Homemade RICOTTA CHEESE...Just 3 ingredients. Really!

Cheese, oh my!!  I have yet to find a cheese I don't like!!  And to learn I could make my own 'fresh cheese' from just 3 ingredients!!--GET OUT!!! I love how this tastes:  fresh, lemon-y. Well worth the effort if you are serving it with hors d'oeuvres...(I wouldn't take the time though if you are making a lasagna)

Ingredients

I gallon whole milk

1/4 cup lemon juice
Kosher or sea salt

Instructions

Heat the milk with the lemon juice in a stainless steel or other nonreactive pot over medium-low heat only until the curds separate from the whey; do not let the milk scorch.

Line a colander with three layers of cheesecloth. Pour the mixture into the colander. Bring the ends of the cheesecloth together and tie them securely with kitchen twine. Tie the twine to a wooden spoon handle. Rest the spoon with the cheesecloth over a deep bowl. Depending on the consistency you desire, allow the bag to hang for 2 to 3 hours in the refrigerator. The longer you leave it, the stiffer the curds will become.

When it is ready, unmold the cheese. Season with salt and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days. You might also season the ricotta with minced chives or green garlic, cracked black pepper, and a little olive oil.

Tripled deglazed FRENCH ONION SOUP

Just the other day I realized I failed to send my niece Becky a recipe that I raved about on facebook.  It's the perfect recipe to be cooked up in her LeCreuset pot.  I found the link and sent it to her and thought this would be a great time to get this recipe included in my blog as well.  It is the best tasting French Onion Soup I have ever had, I'm sure it's due to the long carmelizing of the onions.  It is a bit labor intensive as you deglaze the pot 3 times to add additional richness to the recipe.  I found it on the Cooks Illustrated website:

Serves 6

Sweet onions, such as Vidalia or Walla Walla, will make this recipe overly sweet. Be patient when caramelizing the onions in step 2; the entire process takes 45 to 60 minutes. Use broiler-safe crocks and keep the rim of the bowls 4 to 5 inches from the heating element to obtain a proper gratinée of melted, bubbly cheese. If using ordinary soup bowls, sprinkle the toasted bread slices with Gruyère and return them to the broiler until the cheese melts, then float them on top of the soup. We prefer Swanson Certified Organic Free Range Chicken Broth and Pacific Beef Broth. For the best flavor, make the soup a day or 2 in advance. Alternatively, the onions can be prepared through step 1, cooled in the pot, and refrigerated for up to 3 days before proceeding with the recipe.

Ingredients

• Soup
• 3tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 3 pieces
• 6large yellow onions (about 4 pounds), halved and cut pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices (see illustration below)
• Table salt
• 2cups water , plus extra for deglazing
• 1/2cup dry sherry
• 4cups low-sodium chicken broth (see note)
• 2cups beef broth (see note)
• 6sprigs fresh thyme , tied with kitchen twine
• 1 bay leaf
• Ground black pepper
• Cheese Croutons
• 1small baguette , cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 8ounces shredded Gruyère cheese (about 2 1/2 cups)

Instructions

1. 1. For the soup: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Generously spray inside of heavy-bottomed large (at least 7-quart) Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray. Place butter in pot and add onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, 1 hour (onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume). Remove pot from oven and stir onions, scraping bottom and sides of pot. Return pot to oven with lid slightly ajar and continue to cook until onions are very soft and golden brown, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours longer, stirring onions and scraping bottom and sides of pot after 1 hour.
2. 2. Carefully remove pot from oven and place over medium-high heat. Using oven mitts to handle pot, cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until liquid evaporates and onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes, reducing heat to medium if onions are browning too quickly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until pot bottom is coated with dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary. (Scrape any fond that collects on spoon back into onions.) Stir in 1/4 cup water, scraping pot bottom to loosen crust, and cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes. Repeat process of deglazing 2 or 3 more times, until onions are very dark brown. Stir in sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until sherry evaporates, about 5 minutes.
3. 3. Stir in broths, 2 cups water, thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping up any final bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of pot. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Remove and discard herbs, then season with salt and pepper.
4. 4. For the croutons: While soup simmers, arrange baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet and bake in 400-degree oven until bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
5. 5. To serve: Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on baking sheet and fill each with about 1 3/4 cups soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

The best STUFFED PORK CHOPS ever!!

