ricotta

so i'm just now getting into twitter

// i'm also just now getting into harry potter- WHAT is wrong with me?

i've had like 3 accounts 

the first one, my friend dom created for me in college for reasons i still don't know

that was @butterfanatic

which is pretty appropriate-  i'm still really into butter

in fact, should my blog have been called butter fanatic instead of bloom & zest? shit.

okay so one day i decided, you know, i want a real twitter account

so then i made another account @amylvalle

and never tweeted or really understood it's purpose

and now, i've created @bloomandzest

3rd time's a charm, right?

I finally figured out how to tweet

and i'm feeling good about it

it feels more personal but in a less invasive way than snapchat? 

moral of the story- first impressions are wack + we should tweet at each other, yeah? 

the irrelevant spark for this tangent--

epicurious tweeted something about  "how to eat cheese for dinner like an adult"

and if that doesn't catch your eye, then who are you really? I don't trust you.

the article is basically about how ricotta goes w/anything and could be a great base for a meal

kind of like a smoothie or yogurt bowl but a ricotta bowl

so then i thought...huh, i feel like ricotta should be better than it actually is

and that profound thought was the beginning of everything

i made ricotta over the weekend + my world was rocked

making cheese from scratch sounds dramatic

but it's really not hard- i used bon appetit's recipe

milk, cream, lemon juice, kosher salt, strain, done

ricotta in the true traditional sense is done differently

ricotta means "to cook again" in italian so authentic ricotta is made from leftover whey recovered when making other cheeses- acid + whole milk are not involved

but whatever, this inauthentic ricotta tastes too good to care

so freaking creamy... not gritty in the least

i feel like i need to make lasagna, put a dollop in every pasta dish, spread it on toast, eat it w/fruit, honey, basil, olive oil, dflkajflkjdslkfajsdoifjewiojealkdsklfjasegsd

this time around, i made it kind of like a dip w/some of marcella hazan's ridiculous tomato sauce + baguette

you should do the same

and lastly, something unrelated... again

anyone watching/watched master of none on netflix?

i like it

it's a fantastic balance of humor + serious life issues w/ an overall upbeat vibe

or maybe I'm just biased because I connect with dev/aziz?

the last episode is the best episode and i really really really love how it ended

i also really like how the first episode ended

i wish I could write about it but I also don't want to spoil it

so hurry up and go make some ricotta + watch 10 episodes of master of none

NOW

oh + follow me on twitter :)

XO amy

fresh ricotta - BA recipe

tips

in large saucepan- heat milk + cream + salt to a boil (i checked mine at 190F) // remove from heat // add lemon juice

allow to sit for 5-10 minutes // strain for at least an hour // the longer you strain the thicker/dryer your ricotta will be

ingredients

whole milk, 2 c.
heavy cream, 1 c.
kosher salt, 1/2 tsp
fresh lemon juice, 2 Tbsp

whatever you do, be sure to not buy ULTRA PASTERUIRZED milk or cream-- your ricotta will not curdle + form into a cheese