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Fresh Mozzarella

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Heather

We love fresh mozzarella and it is the cheese that attracted me to cheese-making in the first place. I’ve made it ashore, but this was the first year I tried making it aboard. Our results, although delicious, were somewhat different in texture from the mozzarella I’ve made ashore. I plan to do some further experimentation to see if the texture difference is a result of using powdered milk, or perhaps from the constant motion aboard the boat.

The method outlined below is based on Ricki the Cheese Queen’s 30 Minute Mozzarella recipe in “Home Cheese Making”. She sells an excellent kit for beginners that includes everything needed to make ricotta and mozzarella.

Fresh Mozzarella

Cheesemaking ingredients needed for mozzarella making: rennet, citric acid, and lipase.

Yield: ¾ to 1 pound

Ingredients:

1 ½ teaspoons citric acid dissolved in ½ cup cool water
¼ teaspoon lipase powder dissolved in ¼ cup cool water (optional)
¼ teaspoon liquid rennet (or ¼ rennet tablet) dissolved in ¼ cup cool water
1 gallon pasteurized (NOT ultra-pasteurized) milk or a 4 liter packet of Nido powdered milk dissolved in 3600 ml of water
1 teaspoon cheese salt or other fine salt (optional)

Method:

Individually mix up the three items that are dissolved in water: citric acid, lipase powder, and rennet, and allow to stand.
Mix the citric acid and the lipase (if using) with your milk. If you are using nonfat powdered milk instead of fresh milk or Nido, add 1 pint of light cream or half and half.
Heat the milk to 90 degrees, stirring constantly. Remove the milk from the heat and stir in the diluted rennet with a slow up-and-down motion for about 30 seconds. Cover the pot and leave undisturbed for 5 minutes or so.
Check the curd. It should be custard-like with clear separation between the curd and the whey. Aboard the boat, using Nido, I generally find that I need to let the milk stand longer for the curd to fully develop. Once it is set, cut the curd with a knife that reaches all the way to the bottom of the pot. Cut first in one direction, then at a 90 angle to the first cut, then finally diagonally through the curds to separate them into something cube-like.
Put the pot of curds back on the stove and heat until the temperature reaches 105 degrees, moving the curds around gently with a spoon. If you don’t have a microwave available, heat the curds to 110 degrees in this step. Remove from the heat and continue to stir slowly for about 5 minutes.
Scoop the curds out of the pot with a slotted spoon and put them into a microwavable bowl. Press them gently with your hands, pouring off as much whey as possible. If you don’t have a microwave, reserve the whey remaining in the pot.What you do next will depend on whether you have a microwave:
Warming the mozzarella prior to kneading.

Microwave method: Heat the curds on HIGH for 1 minute. Drain off excess whey and gently knead the cheese with your hand or a spoon. Careful: it’s hot! Repeat two more times, adding the optional salt during the second kneading. Once the cheese is sufficiently hot, knead quickly until it is smooth and elastic. The recipe calls for the cheese to be hot enough to stretch like taffy, but I wasn’t able to achieve this level on the boat with my wimpy microwave.
Non-microwave method: Heat the reserved whey to at least 175 degrees. Add ¼ cup of cheese salt to the whey. Shape the curds into 2 or 3 balls and put them into a slotted spoon or strainer. Dip the cheese balls into the hot whey for 10 – 15 seconds at a time. Knead the curds with spoons (or your hands in heavy rubber gloves) between each dip. Repeat the process several times until the curd is smooth and elastic.
Whichever method you use, once the cheese is smooth and shiny, form it into small balls and eat while warm. If you aren’t going to use the mozzarella immediately, cover and store in the refrigerator. If you have ice available, cooling the cheese quickly in a bowl of ice water seems to improve the texture.

A one pound lump of mozzarella from this recipe.

Our mozzarella had a firm texture that sliced cleanly, but was missing the velvety softness that I love in freshly-made mozzarella that I’ve purchased at farmer’s markets. Still, it was delicious, and we gladly used it for caprese salad, lasagna, calzones, and grilled pizzas. We also made delicious appetizers using a thin slice of mozzarella on a crostini, topped with a tapenade of minced fresh tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and basil. Yum!

Bottom line: Takes pre-planning to have the specialized ingredients aboard, but well worthwhile if you don’t have easy access to mozzarella or a good substitute.

