Homemade Mozzarella Cheese

Yesterday, DC schools had a snow day! By the end of the day, we had about 4 inches of snow, which is more than we have gotten here since I moved to DC. It actually wasn't that bad out, but I will always take a snow day when I can get it!

My friend Lauren also had the day off, so we decided to have her over to help us make some homemade cheese from a kit that I bought a couple of days earlier. We read the instructions carefully, and jumped right in. I used a gallon of milk that I bought at the grocery store, and I didn't have any bottled water on hand, but it still worked.

The process of cheese making was tons of fun; Lauren even made a snowman out of cheese (because I didn't want to go outside to make a real snowman!). The cheese itself was tasty, but under seasoned and a little bit tough. If I were to make it again, I would add more salt and would try to stretch the cheese longer than we did.

If you have a day off and are feeling adventurous, give this recipe a try!

Homemade Mozzarella Cheese

Courtesy of Roaring Brook Diary Homemade Mozzarella Kit

Ingredients
1 gallon pasteurized, whole, or 2% milk (NOT ultra- pasteurized; as fresh as possible)
1 1/2 level teaspoon citric acid
1/4 rennet (enzyme) tablet
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

Equipment
Thermometer
Rubber Gloves
Measuring spoons
Stainless steel or strong plastic slotted spoon
One or Two quart microwave safe mixing bowl
Colander
1 gallon stainless steel pot or any non-aluminum pot

Preparation
1. Wash your hands
2. Make sure your equipment (pots and utensils) are completely sterilized and clean
3. Have a timer near your stove
4. Prepare the rennet water solution by dissolving 1/4 tablet of rennet in 1/4 cup cold water (chlorine free/bottled). Set aside. Wrap the remaining pieces of tablet and store in freezer for future use.
5. Measure 1.5 teaspoons of citric acid into 1 cup of cold water. Stir to dissolve completely and set aside.

Heating the Milk
1. Gently pour the milk into the pot
2. Heat the milk over a medium-low flame. Using the cooking thermometer, check the temperature of the pot. At 85 degrees F (it could take about 10 minutes to heat up), add the citric acid. Stir with a slotted spoon or whisk slowly for 20 seconds.
3. When the milk reaches 100 degrees F (this could take about 5 minutes), stir in the rennet-water solution and add it to the milk. Use a slotted spoon to gently stir the milk in an up and down motion for approximately 30 seconds.

Developing the Curds
1. Heat the milk a little more to 105 degrees F and then turn the heat off. Cover the pot and let it sit for 10 minutes. You should see signs of coagulation. The curds should look like shiny yogurt and begin to pull away from the side of the pot. The whey should look like it has a yellow tint to it.
2. To check if the curds are ready gently press the back of a teaspoon into the curds. If it leaves a dent, the curds are ready. If it does not, allow the curds to sit undisturbed for another 2 minutes.

Draining the Curds
In the following steps, the goal is to drain as much whey as possible from the curds. Always handle the curds gently.
1. Place the colander over a large microwaveable safe bowl.
2. Using a strainer or a slotted spoon, gently lift up the curds and let the whey drip back into the pot. Then place the curds in the colander.
3. When all the curds are in the colander, gently press the curds with the palm of your hand to push out as much whey as possible. When there is almost no whey coming out of the curds (this could take a few minutes), place the curds in a microwaveable bowl.
4. Again, using the palms of your hands, press down gently on curds and remove as much whey as possible.

Cooking and Kneading the Curds
1. Microwave the curds for 1 minute.
2. Put on the pair of gloves to protect your hands from the heat. Remove the bowl of curds from the microwave. Drain the whey and then gently fold the curds over to distribute the heat. Continue to drain out the whey.
3. Microwave the curds for an additional 30 seconds. Drain and knead the curds again. If it is still too hot to touch even with the gloves on, use a large spoon to fold the curds over. Knead the curds until it begins to look smooth, shiny, and is firming up (this can take 3 minutes or so).

IF you don't have a microwave.... (like me!), substitute the following directions for the Cooking and Kneading section:
1. Heat the reserved whey to 175 degrees. Shape the curds into several small balls, rolling them between your palms. Put them, one at a time, into a ladle and dip them in the hot whey for several seconds. Then gently fold the cheese over and over (as in kneading bread) with a spoon or your hand. You will want to wear gloves at this point because the cheese is extremely hot. This distributes the heat evenly throughout the cheese, which will not stretch until it is too hot to touch (145 degrees inside the curd).
2. Repeat this process several times until the curd is smooth and pliable; mix in salt after the second time. When the cheese stretches like taffy, it's done. If the curds break instead of stretch, they are too cool and need to be reheated.

