I just made 30-min mozzarella this evening. It was quick, easy and very good. The curds looked like ricotta until I started pressing them together. I think you really need to avoid the temptation to stir the pot much. Just keep your heat low so the curds warm slowly. I may have screwed up but I only heated the curds for 1min in the microwave, kneaded them, then heated for an additional 35 sec. At that point I was able to knead them a few minutes then stretch them a considerable amount. I didn't heat them a 3rd time as recommended as the cheese looked really good by that point.
Now I am seeing if I can make whey ricotta and what it tastes like if I can.
<edit> Well I made ricotta, but not much. The result was about 1/2 cup of ricotta. The ricotta was pretty good, but different than the whole milk ricotta I usually buy at the store. It was very easy, heat the whey to about 200F, let sit for 5min then pour through a fine cheese cloth. Then hang to dry for 15min. However it took another hour to heat the whey slowly and drain the cheese. Its not really worth it for that much ricotta. If I make a 3+ gallon batch of hard cheese I will try again, perhaps with the addition of some whole milk to increase the yield.
Craig