Secrets of the Best Chefs

TO MAKE NOCHINO (walnut liqueur), use English walnuts or
black walnuts. Cut each nut into 4 pieces and place in 1 liter of
pure alcohol (96% Everclear). Add one fingersize stick of
cinnamon and 3 to 4 whole cloves. Put all of this in a glass jar,
cover, and set it in the sun in your garden for 40 days. It will
turn black. After 40 days, make a syrup with 4 cups water and
4 cups sugar. Mix that with the alcohol solution, run it through
a paper filter, and bottle it. It will be ready to drink in about 8
months.
WITH COMMERCIAL HONEY you never know precisely what
you’re getting. Buy the best honey you can at a farmer’s
market.
WHEN MAKING CHEESE at home, use the best whole milk you
can find. Ricotta is the easiest cheese to make at home. Heat
milk with citric acid (½ teaspoon of citric acid to ½ gallon of
milk), stirring every so often until it gets to 180°F. Strain the
solids through a muslin cheesecloth and then squeeze out the
extra moisture.