Ricotta Meatballs

The thing I love about meatballs is that you can put anything in them and they still taste great.  Well, almost anything...........

Italians love their meatballs!  This recipe is a variation of my original meatball recipe.  Here are the ingredients:

• 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
• Olive oil, 1/4 cup
• Shallots - 1 large shallot, minced
• Garlic - 4 cloves minced
• Parmesan Cheese - 1 cup shredded
• Parsely - chopped, 1/2 cup
• Basil - chopped, 1/4 cup
• Ground Beef - 1 pound
• Italian sausage, ground, 1/2 pound
• 1 egg
• Ricotta cheese - 1 cup
• Salt
• Pepper 

 Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl.  Roll the meatballs to the size you want.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Let the meatballs finish cooking in your sauce.  Here is a great recipe for marinara sauce.  If you aren't planning on serving these with sauce, finish cooking them in the oven.

Mangia!

Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake

The best cheesecake I ever had was from Tony's restaurant, here in St. Louis, MO.  It was a light, fluffy ricotta cheesecake, with a hint of lemon.  Cheesecake is my downfall..............ok, one of many!

Here are the ingredients:

Crust:

1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, cold
1 1/4 cup flour
Pinch of salt
2-4 tablespoons of ice cold water

In your food processor, chop the nuts.  Add the flour, sugar and salt.  Cut the butter up into cubes and add.  Pulse until the mixture is crumb-like.  Add the water (make sure it is cold) 1 tablespoon at a time.  Add enough until a dough forms.

Press into the bottom of a cheesecake pan.  Cook for 8-10 minutes in a 350 degree oven until golden brown.

For the filling:

2 packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
15 oz. ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons lemon curd or lemon zest
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream

In your mixer, cream together cream cheese and sugar.  Add the ricotta cheese and eggs, one of a time.  Add lemon curd, vanilla and heavy cream.

Add the cheesecake filling to the cheesecake pan.

If your cheesecake pan is small enough to put inside another pan,  wrap the outside in foil so water can't get in.  Put the pan inside the larger one and fill it with water, creating a water bath.  This will help the cheesecake cook with steam so that cracks will not be created.

My cheesecake pan was too large to fit inside another pan.  Instead, I filled another bowl full of water and put it below the cheesecake pan in the oven.

Cook at 325 for 1 hour-1 hour and 20 minutes.  Take out of the oven when the middle of the cheesecake is set and the sides begin to brown.

Let the cheesecake cool completely.

Ingredients for the lemon curd:

4 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup flour
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons lemon zest

Make sure you get fresh lemon juice!

Mix all ingredients together and cook until slightly boiling.  Whisk constantly.  Remove from heat and let it cool.

Cook the curd until slightly boiling.  Remove from heat and let cool.

Top the cheesecake with a layer of lemon curd and whipped cream.

Don't forget to save your extra lemon curd!  It freezes well!

Enjoy!  This recipe is listed on Chic and Crafty Party
 

Stuffed Shells With Meatballs!

Do you love the taste of lasagna but don't have the time to put all of the layers together?  This recipe will give you the "cheesiness" of lasagna but without all of the time and effort.  It is a simple cheese mixture put into large shells, then covered with marinara sauce and meatballs.

Here are the ingredients:

Meatballs:

1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 egg
3 tablespoons Ricotta cheese
Salt
Pepper
Fresh parsley

Sauce:

http://rediscovermom.blogspot.com/2013/01/marinara-sauce.html

Shells:

1 box Jumbo shells
1 container of Ricotta cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg
Fresh parsley
Salt
Pepper
1 cup shredded cheese

To begin, mix the ingredients for the meatballs.  Roll into balls and sear in a large saute pan.

Add marinara sauce and let that simmer for 30 minutes or so.

In a large stock pot, boil water with salt.  Cook the shells, al dente - still with a little crunch/bite to it.  The pasta will finish cooking in the oven.  When the shells are al dente, drain and set aside.

Assemble the cheese mixture.  Mix the ricotta, cheeses, salt, pepper, parsley, and egg.  Stuff the shells with the cheese mixture and place in an oven proof pan with a little sauce in the bottom of the pan.


Ladle sauce and meatballs on the top of the shells.  Cover with foil and cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.


Remove foil and top with 1 cup shredded Italian cheese (Mozzarella, Provel, Provelone, etc).  Put back in the oven until the cheese melts.

Mangia!

This recipe is listed on

Homemade Ricotta Cheese!

Italians love their ricotta cheese, but it wasn't until the last few years that it was abundant in grocery stores.  So, what did my Nonna do?  She made her own and I was excited to learn that it is SUPER easy!

Here are the ingredients:

4 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup lemon juice (you can also use 3 tablespoons of white vinegar)
1 teaspoon kosher salt

In a saucepan, heat the milk, cream and salt. 

Before it boils you will notice that it gets a little foamy on the top.  The temperature should be about 185 degrees-190 degrees.  At that point, remove from the heat and pour the lemon juice in.  Let that sit about 5 minutes and then pour the mixture in a small mesh colander lined with cheesecloth.

Let that drain a few hours, then gather the cheesecloth and squeeze any excess juice.

After a few hours you can see a huge difference!

 



The ricotta can be refrigerated 4-5 days before use.

My dad said that if Nonna didn't make her own ricotta, she would send my Nonnu to a store on The Hill (the Italian neighborhood in St. Louis, MO).  He would bring it home warm and they would spread it on bread, with a little sugar, for a sweet treat!

Mangia!