Homemade Ricotta Cheese

YIELD: MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS OF RICOTTA CHEESE

Note:

Don't discard the whey! Use leftover whey in pancakes (in the place of buttermilk) and in homemade bread (subbing it in for the water), among other things.

INGREDIENTS:

8 cups milk (2% or above for creamier ricotta)
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon coarse, kosher salt
1/3 cup distilled white vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the milk, heavy cream, and salt in a medium pot. Heat on medium, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching (you can kick up the heat to speed up the process if you don't mind stirring attentively the whole time), until the milk is steaming just below a simmer and registers 180 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.

Off the heat, stir in the vinegar. Immediately, the milk will start to separate. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes.

Line a colander with a double layer of cheesecloth (coffee filters work great, too, if you stagger them or they are large enough) or open a nut milk strainer bag over a large bowl. Spoon in the large curds first if you want to avoid splatters and follow it up by pouring in the rest of the mixture.

If using a nut milk bag, carefully lift it up and out of the bowl and hang it so it can continue to drip into the bowl. Let the ricotta strain for 10-60 minutes, depending on the texture you are after. I usually go with right around 15 minutes for super creamy ricotta.

Scrape the ricotta out of the colander or bag; use immediately or refrigerate up to a week or so.

Southern Fried Chicken Batter

Ingredients:

2 beaten egg
1 cup milk
2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
4 teaspoons garlic salt
2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cup all-purpose flour

How to Make It:

1. Beat the egg and milk together in a bowl.

2. Combine the flour with the garlic salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and paprika in a big plastic bag.

3. Put the chicken in the bag, seal it and shake to coat it.

4. Dip the flour-coated chicken in the egg mixture and again in the flour mixture.

5. Heat the oil in a skillet to 365 degrees F. Brown the chicken on all sides in the hot oil.

6. Turn the heat down to medium low and give the chicken another half an hour or until it is cooked through.

7. Drain it on paper towels and serve.

Bo Berry Biscuits

Biscuits:

2 Cups Flour
1 Cup milk (cold)
1/3 Cup sugar
5 T of butter (cold or frozen)
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 oz of blueberries (fresh or dried)

Glaze:

1 Cup of powdered sugar
1/8 Cup of water
1 tsp of vanilla
½ tsp of lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450F. Mix salt, sugar, flour, and baking powder in a bowl. Add the super cold milk into dry ingredients and mix. As dough begins to form take each tablespoon of hardened solidified butter and break chunks off and spread evenly over dough.                        

Fold dough, and knead… repeat until all butter is spread in chunks evenly throughout dough. Move dough to floured cutting board and roll flat to about ¼ - ½ thick (or to desired thickness) and cut approximately 6 BoBerry Biscuits with a biscuit or cookie cutter.                          

If you notice the butter start to melt (hot kitchen) during this process it may be necessary to return the dough to the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Do not exceed 20, as the baking powder’s 1st stage may become inactive past that.                                    

Place in oven and bake for about 7-12 minutes. Melt 1 tablespoon of low-fat butter in the microwave, and paint finished biscuits with pastry brush.                                    

Mix glaze ingredients in a bowl, and drizzle over BoBerry Biscuits with a fork.