Ricotta Cheesecake

So apparently my rennet was old. About 4 years ago I went through a spell where I made a bunch of mozzarella cheese. When Tage came along, I put my cheese making supplies away and haven’t looked at them since until a few weeks ago when I started making cottage cheese. Well, I made a batch of weird cottage cheese and then when I tried some farmhouse cheddar the other day, the curd never set firm enough. Instead of throwing out the batch, I drained the soft curd through cheese cloth for several hours and got a ricotta-like cheese. It tasted delicious.

And it was destined for this lovely cake.

I never thought I’d like ricotta cheesecake. I’m not a huge fan of the cheese itself. This cake, though, was perfect – very lightly sweet and decadent enough to feel like a big indulgance. I love a good, rich cheesecake now and then but I can never eat more than one or two slices of a cake so I don’t make it very often. But I could eat a lot of this cake. Maybe that’s a bad thing!

Oh, and I got some new rennet and my cheese making is going splendidly. I’m pressing my third wheel at the moment while the other two air-dry on the counter. They smell wonderful!

Ricotta Cheesecake

Adapted from Joy of Baking

Crust

7 whole graham crackers, crushed into fine crumbs (about 1 cup)

1 T sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

Mix the crumbs with the sugar and butter. Press into the bottom of a greased 8- or 9-inch spring form pan. Surround the bottom of the pan with a layer of tin foil. Set aside.

Filling

1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened

2 1/2 cups (20 oz) thick ricotta cheese*

2/3 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 t lemon zest

1 1/2 t vanilla extract

Beat the cream cheese until it’s smooth. Add the ricotta and sugar and beat again. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined each time. Stir in the zest and vanilla.

Pour the filling into the crust. Set the pan into a larger pan and fill with about an inch of water. Slide the whole thing into a preheated 350F oven and bake for about 45 – 60 minutes or until just set in the middle. Remove the cake from the water bath and chill before eating. Serve plain or with a fruit sauce.

*If your cheese is on the thin side, hang it to drain for a while in cheese cloth but you’ll want a full 2 1/2 cups of thick cheese when you are finished draining it.

Serves: 8 – 12

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Everyday Bread 2

This is the bread I’ve been making lately. We’ve been wolfing it down so fast I have to make a batch about every week.

If you don’t have whey, just use water. I really prefer the whey, though. I think it helps the bread to stay soft longer.

Everyday Bread

4 cups whey (scalded and cooled to 115F) or warm water

1/3 cup Sucanat (or brown sugar)

1/2 cup instant potato flakes

2 1/2 T active dry yeast

1/2 cup peanut oil

1 T salt

3/8 cup gluten

6 cups whole wheat bread flour

2-3 cups hi-gluten white flour

In a large bowl, stir together the whey, sugar, potato flakes, and yeast. Let sit 5 minutes. Add the oil, salt, gluten, and whole wheat flour. Beat vigorously. Stir in enough of the white flour to make a knead-able dough. Knead at least 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth. Place back into the bowl (I don’t bother greasing it). Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour. Scrape the dough out onto the counter and divide it into 3 (for large loaves) or 4 (for smaller loaves). Shape the loaves, place into your bread pans, cover, and let rise again until doubled. I like to slash the loaves just before baking but it’s not necessary. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until nicely browned and hollow sounding when tapped on the bottom. Remove from pans immediately and cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 3 – 4 loaves

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Veggie and Cheese Stuffed Shells

I already have a stuffed shell recipe on the blog but this one is different so I had to post it. It’s just chock full of vegetable-y and cheesy goodness and we loved it.

I used some of my homemade cottage cheese in these babies and it was so delicious. I made a double batch of the stuff the other day and got over 3 pounds of it. I’m obsessed with it, in case you couldn’t tell.

So if you are swimming in cottage cheese, or just need a delicious, meatless meal to serve, give these a shot. I think you’ll be pleased!

Veggie and Cheese Stuffed Shells

Adapted from here

20 – 24 jumbo pasta shells, cooked until 3/4 of the way done

2 T olive oil

2 carrots, peeled and grated

1/2 pound mushrooms, chopped

1 onion, diced

1/2 cup chopped Swiss chard

1 roasted red pepper, diced

2 cups cottage cheese

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1 egg

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 t Italian seasoning

2 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the carrots, mushrooms, and onion. Saute until all veggies are soft, about 15 minutes. Add the chard and roasted red pepper.

