I’m trying to think of something so universally appealing as cheese and outside of chocolate, I really can’t come up with much.  So many other foods have lovers & haters, but really who doesn’t love cheese?  With that love in mind–as well as a loving present from my bestie who’s all the way across the country–I set out to try my hand at making cheese.

Specifically, I made mozzarella.

Rather than post the recipe and all the steps (there are a lot), I’ll direct you to a really well-done tutorial at The Kitchn.  I can’t say enough great things about the content of the site, either.  Oh, and I used 1/2 gallon each of whole milk & 2%–and of course, it was Snowville since you know how much I love their product.  :o)

I made this about a month ago at the tail end of tomato season so we made a tomato salad w/ simple balsamic vinaigrette to serve alongside grilled chicken sandwiches using Lucky Cat bakery ciabatta, topped with arugula, sundried tomatoes (oil-packed) and of course some of the homemade mozzarella.  Soooo tasty!

Homemade cheese was a good bit of work, but the results were so much more flavorful than store-bought mozzarella.  I’ll certainly be returning to this process every now and then.