Homemade Ricotta

Directions

1. Pour the milk, cream and salt into a 3-quart saucepan. Have thermometer handy, such as a digital or candy thermometer. Heat the milk to 190 degrees F, stirring it occasionally to keep it from scorching on the bottom.
2. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice, then stir it once or twice, gently and slowly. Let the pot sit undisturbed for 5 minutes
3. Line a colander with a few layers of cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl to catch the whey. Pour the curds and whey into the cheesecloth lined colander and let the curds strain for at least an hour. At an hour, you'll have a tender, spreadable ricotta. At two hours, it will be spreadable but a bit firmer, almost like cream cheese. It will firm as it cools, so do not judge its final texture by what you have in your cheesecloth.
4. Discard the whey or the strained liquid left in the bowl.
5. Serve ricotta on 1/2 inch slices of baguette that have been brushed with melted butter or olive oil and baked in the oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes at 375 degrees F. Serve ricotta simply with a drizzle of honey and sea salt or a couple grinds of pepper, pinch of sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil or just a few droplets of aged balsamic vinegar or balsamic syrup(reduced balsamic vinegar).
6. You can make the ricotta ahead of time, as it should stay fresh for about a week in the refrigerator. I have frozen ricotta(I try not to but don't want to waste it) and then use the ricotta in a pasta dish.