Stretching the Cheese
1. Try to stretch the cheese now. It must be 135 degrees to stretch properly. If it isn't hot enough, microwave for another 30 seconds. Add the salt and any other herbs and begin to work into the cheese by stretching and folding, and repeat this movement. Holding the cheese up, let it fall on itself. If you prefer a softer texture, don't stretch cheese as much. As soon as it is smooth and shiny (will feel and look like taffy), shape it into a ball. You can separate the cheese and make two mozzarella balls.

Forming the Cheese into a Mozzarella Ball
1. Form a ball by pulling and tucking the edges underneath the cheese and smoothing the top and sides. If you want to eat it warm, just wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Or, if you want to keep the shape, place each ball in a large bowl of ice water for about 15 minutes.
2. Remove from the ice water, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate.

Seamus and I hadn't had friends over in a long time; the past two weeks we were out of town, and before that we were both bogged down with work and school. Now that it is time for the playoffs in football, we figured it would be the perfect time to whip something up and have friends over to watch the game.

Neither Shea or I had ever made paella before, but we both love it. We thought we would give this recipe a try because it had the combo of sasauge, chicken, and seafood we were looking for, but wasn't as complicated as some of the other recipes we looked at online. We added pimento peppers at the end for extra flavor and color; this was a huge hit!

Seafood-and-Chicken Paella with Chorizo

Courtesy of Food and Wine at http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/seafood-and-chicken-paella-with-chorizo

1. 4 ounces fresh chorizo, casings removed
2. 1 small onion, thinly sliced
3. 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
4. 1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes
5. 1 cup arborio rice
6. Pinch of saffron threads dissolved in 2 tablespoons of water
7. 1 1/2 cups water
8. Salt and freshly ground pepper
9. 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
10. 1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined
11. 1/4 cup dry white wine
12. 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
13. 1/2 pound mussels, scrubbed and debearded
14. 1/2 pound cockles, scrubbed and rinsed
15. 1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, preferably dark meat (8 ounces)
16. 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
17. 1 scallion, thinly sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a 10-inch paella pan or ovenproof skillet, cook the chorizo over moderate heat, breaking it up with a spoon, until some of the fat is rendered and the chorizo is browned, 4 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook over low heat, stirring, until softened and just beginning to brown, 8 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, saffron with its liquid and the 1 1/2 cups of water. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat, without stirring, until the rice is al dente and the liquid is absorbed, 15 minutes.
2. In a large skillet, heat the 1/4 cup of olive oil until shimmering. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper, add them to the skillet and cook over high heat, turning once, until pink and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to the rice. Discard the oil.
3. Wipe out the skillet. Pour in the wine and lemon juice. Add the mussels and cockles, cover and cook, shaking the skillet, until the mussels open, about 3 minutes. Pour the mussels and cockles and their cooking liquid over the rice.
4. Stir the cooked chicken into the rice. Cover and cook in the oven for about 5 minutes, until the paella is just heated through. Garnish with the parsley and scallion, drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and serve.

Prime Rib with Garlic and Blue Cheese Dressing

My family eats prime rib at every big family party we have. I love my memories of eating prime rib at my Grandma's farm in Gettysburg with all of our aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends together, dipping our bread in the blood that drains off the meat when you cut it.

This recipe is my mom's twist on our old family classic. She made this dish years ago when Senator Tim Johnson came to eat with us; it was such a hit that it has turned into our classic preparation of a celebration meal.

Most recently my mom made this for Shea and me on Christmas, and it was as delicious as ever. I took the opportunity to nab the recipe, so if I ever have a celebration to cook for I can make it just like mom does!

Prime Rib with Garlic and Blue Cheese Dressing

Courtesy of my Mom via Weber Grill

Ask your butcher to remove the bones from the prime rib and tie them back on so you get both the irreplaceable flavor of roasted bones and the convenience of easily removing them prior to carving.

Ingredients
1 standing prime rib roast (2 to 3 ribs), 5 to 6 pounds, trimmed of excess fat
6 large garlic cloves
1/4 cup fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

For the Dressing:
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 medium garlic clove, thinly sliced
6 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Remove the roast from the refrigerator 30 to 40 minutes before grilling.

In a food processor finely mince the garlic, rosemary, basil, salt, and pepper. Add the mustard and olive oil, and process to form a paste. Smear the paste all over the top of the roast, above the trimmed layer of fat.

Grill or roast the roast to an internal temperature of 135 degrees for medium rare, 1 1/4 - 1 3/4 of an hour. Rest for 20-30 minutes before serving.