Fair winds and following seas,

Heather, The Cruising Cook

Mozzarella Illustrated
Nido brand powdered milk is readily available in Mexico.	The powdered milk is dissolved in the pot.
The milk mixture is warmed to 90 degrees.	Rennet diluted in water is added to the milk.
The milk mixture rests until the curd forms.	The curd is sliced into cubes with a long knife or spatula.
Making mozzarella with Nido seems to result in a finer, less cohesive curd than with fresh milk.	The mozzarella is kneaded to smooth the texture.

Posted in Appetizers, Main Dishes, Recipes, Techniques | 1 Comment

Gisela’s Recipe

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Heather

Late in the cruising season, I find myself turning again and again to “Gisela’s Recipe,” named for our friend Gisela on S/V Shared Dreams. Whenever asked for a recipe, Gisela invariably answered with, “Well, you start with what you have…..” I always think of her as the season winds down and I try to figure out new ways to use the ingredients remaining aboard!

Gisela of S/V Shared Dreams, the inspiration for this blog post.

After doing a freezer inventory, I realized I had a package of nice ground lamb from the “Canadian deli” in La Manzanilla and a half package of frozen spinach. I also had walnuts and dried apricots left, so started to think about a Moroccan-influenced dish. In my spice box was the remains of a Moroccan spice mix that I had made for another purpose. Since we’re in Mexico and Chris was busily making tortillas, I thought – Moroccan Tacos! Why not? A more traditional way to serve the lamb mixture would be over couscous or rice.

Moroccan Tacos

Serves 3 – 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound ground lamb
½ teaspoon salt
1 – 2 tablespoons Moroccan spice mix to taste (see below)
8 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and drained
½ cup walnut pieces, toasted
¼ cup dried apricots, chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice

Moroccan Spice Mix*

4 parts nutmeg
4 parts cumin
4 parts coriander
2 parts allspice
2 parts ground ginger
1 part cayenne pepper
1 part cinnamon

* Gisela’s recipe applies here as well: use what you have!

Toasting walnuts for moroccan style lamb tacos.

Toasting walnuts enhances their flavor.

Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet, stirring frequently and watching carefully to ensure they don’t burn. This is always a nice step to intensify the flavor of nuts before using. It’s especially important, however, when the nuts have been aboard for awhile and are a little tired.

Cooking the lamb mixture.

Heat oil in large skillet. Add chopped onion and cook until onion is soft. Add ground lamb and cook until the lamb is no longer pink. Add the salt and Moroccan spice mix (you may want to start with the lesser amount and adjust at the end). Cook, stirring, for a minute or two until the spices are fragrant. Add the spinach and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the walnut pieces and apricots and cook for 2 – 3 minutes. Add the lime juice, stir thoroughly, then taste and adjust the seasoning with additional spice mix, salt, and lime juice, as needed.

Serve on tortillas or over couscous and top with plain yogurt. Enjoy!

As the cruising season winds down, it’s “Chopped” every night aboard Legacy….

Fair winds and following seas,

Heather, The Cruising Cook

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In Search of the Perfect Tortilla

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Heather

Walking away from the tortilleria, I took a bite of the warm, thin, delicate tortilla. Could this be the one? The perfect tortilla that I’ve been seeking? It could be – it has just enough substance to hold together, no floury taste, just the right amount of lard for an unctuous mouth feel, and still warm from the comal of the older Mexican woman who had made it by hand. Back on our sailboat, Legacy, I gave it another test, just to make sure. I spread the tortilla with butter and grated over it the hard Mexican brown sugar known as piloncillo. It was such a mouth-watering combination, I would have been happy to eat the whole stack and call it dinner.

Our quest for the perfect tortilla began when we arrived in Mexico after cruising down the Pacific Coast from Alaska. After a season of cruising aboard Legacy, we had narrowed our requirements. We decided that we preferred flour tortillas to corn, and that we liked thinner, more delicate tortillas to the thicker, bread-like tortillas found in the Southwestern U.S. and parts of Mexico. After exhaustive research – in other words eating lots of tortillas – we had focused in on the delectable tortillas found on the Baja California peninsula. In the larger cities of the Baja such as La Paz and Cabo San Lucas, we found that the tortillerias were larger or located within a big supermarket. The tortillas were good enough, but lacking in the charm and character we were seeking. We decided to look further, and explored the smaller towns and villages of the area.

In the smaller communities, there are generally one or more women who make tortillas by hand. These women have an important role in the life of the community, and just about anyone we encountered could direct us to the local tortilleria. We found credible contenders for the title of perfect tortillas in San Evaristo, Bahia Concepcion, and Loreto.

