The idea of making cheese at home is kind daunting. There’s talk of rennet and starters and thermometers and precise temperature readings.

Make no mistake, I’ll get to major cheesemaking. One of these days.

Luckily, making ricotta at home is an easy way to get your feet wet. And you’re almost guaranteed to succeed. All you have to do is follow a few simple rules. The biggest one is to use regular, pasteurized milk (see below).

Honestly, this is so simple. I don’t know why I haven’t done it before.

Much like making your own butter, making ricotta is just breaking down milk into its component parts (solids and liquids), then keeping the solids. I’m oversimplifying a little, but that’s basically it.

It’s one of those acts of culinary magic where you transform a few of the most basic ingredients into something worthy of serving to royalty.

The ricotta you make is luscious, creamy, and so sweet and clean tasting. Seriously: I don’t know why I haven’t done this before.

My friend Alyssa recently attended a weekend cheese-making course at a little farm in Vermont. She came back with a notebook full of cheesemaking wisdom. More on her adventure in a post to come soon.

I left my photocopies of the farm’s ricotta recipe at the office, so I used Bon Appetit’s recipe instead, which was similar.

How to make ricotta

To make ricotta, you just need to add an acid element to a pot of simmering milk. In this case, I used lemon juice, but you could also use white vinegar, etc.

The acid makes the curds (milk solids) separate out from the whey (milk liquid). You skim off the curd, strain it, and…voila! Ricotta!

It’s really that simple.

How pasteurization works (and why it matters when you make ricotta)

This is important. When you make this ricotta, be sure to use pasteurized milk—not ultra pasteurized.

It’s a small detail, but it makes a big difference. Now, I’m not a cheesemaking expert (yet!) by a long shot, but here’s what I’ve gathered.

When milk is processed, it’s heated (i.e. pasteurized) to lower micro-organism counts and make the milk safe to drink. In regular pasteurization, milk is heated to 145 degrees F and held there for a half an hour.

Ultra pasteurized milk is heated to a higher temperature for a shorter amount of time (163 degrees F for 15 seconds). In terms of cheesemaking, this damages the calcium and protein that bind milk proteins together to form curds.

Oh, and those boxes of milk that you see sitting unrefrigerated on store shelves? They’ve effectively been sterilized, or heated to 285 degrees F for 1 or 2 seconds.

To make this ricotta, be sure to pick up regular pasteurized milk—not ultra pasteurized or sterilized.

Most large grocery stores in the U.S. will carry a few different kinds of milk. Just read the label carefully so you grab the right one.

In Boston, I bought regular old Stop & Shop brand milk. Of course, the better the milk, the better flavor your ricotta will have. If you can get your paws on regular, pasteurized milk from a local dairy, definitely use that.

Equipment for making ricotta

You don’t need any fancy equipment to make ricotta. Just grab a package of cheesecloth at the store. You can find it at most major grocers and at stores like Target/Walmart.

Aside from that, you’ll need a colander, slotted spoon, and a big pot.

Let’s get started! This recipe is from Bon Appetit. You can find it here.

Homemade Ricotta

From Bon Appetit

16 cups whole pasteurized milk (that’s 1 gallon)
2 tsp. kosher salt
6 Tbls. lemon juice

Yields about 3 cups fresh ricotta

Line a colander with cheesecloth

Grab your cheesecloth.

And a regular ole kitchen colander.

Unfold the cheesecloth (it’ll be really long and a little shreddy on the edges). Fold it over into four layers and set it in your colander.

Set the colander in the sink.

Juice your lemons

Do this ahead of time. You’ll need about 2 large lemons.

Simmer the milk and salt

Put the milk in a large, heavy bottomed pot.

Toss in the salt.

Bring the milk to a simmer over medium-high heat. Keep an eye on the pot as the milk is getting hotter. Milk likes to boil over when it really gets rolling. Lower the heat a little if you need to. You don’t want the milk to scorch on the bottom of the pot.

Add the lemon juice to the simmering milk

When the milk has started to simmer, toss in the lemon juice.

Give it a stir. Simmer for another minute or two. (That’s all, it won’t take long.) The milk should start to separate and get kind of chunky looking.

Skim the curds off with a slotted spoon or skimmer.

Transfer them into your colander. (If your stove isn’t right next to your sink, set the colander in a large bowl and bring it to the stove to do this.)

Keep skimming until you’ve removed all the curds. Let them drain just for a minute for really soft ricotta—or a little longer for something closer to crumbled goat cheese in texture.

My friend Alyssa, the one who went to the cheese class in Vermont (and who’s also a culinary grad, so she knows her stuff), told me to save the whey that’s leftover in the pot and use it to boil pasta. It adds good flavor.

Transfer to a bowl. Serve immediately, or refrigerate and use within 2 days.

Happy cheesemaking!

