Archives for February 2020

To make it...

Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Drop in the green beans and cook, uncovered, 5 to 7 minutes or until tender but still crisp. Drain. (Can be made ahead to this point. Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Place in a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate.) Dry the saucepan and return it to the stove. Toast the mustard seeds over low heat just until they pop, about 1 minute, stirring to prevent scorching. Add the honey and vinegar and cook until the sauce boils and becomes syrupy. Add the green beans and toss.

To fake it...and save 15 minutes

Thaw three 9-ounce packages whole green beans under warm running water. Place in a skillet with 1/2 cup bottled honey-mustard salad dressing. Over medium heat, toss until heated through, adding more dressing if necessary to lightly coat all the green beans.

Line a large colander or sieve with 5 layers of dampened cheesecloth, allowing the cheesecloth to extend over outside edges of colander; place colander in a large bowl.

Combine milk and buttermilk in a large, heavy stockpot. Attach a candy thermometer to edge of pan so that thermometer extends at least 2 inches into milk mixture. Cook over medium-high heat until candy thermometer registers 170° (about 20 minutes), gently stirring occasionally. As soon as milk mixture reaches 170°, stop stirring (whey and curds will begin separating at this point). Continue to cook, without stirring, until the thermometer registers 190°. (Be sure not to stir, or curds that have formed will break apart.) Immediately remove pan from heat. (Bottom of pan may be slightly scorched.)

Using a slotted spoon, gently spoon curds into cheesecloth-lined colander; discard whey, or reserve it for another use. Drain over bowl for 5 minutes. Gather edges of cheesecloth together; tie securely. Hang cheesecloth bundle from kitchen faucet; drain 15 minutes or until whey stops dripping. Scrape ricotta into a bowl. Sprinkle with salt; toss gently with a fork to combine. Cool to room temperature.

Note: Store in refrigerator up to 4 days.