Workers at the Santa Rosalia tortillaria press, cook, and cool the delicious flat breads!

In the quaint mining town of Santa Rosalia, we found a fascinating small tortilla factory where we were able to watch our tortillas being made. The entire process took place in one large room. At the first station, a young woman sat with a large pan of dough balls and an electric tortilla press. As the dough came out of the press, she flipped the pressed dough onto a huge griddle tended by a young man. Once the tortillas were cooked on both sides, he flipped them onto a large metal cooling grate. The two women working at the counter snatched the fresh tortillas off the cooling grate, bagged them in one-kilo parcels, and sold them about as fast as they could be produced. The result was an excellent tortilla and we awarded it extra points for pure entertainment value.

The small village of Agua Verde on the inside of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. Home of the perfect tortilla!

The Santa Rosalia tortilla was the leading contender until we arrived at the remote village of Agua Verde. A laughing group of kids greeted us as we arrived on the beach and led us to the local tienda to buy groceries. We asked the shopkeeper for tortillas and she dispatched one of her children to the local tortilla maker. By the time we finished our shopping, the young boy was back with our made-to-order tortillas, still too warm to touch comfortably. We had barely paid for our purchases and left the tienda before we ripped into the package and started snacking on the warm tortillas. By the next day, we had consumed the entire kilo and headed back for more. Yes, we have a winner! Our perfect tortilla was found in a tiny village with no electricity or running water, but lots of friendly people and lovingly prepared food. Since then, Agua Verde has been one of our favorite stops when cruising in Mexico.

Sadly, as much as we love our current cruising locale – Tenacatita and the Gold Coast of Pacific Mexico mainland – in this part of the country, corn tortillas are the norm. Most of the flour tortillas we find are factory-made, shelf-stable, cardboard-like tortillas. Therefore, we set out to see if we could reproduce our favorite Baja-style tortillas. Ours don’t rival hand-made Baja tortillas, but they are definitely better than what we can buy on the Gold Coast.

Flour Tortillas

Makes 12 six-inch tortillas

2 cups white flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder (optional)
5 tablespoons lard (substitute: vegetable shortening)
½ cup warm water
more lard
more flour

Put the flour, salt, and baking powder (if using) into a mixing bowl and mix them together until blended. Add the 5 tablespoons lard to the bowl and mix the lard into the flour mixture with your hands until the lard is evenly distributed. The texture should be something like cornmeal. Add the water to make a soft, easily kneaded dough. Turn the dough out and knead it for about three minutes (don’t over knead). The dough should have a nice velvety texture.

Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and coat with a little melted lard. Place all the balls in a bowl and cover with a moist towel. Let the dough rest at least 15 minutes, and as long as two hours.

Flatten the dough balls with the heel of your hand on a lightly floured surface and roll into thin tortillas about 5 to 6 inches in diameter. (If the dough feels rubbery and resists rolling try letting it rest a while longer, also add a little more water to the dough next time.) I find that rolling once in one direction and then flipping and turning the tortilla and rolling once in the other direction several times gives a nice round shape. Don’t stack the uncooked tortillas; leave them laying on the floured surface until you put them in the pan.

Cook the tortillas one at a time in a heavy pan preheated over medium heat. As soon as small bubbles form, flip the tortilla and cook the other side until very lightly browned. The tortillas should cook quickly. Tortillas will keep for several days in the refrigerator.

Fair winds and following seas,

Heather, The Cruising Cook

Homemade Tortillas Illustrated
Tortillas are really simple. The only ingredients are flour, salt, lard, and water.	Mix in the lard until the dry ingredients take on a consistency like cornmeal.
After mixing in the water, the tortilla dough is kneaded for about 3 minutes until smooth and elastic.	After kneading, the tortilla dough is cut into equal pieces – 12 pieces for medium tortillas, 16 for small.
The dough is formed into balls and then coated with lard.	After being coated with lard the dough balls are allowed to rest from 15 minutes to two hours.
The tortillas are cooked quickly on a medium hot dry pan, or a griddle.	Just add water to make tortillas with this mix. Not nearly as good as homemade, however.

Posted in Cruising, Recipes | 2 Comments

Delicious Homemade Ricotta

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Heather

Okay, this is a cheese that any cruiser or home cook can make! No special ingredients, equipment, or techniques are required. The only things needed to make ricotta are milk, acid, and heat. You also need some way to drain the soft cheese, such as a cheesecloth-lined sieve or colander. If you don’t have any cheesecloth, cut up a clean white tee-shirt to line the sieve. The cloth can be washed and re-used. Some people use coffee filters or paper towels instead. For the acid, you can use vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice, or citric acid (1 teaspoon citric acid mixed in 1/4 cup water).