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Every Friday, I hit Boston’s Haymarket with one of my dearest friends, the CEO of SeeMyDrink.com.

Haymarket is loud, dirty, and absolutely wonderful. It’s Boston’s biggest outdoor market, and you’re almost always guaranteed to find something interesting. (Click here to take a peek at more pictures of the market.)

We buy a little cheese at Harry’s Cheese Shop. We get some provisions for the weekend. We keep our eyes out for the cheap, the ripe, the delicious, and the unusual.

I stopped in my tracks when I saw a giant box of green almonds.

“WHAT are those?” I asked, pointing at what looked like a heap of round sage leaves.

“Almonds,” replied the guy at the back of the stall.

“Really?? They’re, like, furry.”

“No, they’re good. Watch.”

The almond guy grabbed one out of the box, slit the end with a nail, squeezed out the nut, and popped it into his mouth.

“Delicious!” he said. “You try some?”

He didn’t have to ask me twice. He bagged up a pound for me, I gave him two bucks, and my friend and I meandered off toward the cheese shop.

What is a green almond?

Popular in the Middle East and the Mediterranean, green almonds are just what they sound like: Immature almonds.

Almonds shrivel and harden after they’re harvested. So, if left to their own devices, these little guys would shed their green sweaters as they age and shrivel to resemble the brown, holey-shelled beasties that we know as almonds.

Green almonds have a really short season—sharing that Endangered Spring Vegetable Status with ramps, fiddlehead ferns, and pea greens—from April to about mid-June. You might find them labeled “fresh almonds.”

They have a fuzzy green hull that protects the baby nut.

To get into one, slice through the hull with a paring knife until you hit the meat of the nut. Cut around the hull in a circle, like you would to get inside an avocado.

Split it open.

The nut itself is kind of squishy, like a grape or lychee.

They taste, well, green. Kind of grassy. A little tangy. They were good, but I’m not sure I’d buy them again.

What can you do with green almonds?

You mean, aside from chew on them thoughtfully in the kitchen and think that they’re kinda good, but kinda strange?

Snack on them fresh out of the shell. Or make like David Lebovitz, and use them to top ice cream, or tuck a few into jars of homemade jam.

Have you had them?

How did you serve them? (And what did you think?)

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This has happened more than once:

“Hey, what are all those tubes wrapped up like candy in your fridge, Miss. Mouse? Looks like fudge.”

“Oh, it’s better than fudge. It’s butter!”

“Butter? Are you kidding me?”

“Nope. It’s compound butter.”

“Wait, I don’t understand.”

“You mean you don’t have at least six different kinds of compound butter on hand at all times? For shame!”

I’m exaggerating, of course.

I only have four rolls of compound butter in my fridge right now. And sometimes, I only have two. (Oh, the horror! I know.)

It’s true.

Back up, Mouse. What’s compound butter?

Only one of the most heavenly—and versatile—garnishes on the planet. Basically, it’s butter that’s been packed full of various flavorings and ingredients. Here’s one of my favorites.

You know how when you go to a fancy steakhouse and your steak comes with a sumptuous hunk of cold, creamy butter on it? And it’s just starting to melt and mingle with the meat’s perfectly charred crust to make a mouthwatering, on-the-spot sauce?

Compound butter is like that, but better.

Compound butter is one of the fastest, easiest ways to add a burst of flavor to a dish right before serving. I mainly use it on meats and poultry.

That said, it’s also one of the sexiest things you’ll ever spread on toast. And the super hero of instant pasta sauces. Come to think of it, there’s not much that it’s NOT good on. I’ll usually stop just short of using it for hot buttered rum. (Usually, mind you.)

This particular compound butter marries smokey scotch with toasty pecans—and just the tiniest warm hint of clove.

Seriously, I would eat this by the spoonful if it weren’t socially unacceptable. (It’s not, right? Jeff, you with me on this one?)

For the scotch, I usually use Johnny Walker Black because we always have it in the house, but by all means, use your favorite. (I know scotch is one of those things folks tend to get persnickety about.)

The short version of this recipe goes like this

Soften up a stick of butter. Toss in all the other ingredients. Smoosh it all around until you have an even paste. Roll it up in a piece of waxed paper and refrigerate until firm. Try not to mistake it for a candy bar. Use fat slices to garnish your favorite dishes.

Here’s what that looks like.

Pecan Scotch Compound Butter

8 Tbls. butter, softened on the counter for about 20 minutes
1/4 cup pecans, toasted & chopped
1/8 tsp. ground clove
2 Tbls. scotch
freshly cracked black pepper
pinch of kosher salt

Yields about 10 Tbls. butter

Pecan Scotch Compound Butter: Toast the nuts

Grab your pecans. Toast them in a nonstick pan (plain, no butter/oil) for a few minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently until they’re brown and fragrant. Set them aside to cool to room temp (otherwise, they’ll melt the butter).

