Wow, this reminds me of last spring when I was making cheese nearly every morning because my husband decided to milk 2 of our beef cows that lost their calves. Kind of like a science project, temperature, cultures,enzymes and timing are very important. (the New England Cheese Supply is awesome) I made my own press with a PVC pipe with holes and made wood disks to fit inside. My weighting were not accurate, but I guess it didn't matter since most of the cheese got eaten before it totally aged anyways. The harder the cheese (Romano or Parmesan) the more pressure._ Quite frankly there's not big money to be saved making your own but it is fun and I learned to appreciate the process. It takes 10 lbs of milk to make 1 lb of cheese and I can buy basic cheddar around here for $4.00 a lb. (homemade yogurt is definitely money saving though 1 gallon milk =1 gallon yogurt) I like the fast mozzarella recipe using citric acid when ever I was in a hurry but I did experiment with some of the other hard cheeses although most did not make it through the aging process because of sampling.

Fromage Fort is done - I can honestly say I love that I had the rosemary crusted Manchego to include, it lends a wonderful herby flavor to it. And I went with 1 clove of garlic, otherwise it gets really strong sitting in the fridge for a day or so. The Moody Blue will probably go on pizzette with caramelized onions tomorrow. I am having a few friends over (they were supposed to come last night, life got in the way) and I am making Ruthannas olive and anchovy bites too. OMG we will all be stinking to high Heaven with all the garlic, olives, cheese, anchovies, etc but we will be in good company so I guess it is okay. Thank you again for all the inspiration, I now have a trove of ideas what to do with left over cheeses! Alexa

Down on the farm when I was a boy, mother and I made a lot of cottage cheese in the summer. As I recall, mother added salt only after the clabber was collected and drained. Cottage cheese can not be made from store bought milk. This milk is treated with inhibitors to increase shelf life. These inhibitors do a good job of inhibiting the bacillis responible for forming the curd. The result is that when store bought milk does "spoil", likely, the responsible critter is a fungus and it produces a horrid, foul tasting mess. Some varieties may be poisonous. We were most sucessful in making cheese on a hot, sultry afternoon with thunderheads popping up. Alao, it helps if you have a bit (salt free) of the last sucessful batch to use as a starter.

My homemade mac and cheese.My kids put it first on the list for Thanksgiving dinner.LOL Mac and Cheese 1 stick salted butter 2 T.flour 1 1/2 C. shredded mild Cheddar cheese 1 1/2 C. shredded Monterrey jack cheese 1 tsp. black pepper (or to taste) I don't add salt because the pasta is cooked in salted water,butter is salted and cheese is salty.You may prefer to add salt but should taste first to be sure it needs it. Mix together 1/2 C.of both cheeses for topping. About 6 cups pasta cooked al dente in salted water and drained well.You can use elbow macaroni,spirals,whatever you like.I use elbow because it is traditional. Melt butter in a large sauce pan then add the flour and pepper.Stir until well blended and bubbly.About 5 min.To this mixture whisk in the half and half.Heat on low heat until just simmering.Add the cheese,stirring constantly with a whisk until the cheese is melted and mixture is smooth.Remove from heat.Put the macaroni in a large bowl and pour the cheese mixture over it and stir until well mixed.Spray a large casserole with non stick cooking spray or coat with butter.Pour half the mixture into the casserole and top with 1/2 C. reserved cheeses.Pour the rest of the mixture in and top with remainder of cheese.Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25-30 min until bubbly and cheese is lightly brown.