Posted on April 23rd, 2011 by Sara Moulton | Filed under Blog « New Discoveries | Submit Comment
The first time I ever made ricotta cheese was in my dining room at Gourmet Magazine. It was based on a family recipe from the magazine’s art director Richard Feretti. And it was amazing. Not only did it taste so much better than the supermarket version (anything homemade tastes better anyway, doesn’t it? or at least we think it does) but it was just so easy to make. Let me take you through the process.
First, if you are able… 
I don’t know about you but I have always been vaguely suspicious about anything labeled “ground beef” or “hamburger.” I am even more suspicious since I’ve read a few articles about what a meat purveyor is legally allowed to put in to that mix. For awhile, I was recommending to my students that they buy ground meat from just one muscle – for example: ground round, ground chuck, ground sirloin. Then I read another article that said those packages were… 
I love it when I figure out how to make something that seemed so out of reach, particularly if that something can be made from scratch with good ingredients and no additives. I like being in control. I have three of those kind of discoveries that I would like to share with you in the next few blogs. Let’s start with butter.
Homemade Butter…
It has happened to all of us. You start beating heavy cream in a mixer to 
My Black Thumb…
Whenever I teach a cooking class I always tell my students to read the whole recipe through from start to finish, before they begin to cook. That way they can avoid that unfortunate moment when the guests are seated and waiting at the dining room table and they come across the part of the recipe that says to “chill overnight.”
I usually follow my own good advice when making a new recipe, particularly one that is out 
