ricotta cheese

the pasta BLT dish i created calls for ricotta cheese, and i decided to make it from scratch after i saw this recipe for it in a guest post by david lebowitz at simplyrecipes.com. wow, how easy, and much better tasting–not as salty–as what we find in the markets. did i mention less expensive? this recipe made a generous two cups, just about what i'll need for my pasta BLT recipe: http://eatwithaspoon.blogspot.com/2009/12/pasta-blt.html 

this is what the curds look like when they are draining in cheese cloth

ingredients
makes 2 cups
ingredients
• 1/2 gallon of milk
• 1 cup of plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• 2 tsp. of white vinegar
• 1 tsp. salt
directions
1. in a large pot, bring all of the ingredients to a boil. gently boil for several minutes until the milk is curdled.
2. meanwhile, line a large colander with several layers of cheese cloth and put it in the sink.
3. pour the milk mixture into the colander & let all of the water drain away. let the curds drain for about 15 min. then gather the cheeescloth around them and gently squeeze out any excess liquid.
4. store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.