While sitting at the nail salon getting a manicure last summer, I watched an episode of Downhome with the Neeley's on the Food Network.  I was drooling and could not get out of that place quick enough to gather the ingredients to make that very day!  This was the best stuffed porkchop I have ever made!  Unbelieveably moist and flavorful.  I have made this many time since --in fact the chops are brining in the fridge for tonight's meal as I type this.  Grade: A+

• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 quarts water
• 4 (2-inch thick) pork chops, bone-in rib loin chops, split to bone
• 2 slices bacon, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, minced
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped rosemary leaves
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped sage leaves
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves
• 2 1/2 cups crumbled cornbread
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whisk salt and sugars in 2-quarts of cold water. Add pork chops and cover. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove the pork chops from the brine and dry well.
In a large heavy bottomed saute pan, begin to fry bacon. Add celery, onion and garlic to pan and allow to saute with the crispy bacon. Add rosemary, sage and parsley after bacon has cooked for 8 to 10 minutes. Saute until fragrant. Season with salt and pepper.
In a large bowl add cornbread, dried cranberries and chicken stock. Stir in the cooked vegetable mixture. Mix well.
Preheat grill to medium-high heat.  (or use a grill pan over the stove)
Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Stuff the chop with about 1/2 cup of stuffing. Use toothpicks to help seal the chops. Grill the chops for 5 to 7 minutes per side. Internal temperature should be 145 degrees F. Allow chop to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Beef / Pork Wellington

Now that I have this blog established...I need to catch up with the meal I made Saturday night. I was planning a special meal for Ronnie for Saturday as he just got back from a week away on business in Richmond.  Then I got a call from our dear NY friend, Pat that he wanted to come for the weekend as Ann Marie was away on  business.  I was thrilled as I wanted to treat him to a special meal too!

 I've always wanted to make Beef Wellington.  Sounds soooo sophiscated and 'fussy'. I followed a recipe I found in "Cuisine at Home" (my favorite recipe magazine) Issue 42: December 2003 (told you I've been wanting to make this for a LONG time!).  I also made the Port wine sauce recipe from the same issue. It turned out perfectly (even though..my 'wrapping' wasn't quite 'picture' perfect).  

I must say though, that I think I liked the Pork Wellington better that I made the weekend before from the same issue.  This time I served it with a pear sauce I made from chopped pears sauted in butter and port wine--it reduced down nicely.
. 
I served roasted butternut squash with sage and roasted asparagus as sides.  I also made my favorite new pasta salad: 

ANGRY MUSSELS (Gotta start somewhere)

I've been thinking about a way to keep notes on all the recipes and quasi-orginal creations I make for a long time.  I can't tell you how many slips of paper and jotted down, spattered notes I have stuck here and there and everywhere..I thought this might be a great way to write it down, save it in a safe place and maybe even share with people who might be interested.

So this is my first attempt at 'blogging":


Tonight I made "Angry Mussels"--or at least 'my' version of something I saw on the Food Network (Yes, My name is Sherry, and I am a Food Network Addict).  It was a brief segment on "The Best Food I Ever Ate" show.  I thought, hmmmm, I could recreate that:  This is what I did:


I chopped and fried 6 pieces of very thick sliced bacon in my large non-stick skillet; once cooked I removed the bacon to a dish. I added sliced onion to the bacon grease along with 3 sliced jalapeno peppers (I heard serrano pepper on TV though).  Then threw in a couple of pounds of mussels along with chopped garlic and white wine.   When the mussels started ot open, I tossed in a spoonful of butter--well really 3 maybe 4, eehhhh maybe 5 big spoonfuls. I added the bacon back in along with coarsely chopped parsley.  I served it with freshed toasted garlic butter bread.  My friend (and roomie) Sally, Meghan, Ronnie and I agreed it was YUMMY!   Grade:  A


I also  made Orange-Glazed Chicken  and Cajun Blue Cheese salad taken from the April/May 2011 issue of Cook's Country.  Both were a hit...Ronnie especially loved the chicken.  Grade: B+