I am including recipes for two styles of ricotta, one that makes a small quantity of a very rich and creamy ricotta that is great as a spread, and another that makes a larger quantity of standard ricotta which is good for lasagna or calzones.

Powdered milk (Nido), heavy cream, and white wine vinegar for the rich ricotta recipe.

Rich Ricotta

4 cups whole milk (not ultra-pasteurized)
1 cup heavy cream, optional (but makes a nice, creamy spread)
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons acid (a nice white wine vinegar works well)

The milk is brought to a rolling boil.

First, line your sieve or colander with cheesecloth or tee-shirt material. Making this aboard the boat, I put 900 ml of water in a medium saucepan and mixed in one 120-gram packet of Nido milk powder. Then I added a one-cup aseptic box of whipping cream (shelf-stable from Trader Joe’s) and the salt. Heat the milk, stirring occasionally, until the milk comes to a full boil. Turn off the heat and stir in the acid. Let stand for about 5 minutes until the milk curdles.

The rich ricotta recipe makes only a small amount.

Pour the curdled milk into the prepared colander and allow to drain for 20 minutes to an hour, until it reaches the desired consistency. Refrigerate in a covered container.

This ricotta is delicious on toast or crackers. For a recent raft-up, I mixed ricotta with a little minced garlic, salt, and herbs. I used basil, rosemary, and thyme, but you could use your favorite herbs. Ricotta also makes a delicious dessert when mixed with a little honey, and maybe some lime juice.

Powdered milk (Nido), cheese salt, and citric acid for standard ricotta.

Standard Ricotta

1 gallon whole milk (not ultra-pasteurized)
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons acid
1 – 2 tablespoons heavy cream, optional

Line a large colander or sieve with cheesecloth or tee-shirt material. Mix together the milk and the salt. I used one 4-liter packet of Nido milk powder combined with 3600 ml of water in a large pan. Bring the milk to a full boil, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Turn off the heat and stir the acid into the milk. Allow to stand, undisturbed, for about 10 minutes until the milk is fully curdled.

The curds are ladled into a cheesecloth lined colander for draining.

Ladle the curds into the lined colander and drain until the ricotta reaches the desired consistency. If you wish, reserve the whey remaining in the pan for other purposes, such as Whey Pizza Dough (see below). If you’d like the ricotta a little creamier, add a couple of tablespoons of heavy cream and mix thoroughly. The ricotta can be stored, covered, in the fridge for 1 – 2 weeks, and it is wonderful for lasagna or calzones.

I used this ricotta to make delicious calzones, using the following recipe which was adapted from one in Ricki Carroll’s “Home Cheese Making” book.

Pepperoni and Olive Calzones

Makes 6

Whey Pizza Dough:

3 – 3 ½ cups flour
1 tablespoon yeast
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup very warm (120 – 130 degrees) whey or milk
2 tablespoons olive oil

Filling:

1 ½ cups ricotta
1 ½ cups grated mozzarella
½ cups grated parmesan
½ teaspoon salt
About 2 ounces pepperoni, slivered
1 small can sliced black olives, drained
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon rosemary
Olive oil
Cornmeal

Filling is measured onto the calzone dough rounds before sealing.

Prepare the pizza dough by combining 2 cups of the flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Add the whey (or milk) and olive oil. Add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, 4 – 6 minutes. Cover and let rest on a floured surface for 10 minutes.

While the dough is resting, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, salt, pepperoni, olives, garlic, and rosemary in a medium bowl.

Divide the dough into six equal pieces, and roll each piece into a circle about 7 inches in diameter. Place a rounded ½ cup of the filling on one-half of each circle. Fold the dough over the filling and seal the edges by pinching or pressing with a fork.

Lightly oil two cookie sheets, then sprinkle with cornmeal. Place three calzones on each pan. Make three slits across the top of each calzone with a sharp knife. Brush the tops with olive oil.

Calzone ready for the oven with a light coating of olive oil and slits to vent steam.

Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the calzones for about 25 minutes. When they are nicely browned, remove from the oven and brush with additional olive oil. Serve warm.

Note: My oven on the boat will only hold one cookie sheet at a time, so we put one pan of calzones in the fridge to slow down the rising while the first batch baked. The leftover calzones reheated nicely for lunch.

