Pancakes with Homemade Ricotta, Honey and Pears

Yeah!!! My first Recipes to Rival cooking challenge! I am so glad that I had the opportunity to make something that I would have never done on my own. This month's challenge was brought to us by Lauren of I'll eat you . We had to make our own ricotta cheese and then use it in a recipe!

The process of making cheese is actually very simple. Below there are pictures of the experience... so interesting!

I decided to make pancakes with the ricotta because I was in the process of recovery from my wisdom teeth surgery. They were delicious. My husband loved the sweetness of the honey and pears in contrast with the pancakes.

Fresh Ricotta

Ingredients

1 gallon whole milk

1 quart buttermilk

cheesecloth

a thermometer (mine is for oil and candy)

Directions

Place buttermilk and milk in a pot, heat on med-low heat until it reaches 185 degrees. It will begin to separate into curds and whey. Be sure to stir occasionally to make sure no curds stick to the bottom and burn. You will see that as the temperature approaches 185, the whey becomes clearer as the curds coagulate more. Pour the curds into a cheesecloth lined colander. Tie the ends of the cheesecloth together and hang for 10-15 minutes. Remove from cheesecloth and place in an airtight container. Voila! Cheese!
Pancakes

(Yields 12)

Ingredients

-1 cup ricotta

-1/2 cup milk

-2/3 cup flour

-1/2 Tsp baking powder

-2 eggs, separated

-1 Tbsp sugar

-1/2 Tsp vanilla extract

-butter

-honey

-pears

Directions

-Make the batter by blending the ricotta with the rest of the batter ingredients, except the butter, in a food processor until it makes a smooth batter. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.

-Melt a little butter in a non-stick frying pan, drop in spoonfuls of batter and cook in batches, about 4 at a time, until golden. Flip and cook the other side. Serve with honey and pears.