When they’re cool, chop them up into bits. You want to get them fairly small. (For scale, that’s an 8-inch knife.)

Pecan Scotch Compound Butter: Flavor the butter

Put your butter in a large bowl.

Mash it up with a fork to break it up.

Toss in the chopped, toasted pecans.

Toss in your ground clove, as well as kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.

Drizzle in the scotch. (Don’t add more than this. It’ll make the butter too wet and it’ll be hard to work with.)

Blend the mixture together with a fork.

It takes a minute or two to work the scotch into the butter. At first, it’ll seem really wet and you’ll think you added too much. Just keep going.

When it’s all blended together, it’ll look about like this:

Give it a taste and add a little more salt/pepper/whatever if you think it needs.

Pecan Scotch Compound Butter: Roll and chill

When the butter is blended, you’re ready to roll it up. Rip off a piece of wax paper about 6-8 inches wide. Parchment paper would also work. I wouldn’t use aluminum foil, because it rips so easily.

Transfer the butter mixture to the wax paper. Form it into a log, like this:

Roll the butter up in the wax paper.

Tuck the paper under and towards you as you go, like you’re rolling a burrito.

And finally, twist each end tightly, like a hard-candy wrapper.

Your butter should be neatly wrapped up, just like a party cracker.

Pop it in the fridge and refrigerate for a few hours, until chilled and solid. If you need to make that happen faster (Oh noes! Compound butter emergency!), stick it in the freezer and keep an eye on it so it doesn’t freeze through.

Pecan Scotch Compound Butter: Slice and garnish

When your butter is totally chilled, unwrap it and take a peek. It should be nice and solid.

When you slice it, it should be speckled with bits of toasted pecan and ground clove.

Keeps for a few weeks in the fridge, if it lasts that long.

Enjoy!

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Those of you who know me know that I have a serious make-your-own streak. (Think marshmallows, pomegranate molasses, hot sauce, hot chocolate mix, etc.) It’s so satisfying to make certain things at home—and so much fun. Here’s how to make your own vanilla extract. All you need is a nice bottle, your favorite vodka, and a few vanilla beans. You just can’t beat the flavor—and a bottle makes a great gift for anyone who likes to bake.

The Mouse’s homemade vanilla extract

How exactly is this vanilla extract “neverending,” Mouse?

Good question. (And no, it’s not magic—though it kinda seems like it.)

Because it’s made with vodka and vanilla beans, you can keep your bottle going for years by replenishing the vodka and vanilla beans as you use the extract.

Vanilla beans in my bottle of extract

I’ve had my bottle going since 2002. It’s bordering on becoming a family heirloom, right along with my sourdough starter.

What is vanilla extract, anyways?

Now I’m talking about the real deal here. (No boring bottles of imitation vanilla need apply.) Vanilla extract is just what it sounds like: vanilla beans soaked in alcohol until the booze extracts their flavorful goodness.

A freshly made bottle of vanilla extract

These days, it’s hard to find a good vanilla extract that has strong, true flavor—and doesn’t cost a million bucks.

Did you know?

Vanilla is one of the most expensive spices in the world after saffron, mainly due to how manually intensive production is. The plants are pollinated by hand, and take about five years from the time they are planted before the beans are ready for market.

Vanilla beans

Penzey’s, my favorite spice shop, carries their own brand of vanilla, in a couple different strengths and varieties. Their double-strength extract has fantastic flavor, but, as of this writing, costs about $46 for a 16 oz. bottle. That’s a steep investment for one ingredient, especially since I do a fair amount of baking.

You can see why it seemed reasonable to try making my own.

Ingredients and timing for vanilla extract

• I make my vanilla extract with vodka, but I know some folks who swear by rum.
• I recommend using 2 vanilla beans here, but honestly, you could certainly use more.
• It takes about 6-8 weeks for your extract to develop a dark color and really good flavor. As it ages, the flavor will only improve.

Neverending Vanilla Extract

1 glass bottle with lid, washed with hot, soapy water
1-2 cups of vodka, depending on the size of your bottle
2 vanilla beans

Grab your vanilla beans.

And your sterilized bottle. (I used a glass hot sauce bottle that I washed well with hot, soapy water.)

Be sure to pick a bottle that’s tall enough to fit your vanilla beans.

Insert the vanilla beans into your bottle.

Set a funnel in the mouth of the bottle.

Pour in the vodka.

Fill the bottle just to about the top.

Cap your bottle tightly and give it a shake. You should see little flecks of vanilla happily floating around in the vodka.

And now? You wait. Keep your extract on the counter in a cool, dark place (it doesn’t need to go in the fridge). Shake your vanilla extract every few days. It should be ready to use in about 6-8 weeks. If you want to speed up the process, use more vanilla beans.