Posted in Appetizers, Desserts, Main Dishes, Recipes, Techniques | Leave a comment

Sweet and Savory Sauces from Mexican Chocolate

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Heather

The most readily available chocolate in Mexico is sweet, grainy chocolate intended for drinking. Since so many cruisers crave chocolate, I set out to see what we could do using Mexican chocolate. Common brands are Ibarra, Abuelita, and Don Gustavo.

Flavored Dessert Sauces

The first sauce I tried combined chocolate with a mild orange flavor:

3 disks Mexican drinking chocolate (about 9 ounces)
1 cup water
1 ½ tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur, optional (in Mexico, the common brand is Controy)

Coarsely chop the chocolate and add it to a small saucepan with the water and liqueur, if using. Bring to a boil, stirring to fully dissolve the chocolate. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 – 10 minutes to slightly thicken the sauce. It will thicken a little more as it cools, but will remain liquid. Use immediately or store in the fridge.

The second sauce was inspired by leftover coffee:

3 disks Mexican drinking chocolate (about 9 ounces)
1 cup leftover coffee
1 ½ tablespoons Kahlua, optional

Prepare as shown in the recipe above. The coffee taste is mild, but you could enhance it with espresso powder, if you happen to have some.

Both sauces remained a bit grainy, but were perfectly acceptable dessert sauces. We enjoyed rare ice cream sundaes aboard Legacy – all in the interest of research, of course! I still found that I was craving something smoother and fudgier, so I tried a different approach. This time, I used powdered Mexican chocolate, since that is all that was available in nearby tiendas.

Fudge Sauce

1 disk Mexican drinking chocolate (finely chopped) or 3 ounces powdered Mexican drinking chocolate
1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup half and half or cream
Pinch of salt (optional)

Melt the butter in a small pan or skillet, then add the cream. Stir in the chocolate and stir until it melts. Continue stirring over low heat until the sauce is smooth and thick. Season to taste with a pinch of salt or a splash of liqueur, if desired.

This sauce still had detectable graininess, but the added fat gave it a much nicer “mouth feel”. The recipe makes a small amount – just enough for a couple of sundaes – but can be easily doubled or tripled. All of these sauces can be kept in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. The fudge sauce gets quite thick in the fridge, but is easily thinned out by warming it a bit.

Savory Chocolate-Chipotle Sauce

The sweet chocolate sauces were good, but we decided to expand our horizons and try a savory, spicy chocolate sauce. We made this chocolate-chipotle sauce to go with chicken breasts, but it would be equally good with pork chops or loin.

First, salt and pepper boneless chicken breasts, then sauté in a little hot oil in a skillet until they are lightly browned and cooked through (about 165 degrees). Remove the cooked chicken breasts to a plate, and cover to keep them warm. After letting the skillet cool for a few minutes, pour off excess oil (if necessary) and add about 2 tablespoons of half and half or heavy cream. Return skillet to low heat and stir to deglaze the pan. Finely chop or grate one 3-ounce disc of Mexican drinking chocolate, add to the cream and stir until melted. Add seasonings to taste. We started with ¼ teaspoon each of salt, ground chipotle, smoked paprika, cumin, and sriracha sauce. Make the sauce a little spicier than you are normally comfortable with, as the seasoning will be toned down by the chicken. Feel free to use other chiles and different seasonings depending on what you have on hand. The goal is to add both heat and some depth of flavor to counteract the sweetness of the drinking chocolate.

Serve chicken breasts over rice, if desired, and top with the chocolate-chipotle sauce. Enjoy!

Dessert Sauces Illustrated
The traditional package for disks of Mexican drinking chocolate.	Inner package and disk of Mexican drinking chocolate.
Ingredients for the coffee-Kahlua chocolate sauce.	The hard drinking chocolate disks are easily chopped into rough chunks.
Measuring the Kahlua for the sauce.	The chocolate melts easily in a pan with the liquid ingredients.
Mexican orange liquor – Controy	The grittiness of the drinking chocolate is evident over ice cream.
Mexican drinking Chocolate also comes in powdered form.
Chocolate-Chipotle Sauce Illustrated
Chicken breasts browned in the same pan used for the sauce add flavor and richness.	A disk of drinking chocolate can be grated directly into the pan with the other ingredients for the sauce.
The sauce takes on a smooth consistency as the chocolate melts.	Every cook likes an appreciative audience!