Over the past week I learned how to make ricotta, crème fraîche, and a few simple but fancy breakfast foods. It is actually way easier to make ricotta than I ever thought it would be, and definitely not the long and hard process I had imagined. It only takes anywhere from 4 to 24 hours to make (depending on how much a person wants to let it drain) and 2 ingredients! After spending time making home made ricotta, I experimented with it and crème fraîche in a couple different recipes.
I came to find out ricotta is not actually a cheese, even though many people call it that. Ricotta is actually a creamy curd. According to cliffordawright.com, the curd is cooked twice hence the name "ricotta," meaning re-cooked. The hot whey of milk that is left over ends up being used used for cheese making which has milk solids and a protein called albumin. Albumin solidifies under high heat. When the whey is re-cooked, the solid milk parts are skimmed off to drain, and this is called ricotta cheese.
On Tuesday I made Lemon Ricotta Biscuits as seen on the Food Network. The name did not sound very appetizing to me, but I decided to try them anyway. After baking them, I topped them with the Crème Fraîche I made and then added some strawberries. They were so yummy especially fresh from the oven! I will definitely be making those again! They were to die for!
Thursday, I made some Cheese Blintzes. The recipe was a crêpe stuffed with ricotta, vanilla, lemon juice, and an egg yolk then sautéd to heat through. I topped them with the left over crème fraîche from the last recipe and strawberries, then I drizzled them in chocolate. The texture and flavor of the filling was interesting. The texture was kind of grainy and I expected it to be sweeter than it was, but they definitely tasted good.
Now that I have learned how to make my own ricotta, and since I know how easy it is to make I will probably be using it more often. I will be able to make ricotta and have it for numerous recipes for breakfast, lunch, or even dinner. Knowing how to make it at home will be very convenient not having to buy it when a recipe calls for it.
Friday, I made a tasty breakfast dish of shirred eggs with ham. This recipe is a perfect single serving size breakfast that is very simple to make and looks fancy. I lined a buttered ramekin with ham and cracked an egg on top. I seasoned it with salt, pepper, and dill to add flavor and then I baked it at 325° for about 12 minutes so my egg was cooked over easy. After I took it out of the oven I added a little cream and topped with Swiss cheese and put the ramekin back in the oven for about 3 minutes to let the cheese melt. I thought this was a fun new recipe to try and it tasted good!
Pictured below are the delicious Cheese Blintzes with the crème fraîche, strawberries, and chocolate drizzle.
