Cooking is an adventure. For me, some of my best recipes had experimental beginnings. Of course, trying something new is always part of the fun. This week, #SundaySupper is tackling new cooking adventures, and Conni over at The Foodie Army Wife is hosting. What should I make? My head was spinning with ideas when suddenly Anne Burrell was on my TV whipping up a batch of homemade ricotta. She has a way of gliding through the kitchen, making everything seem so effortless. I literally went out that day just to get the cheesecloth. I was on a mission.
Truth be told, things didn’t exactly go off without a hitch. While straining the cheese, I knocked the strainer over not once but twice, spilling the separated curds back into the whey both times. So straining took a lot longer than her suggested 15 minutes. Clumsiness aside, I’d still recommend straining this for about an hour if you want the cheese to be thick.
Ricotta in Italian means “recooked.” The traditional method for making ricotta starts with the whey, a byproduct of the cheesemaking process, which is then heated to a near boil with vinegar or lemon juice. The remaining protein in the whey forms curds which are harvested for the cheese. Of course, we’re not starting with whey here but rather whole milk and cream. The resulting cheese is incredibly luscious–one bite, and you’ll never go back to store bought again. If you can stop yourself from devouring the entire batch, I highly recommend this baked ricotta dip, also from Anne Burrell–creamy with a hint of garlic and a generous burst of lemon and rosemary. It was every bit as good as it looks.
There’s really not much to this, so let’s begin!
Just a handful of ingredients, so gather them up.
Pour everything into a pot, and slowly bring this to a simmer.
Once it’s simmered for a few minutes, it’ll be thick and creamy like this.
Line the mesh strainer with damp cheesecloth, and let this strain for about an hour, and it’s ready to serve.
Now, if you’re going to make the baked ricotta dip, put all the ingredients in a bowl, stir, then transfer to a buttered baking dish, and bake at 375 for about 15 minutes or until golden and bubbly.
Serve immediately with sliced baguette. Visit Macheesmo for the full baked ricotta recipe.
Meanwhile sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor. You can now impress folks with tales of making cheese from scratch.
- 6 cups whole milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 3 tbsp + 1 tsp distilled white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Combine the milk, cream, 3 tbsp vinegar and salt in a medium pan. Slowly bring the milk mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer the milk mixture for 3 to 4 minutes--curds will begin to form. Remove from heat and stir in remaining teaspoon of vinegar. Let this stand for about 15 minutes.
- Line a mesh strainer with a couple of layers of damp cheesecloth. Gently pour the curds and whey through into the strainer and let drain for about an hour. Gather the cheesecloth corners and gently squeeze some of the excess liquid from the ricotta.
- Transfer to a serving dish--best when still warm.
Now, let’s see what the rest of the #SundaySupper crew has cooked up for us.
New Expeditions (Sides, Starters & Staples)
Homemade Corn Tortillas from Pescetarian Journal
Easy Oven Polenta from Shockingly Delicious
Homemade Spiced Flour Tortillas from Chocolate Moosey
Naan from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
Homemade Tofu from Kimchi MOM
Indian Moong Beans from Magnolia Days
Baked Lemon Coconut Risotto from Soni’s Food
Homemade Peanut Butter from Home Cooking Memories
Homemade Ricotta Cheese from Webicurean
Portuguese Chorizo Bread from Family Foodie
Savory mushroom and herb steel cut oat Risotto Foxes Love Lemons
Grand Quests (Main Dishes)
Traditional Pork Tamales from Gourmet Drizzles
Braised Lamb Brisket with Lemon Oregano Yogurt Sauce from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
Rice Burger from The Urban Mrs.
Pan-fried Scallops with Garlic Chili Linguine from Food Lust People Love
Miso-Glazed Salmon from The Foodie Patootie
Penne with Mustard and Chives from My Other City By The Bay
Arepas Rellenas (Stuffed Arepas) from The Wimpy Vegetarian
Spanish Baked Scallops from Momma’s Meals
Black Beans and Cheese Empanadas from Basic N Delicious
Pork Dim Sum from Small Wallet, Big Appetite
Venison Steak Gyros from Curious Cuisiniere
Baked Tilapia with Parmesan Basil Sauce from Growing Up Gabel
Vegetarian Hortobagyi Pancakes from Happy Baking Days
Caribou & Andouille Chili from The Foodie Army Wife
Escapades (Sweet Treats & Spirited Companions)
Vegan Chocolate Mousse from The Not So Cheesy Kitchen
Zebra Cake from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Multilayer Bars from What Smells So Good?
