Mozzarella Cornbread Pizza Food

CHEESY BAKED TORTELLINI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish.
• Whisk the sauce, mascarpone cheese, parsley and thyme in a large bowl to blend. Cook the tortellini in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Add the tortellini to the sauce and toss to coat. Transfer the tortellini mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top the mixture with the smoked mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and bake until the sauce bubbles and the cheeses on top melt, about 30 minutes.

MOZZARELLA SALAD

Steps:

• Halve the mozzarella and tomatoes and combine in bowl with scallions and herbs. Dress salad with vinegar, olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

MOZZARELLA EN CARROZZA

Steps:

• Cut the mozzarella into enough 1/4-inch thick slices to cover 2 slices of the bread. Reserve the remaining mozzarella for another use. Top the cheese with the remaining 2 slices of bread, to make 2 sandwiches, and press down to compact.
• In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, garlic, and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Put the bread crumbs on a plate.
• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, pour the in oil to a depth of 1/4-inch. When the oil is hot, dip each sandwich into the egg mixture, dredge in the bread crumbs, and fry, turning once, until crisp and the cheese has melted.
• Cut each sandwich in 1/2 and serve, while still hot, with the marinara sauce on the side for dipping.
• Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and sugar and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the basil and parsley.

MOZZARELLA

Steps:

• Heat a pot of water until very hot (160 degrees F to 170 degrees F). Add a generous amount of salt. Place a large bowl filled with ice water nearby. Put the curd in another large bowl; add enough hot water to cover the curd.
• Let the curd soften, about 3 minutes, then gather it into a ball and hold it over the water; fold and pull it like taffy until elastic, about 5 minutes, dipping it back into the hot water if it gets stiff. Don't overwork the curd, as this will make your finished cheese rubbery. If the water cools too much, simply pour it off and add more of the hot water. When soft and smooth, divide the curd into 4 portions and form each into a ball.
• Plunge the mozzarella balls into the bowl of ice water and let cool.
• Slice and eat!
• Serve the fresh cheese at room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers, covered with salted water, for up to 1 week.

FRIED MOZZARELLA STICKS

Steps:

• Cut the mozzarella into approximately 2-1/2-by-1/2-inch sticks (you should have about 16 sticks, depending on the shape of your mozzarella).
• Put the flour in a small bowl. Beat the milk with the eggs in another bowl. Stir together the breadcrumbs and Parmesan in a third wide, shallow bowl.
• Working one at a time, coat a mozzarella stick in flour and shake off the excess. Dip the stick in egg, letting the excess drip off, then add it to the breadcrumbs and roll it to coat. Dip the stick in the egg one more time, again letting the excess drip off, and roll it in a final coat of breadcrumbs. You can pat the mozzarella stick gently between your hands to smooth out the coating. Transfer the coated mozzarella stick to a platter. Repeat with the remaining mozzarella sticks. Refrigerate the mozzarella sticks until cold, about 15 minutes.
• Heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees F. Have a large brown paper bag ready for the fried sticks (they will stick to paper towels). Add half of the mozzarella sticks and fry, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, about 1 minute total. Transfer to the paper bag to drain. Return the oil to 350 degrees F (this is important, as the cheese will seep out if it is not hot enough) and fry the remaining mozzarella sticks.
• Serve hot with Homemade Pizza Sauce on the side.
• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the oregano, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the garlic is golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, basil and 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, with the saucepan loosely covered in foil to avoid splattering and stirring occasionally, until fairly thick, 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your tomatoes. Remove the basil.