In a bowl, stir together the cottage cheese, mozzarella, egg, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and Italian seasoning. Stir in the sauteed veggies.

In a 7 x 11- or a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish, pour half of the spaghetti sauce. Fill the shells with the filling and place them in the dish.* Pour the remaining sauce over top and sprinkle with the 1/4 cup Parmesan. Bake, covered, at 350 until bubbling and hot through, about 30 to 45 minutes. Remove the cover the last 5 minutes. Let shells sit at least 15 minutes before serving.

Serves: 6 – 8, depending on appetites and what else is served

*Note: I had a bit of leftover filling as I only had 19 shells to fill. Save the remaining filling for putting in omelets the next morning. Yum!

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Macaroni and Cheese with Stewed Tomatoes

I know there are a million macaroni and cheese recipes out there but I thought I’d share mine. I suppose I should say it’s adapted from somewhere but really, macaroni and cheese is about as adaptable as it gets so everyone has their particular little twist. This just happens to be mine.

We eat it with stewed tomatoes and green beans…a classic childhood meal of my family and I’m glad Brad has taken to the tomatoes. The two are a delicious pair. Um, the macaroni and tomatoes, that is. Not Brad and tomatoes.

Macaroni and Cheese

9 oz (a generous 2 cups) uncooked macaroni

3 T butter

4 1/2 T flour

2 1/4 c milk*

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

9 oz (a generous 2 cups) shredded cheese (I like sharp cheddar and co-jack)

Cook the macaroni in boiling water until al dente (I don’t bother salting the water since this is a salty dish anyway).

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a sauce pan. Whisk in the flour and then while continuously whisking, slowly pour in the milk. Keep whisking until smooth. Add the salt and pepper and stir until it’s thick and bubbly. Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese.

When macaroni is done, drain it and then mix it with the cheese sauce. Pour into a 7 x 11 inch baking dish. Bake at 350 til bubbly and a bit brown on top, about 25 minutes. Serve immediately with stewed tomatoes.

Serves: 6

Stewed Tomatoes

1 quart canned tomato chunks

2 T cornstarch

2 t honey

1/2 t salt (if tomatoes are unsalted)

Mix everything together in a sauce pot. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Remove from heat and serve.

Yield: 1 quart

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Rice Pudding

I used to despise the stuff. I thought rice only belonged in savory applications. But then Brad was hungry for rice pudding so I went searching for a recipe.

The first one I made was so gross. It called for beating egg whites and folding them into the cooked rice/egg mixture. That resulted in a runny bottom and foamy top. And it was disgustingly sweet. The chickens had a hay day with that batch.

So then I did what any good (annoying?) daughter does and called up mommy. Of course she had the perfect recipe. Should have gone to her first!

It turns out that the best recipe (in our opinions) is my Grandmother’s. My mom relayed some of her tips and tricks to me and pointed me to the recipe in one of the books I have. It’s actually my grandma’s old church cookbook. I wish she was still living because I’d love to talk rice pudding with her.

My mom said that in more recent years Grandma could no longer find her favorite rice to make pudding. I guess they don’t sell it anymore or something. I don’t know if I’d ever be able to tell the difference because we loved it with regular old white rice. It’s the perfect combination of sweet and creamy.

Rice Pudding

Adapted from Grandma’s recipe

2 1/2 cups water

1 cup uncooked white rice

1 t salt

4 cups WHOLE milk

4 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

2 t vanilla extract

Bring the water to a boil in a medium-large heavy pot. Add rice and salt and cover. Simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until very soft. If your rice is at all firm, the pudding won’t be as creamy and the rice will be a little tough.

Once rice is soft enough, add the milk and heat to simmering. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and sugar together. Temper the eggs with the hot rice mixture and then pour them into the pot and heat for a few more minutes…until the mixture thickens. Make sure you stir constantly so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.

Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the vanilla. Fill your sink with a few inches of cold water and set the pot into it. Stir the pudding occasionally until it is completely cool. I don’t know why it’s important to cool your rice pudding quickly but that’s how Grandma did it so I do too.

Once pudding is cool, transfer it to a covered jar or bowl and refrigerate until completely chilled.

Yield: 6 or 7 cups

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