Rut-Busting Wines For New Cooking Adventures from ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
Homemade Vanilla Marshmallows from Vintage Kitchen
Strawberry Raspberry Fruit Leather from Juanita’s Cocina
Making Macarons – FAIL! from girlichef
Macaroons from Noshing With The Nolands
Fresh Strawberry Frozen Yogurt from The Messy Baker
Bircher Muesli from Peanut Butter and Peppers
Hello Kitty Rice Krispies from The Ninja Baker
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls from In The Kitchen With KP
Dorie Greenspan’s Orange Almond Tart from Hip Foodie Mom
Ombre Mini Cakes from Daily Dish Recipes
Chocolate Dipped Madeleines from Big Bear’s Wife
Join the #SundaySupper conversation on Twitter on Sunday, April 28th to talk all about our foodie fears! We’ll tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 3:00 pm AKST/7:00 pm EST. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag, and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. Check out our #SundaySupper Pinterest board for more delicious recipes and food photos.
Check out the Food & Wine Conference sponsored by Sunday Supper! Being held July 19th – 21st in beautiful, sunny Orlando, FL. It’s a must for food bloggers. Find out more here → Food & Wine Conference
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
Here’s the thing about homemade ricotta: once you make it and taste it, you’ll never want to go back to the store-bought version. I love homemade ricotta; it’s ridiculously easy to make and beyond delicious. Your ricotta looks so creamy and inviting.
Oh man, I’ve GOT to try this. You make it look so easy. The homemade ricotta looks so creamy and heavenly. I have a new cooking challenge!
Oh wow ricotta is so simple. I have a few recipes I want to make this week that use ricotta so I might give making my own a try.
Yum! This is a perfect recipe! I love ricotta cheese, but never dreamed of making it at home! Awesome!
Homemade Ricotta is so amazingly good – and your DIP??? Oh, I’ll be trying that!
This looks amazing! I need to add this to my culinary bucket list. Beautiful photos!
I´ve made ricotta before, but haven´t in ages, and never with cream. Sound really, really good Anne! And that bubblybaked ricotta dip… I´m speechless
I only use homemade ricotta in my baking and cooking…and shmearing. It’s just SO divine!
What? That’s all to making homemade ricotta? How easy! I have to give this a try.
I have never attempted to make my own cheese but this recipe may make me do it! Delicious!
My mouth is completely watering!! That looks so good!!
Wow! Who knew this was so easy? Thanks for sharing…I feel ready to take on the challenge now as well!
It sounds like a fantastic adventure to make your own ricotta 🙂 and it turned out perfectly. Thank you for sharing!
That cheesy golden dip! Oh, my goodness but that’s beautiful. Never mind the bread, I could eat it with a spoon!
Holy cow… creamy, cheesy, and dreamy! I want to make both versions… thanks so much for sharing!!! 😉
You did such a great job on this! That first picture is making me want to lick my screen, and also eat cheese….just cheese…for dinner tonight. I made ricotta once in culinary school, but I need to do it again at home!
Anna, your ricotta looks picture perfect! And I love the look of your dip, too! YUM~
That dip looks amazing! I always have leftover ricotta with no idea what to do with it-now I know! Also, great job on making the ricotta!
oh my gosh, how easy! love the pictures too!
OMG, I LOVE this! and the baked ricotta dip looks heavenly. . LOVE!!!
Isn’t homemade ricotta AWESOME? I can’t wait to make more 🙂
OMG, I’m making that baked ricotta dip immediately. It looks fantastic. And your ricotta came out soooo creamy looking. I got into a cheese-making track last year and made it a few times, and you’ve motivated me to make it again!
I love Ricotta and I’m so going to try this recipe!It looks so creamy and rich and delicious 🙂 Yumm….
I so love homemade ricotta and I was just thinking I needed to whip up another batch this weekend. Also ooh that hot dip, yes please!
Is heavy cream the same as whipping cream? Thanks for the help.
Yes, both products should be the same (so long as the whipping cream is unsweetened)… hope this helps!
My ricotta looks fantastic, it really looks like creamy one. you’ve motivated me, thanks for sharing this awesome recipe, I will make it again make it again!
I’m a food blogger (https://lemonhoneyrecipes.com/) write content on lemon based recipes & kitchenware.
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