avenues to take.  All the extra tomatoes make a wonderful salsa, and remember that salsa isn’t restricted to tomatoes, onions and cilantro.  Many combinations of vegetables can be joined together to make a salsa; the only obstacle in your way is the limits of your imagination. 

Not too many people think about hot soup in the middle of a 100 degree day.  But, what about those cool fall days or the cold dredges of winter?  Do you ever crave summer vegetables then?  Well, why not eat summer vegetables in the middle of December by making a big batch of minestrone soup now, freeze it in small portions, then pull it out as needed.  When freezing vegetable soup, or anything for that matter, the faster you can get it to freeze the better.  Nobody that I know has blast chillers in their home, but you can get a similar effect by using small Tupperware containers and freezing it quickly, that way the integrity of the soup holds up and you lessen the burden on those yummy vegetables.  Certainly canning is an option as well, but I have a slight preference for freezing as it holds the soup in suspended animation, meaning it’s cold and dark – the perfect environment to hold all those vitamins in place.

Vegetables themselves can be frozen as well; certainly not the ideal format for them, but a viable means to extend their life.  The trick though is to cook them first, then freeze them.  Let’s take zucchini.  Slice it up how you desire, sauté it in a hot pan with some oil, season with salt and pepper and finish with fresh herbs as desired, such as thyme and rosemary.  Cook it less than you would want it cooked (remember that you will be eventually reheating this, so essentially cooking it again), chill it and freeze it in Ziploc freezer bags.  It’s that easy.  Once you are ready to use it, pull it from the freezer and reheat as desired.

Now, this isn’t to say that I prefer to freeze vegetables or just throw them in a soup, but when you’ve eaten your 5-9 servings a day already and you still have leftovers, then let’s use them in this way.

Don’t forget about your neighbors!  Not everyone has a garden, so share and be generous.  Large batches of soup and salsa can be canned and distributed around the neighborhood.  But, most of all, eat all your vegetables!

Grilling Tips from our Chef at La Jolla Groves

Happy 4^th of July!

July 4^th is here, which to me says one thing – it’s grilling time.  Here are a few quick tips to get your grill ready and some ideas to get that meat and those vegetables tasting just right.  Since the majority of us don’t use our grill during the winter months, we will need to take some time to clean it out and get it ready to cook on.  This may mean dismantling the components (grates, burners, etc.) and cleaning out any leftover debris.  Many modern grills are equipped with infrared burners, so pay extra special attention and care when handling these components.  The black chunks and debris left on the grates after cooking is carbon build-up.  If not cleaned properly, this will greatly affect the taste, quality and texture of whatever you are grilling.  A properly seasoned grill doesn’t mean let the grease build up!  Clean, well treated grates will provide years of grilling pleasure and a nice clean flavor every time.  Check with your owner’s manual as to which style of grates you have and how they should be cleaned.  Typically, the easiest way is to turn the grill on high, close the lid and come back in 15 minutes with a nice grill brush and brush away all the build-up.  Let the heat do the work!

Now, we move on to seasoning your meat and using proper cooking techniques.  There are a number of BBQ seasoning blends on the market today.  Try to match one that fits your pallet and will compliment the meat and the company you are feeding.  For example, stay away from the bottle that has flames on it if feeding a large number of children!  A good option is to make your own, and this way you have complete control over what and how much of each item goes into the rub.  Typical ingredients include salt, black pepper, sugar, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, curries, jerk blends, Old Bay, and many more.  Have fun and experiment.  The great thing about these is that they are fairly versatile from red meats, to chicken, to pork, to vegetables.  Just keep in mind to always make sure the staples are in there – salt and black pepper.  The salt will not only boost the flavor, but it will help all the spices penetrate the outer layer of the meat.  The black pepper will add some spice, but even more importantly, it will help to elongate those flavors once they reach your mouth.  You can rub the meat immediately prior to cooking, but with enough planning, try rubbing the meat the day prior to enhance the flavor.  You can add a little water to help the rub stay in place better, or even do a full liquid immersion.  Water is better for spices while oil is better for fresh herbs.  There are only a few more rules – have fun, take some chances (maybe just on your family and not for the neighborhood BBQ competition!) and try different combinations.  You may just stumble upon a family rub that will last many generations! 

Enjoy!!