As time passes, your extract will get darker and stronger.

Once you start using it, replenish it from time to time with fresh vanilla beans and more vodka.

Happy baking!

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There are a lot of methods for making chicken stock. Some folks make it in the slow cooker. Some folks make it in the oven. This is one of the ways that I make mine on top of the stove. It’s a good, basic method and yields a richly flavored, golden chicken stock that’s a good base for soups and sauces.

Roasting all the ingredients before simmering them is one key to a deeply chicken-y flavored stock.

Customize this recipe to create your own unique stock. Some ideas for add-ins:

+More garlic + fresh ginger + fresh chili peppers
+Fennel + fresh thyme + celery root
+Smoked pork hock + rosemary + parsnip

One of my favorite things to do with this is make good, old-fashioned chicken noodle soup, with alphabet noodles.

What kind of chicken should you use for chicken stock?

I’ll typically whip up a batch of this whenever I find a good sale on chicken parts. This time, I got a huge package of chicken necks. I usually prefer the mix of chicken wings, necks, and backs that my mom uses, but just didn’t like the way they looked this time.

All that said, you can do this with a leftover roasted chicken carcass. If you can find ‘em (and are brave enough to deal with them), chicken feet also make fabulously velvety stock because of all the gelatin in them.

The basic technique for homemade chicken stock

This stock takes a few hours to cook, but actually requires very little active time on your part. I like to make stock on the weekend, when I can get it cooking and keep an eye on it while I get other stuff done.

Roast your chicken and veggies (skins and all) to brown them and start developing flavor. Toss them in a pot with water and simmer for a few hours. Skim off the fat, strain the stock, and freeze.

The onion skin helps give the stock a deep, golden color.

Basic Homemade Chicken Stock: A note on stock pots

I use a pasta pot with a built in strainer to make this stock, because I like how easy the insert makes it to remove all the big ingredients. Just be careful not to fill it to the top, or the stock may boil out between the strainer and the pot and make a huge mess.

If you don’t have a pasta pot, just use any big pot you have. Be sure that it has a tight-fitting lid.

Basic Homemade Chicken Stock

3 lbs. assorted chicken necks, backs & wings
1 large sweet onion, cut up into large pieces
15 baby carrots (or 2-3 regular carrots, chopped roughly)
4 ribs celery, cut up into large pieces
1 head garlic, sliced in half
water
1 bay leaf
kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper
olive oil
fresh parsley

Yields about 8 cups of stock

Basic Homemade Chicken Stock: Roast the chicken and veggies

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 sheet pans with foil and parchment paper and set aside.

Like I said, I had big package of chicken necks. Give them a rinse and pat them dry.

Cut up your veggies and spread them out on one of your prepared pans. Sprinkle with a little kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Drizzle with a little olive oil.

Toss to coat.

Spread the chicken out on the second pan. Sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat.

Pop both pans into your preheated 425 degree oven.

Roast for about an hour, until the chicken and veggies are nicely browned.

Basic Homemade Chicken Stock: Simmer the stock

When your chicken and veggies are browned, yank them out of the oven. Transfer the veggies to your stock pot.

Be sure to get all that juice and those brown bits.

Toss in a handful of fresh parsley if you have it on hand.

Toss the chicken into the pot with the veggies.

Again, scrape in all the juice and brown bits.

Fill the pot about 3/4 of the way full with cold water.

Give it a stir.

Toss in a little kosher salt.

Drop in a fresh bay leaf.

Set the pot on the stove over high heat. Bring it to a boil. When it starts to boil, drop the heat to low and simmer it.

When it’s been simmering for a few minutes, skim some of the fat off the surface and discard.

Drop the heat to low and cover the pot tightly. Simmer for about 1 1/2 hours. Peek at it every once and a while and skim more fat off if needed. Your stock should look about like this:

Basic Homemade Chicken Stock: Strain the stock

When the stock is ready, strain the solids out of it.

Discard the solids. (They’ll pretty much have given up all their goodness and flavor to the stock.)

Once I’ve removed the solids, I like to strain it one more time, to get all the tiny little bits out of it. Sometimes I use my chinois for this, but honestly, I hate washing the thing. Set a strainer over a large bowl. Line it with a paper towel or some cheese cloth.

Ladle the stock through the cloth into the bowl.

Repeat until you’ve strained all the stock.

You should wind up with a bunch of gunk in the strainer:

And a bunch of beautiful stock in the bowl:

You probably strained most of the fat off when it was simmering, but if you didn’t, skim most of the rest off now.

Let the stock cool to room temperature, then stick it in the fridge for 2-3 days, or split up among smaller containers and freeze for up to 3 months.

Basic Homemade Chicken Stock: Serve and enjoy!

Like I said, there are a zillion ways to use chicken stock, but my all-time favorite has to be chicken noodle soup.

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