Cheese Sticks

The only thing better than cheese by itself is cheese that has been breaded, fried, and serve with a sauce. If you really want to get your money's worth make your own! It is actually a very simple process and if you make the most of what you've already got and keep your eyes peeled for a sale on cheese it can also be extremely cost-efficient.

Ingredients

10oz block mozzarella 

1 cup breadcrumbs (try my homemade breadcrumb recipe)

1 large egg

1/4 cup milk 

Combine your egg and milk in one bowl. Pour your breadcrumbs in a separate bowl large enough to toss. Typically this is the point where I instruct you to season both the egg and breadcrumbs with salt and pepper, but not this time. I don't know what it is about cheese sticks but I find that aside from maybe adding dried herbs to the crumbs, if I salt and pepper the dredge it is too salty so I reserve that for after they're fried, but if you are so inclined, please do. I encourage you to add dried herbs to your breadcrumbs. Mine are homemade and do have just a small amount of Italian seasoning in them. Herbs can really change the entire experience, rosemary is one of my FAVORITE herbs to add to my crumbs.

Now it is time to cut the cheese (insert adolescent giggle here). I'm not an educated chef, so I have no technique to offer you as far as knife skills go (unless you count my free knife skills class thanks to the Craftsy app) other than the following: cut your block in half. Cut those halves into half, and so on and so forth until you've got thrity-two comparable pieces. Now, you may feel the need to make more or less if your block of cheese isn't ten ounces but this is what I've got on hand most of the time & the more inexpensive brand at the store (costs me approx. $1.75).

Next is the dredge. It is very important to keep one hand dry at all times. If you've ever dredged and caught both hands in the wet/dry crossfire then you're privy to the clumpy mess that becomes for fingertips as you're trying to get things done. If you're having a difficult time keeping one hand out of the egg, do what I do. I have the bowl of egg on the left side of my cutting board. I keep the crumbs on the right. I use my left hand to put the cheese into and take it out of the egg. My right hand carries my crumb bowl over the cutting board and I plop my cheese in with my left hand then I place my crumb bowl back down on the right side. Then I get a good grip with my right hand and toss, never once does my left hand leave the left side of my cutting board. I then remove the breaded sticks with my right hand and place them back on my chopping board. It all seems very tedious but it took me a while to figure out how to keep the crumbs in the bowl and off my fingers.

Now initially I will add all my cheese sticks to the egg bowl and toss three or four at a time in the crumbs and place them back on the board. Repeat until all are coated. You'll see the cheese through that coat and it won't really do much for you. Once it hits the oil, frozen or not, you'll soon have a fried cheese mess and empty breadcrumb shells to show for it. So you do a second breading. This time I dip one stick in the egg at a time, toss the one by itself in breadcrumbs, and then rest it back on my cutting board until they're all coated for the second time. Do you notice a huge difference?

That double coating will keep your cheese in when it is frying. Now. You can either put them on a baking sheet to freeze or use the cutting board they're sitting on. For me personally, it just depends on whether or not I want to wash an extra dish. 

Into the freezer they go. Most people forget that the freezer is a great cooking tool. Frozen bacon is easier to chop for chowder, frozen puff pastry dough can hit the oven and be ready in minutes, and freezing cheese sticks ensures the cheese will warm in the same time it takes to get the outside perfectly golden, which help prevent mozzarella sludge in your fryer. I usually make these ahead of time, but typically after three hours they're hard enough to package in a freezer bag to store. When you're ready to eat, fry them in 375 degree oil. I do this in batches of 4-6 at a time for about sixty seconds. Be sure you allow a bit of time inbetween batches for the oil to return to 375. Serve with warm marinara and a smile. 

I would say that a batch of thirty-two cheese sticks costs me anywhere from $2-$3, including a side of sauce, as long as I utilize my pantry, including making homemade breadcrumbs and marinara.

Pizza

I have learned a key fact about Italian cooking. It is simple, and I don't mean simple as in an easy cuisine, I mean simple as in few ingredients. However, the simplistic meals served are perfected. So much so that you'll be gobsmacked at just how delicious food truly is when you aren't trying to outdo the ingredients themselves. Keep it simple, don't overthink it, and you'll soon be cooking each ingredient to perfection.

I have tried several different pizza crusts. Some with egg and some without; some that need to rest overnight and some that don't. However, I found a small unassuming cookbook all about the history of pizza and the author really wanted to embrace the origins of pizza. It provided three simple recipes, all of which I have tried. I kept gravitating back to the first crust but made a few changes... So I guess now it is mine(?).

Pizza crust Ingredients:

500g all-purpose flour

1 packet active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

1/2 TBSP honey

1 TBSP olive oil

Pinch of sea salt

1. In a large bowl combine salt and flour.

2. In a separate bowl dissolve the honey into the warm water.

3. Mix the yeast into the honey/water mixture until it dissolves. Let it stand for a few minutes until it starts to bubble/froth.

---> yeast can be temperamental. If the water is too hot it will die. If the water is too cold it will take forever to activate. So, I just make sure the water is warm to the touch and not too hot across my wrist. If you're a parent, you know the hot bottle test, where you put a few drops of water on the vein on your wrist and if it isn't too hot it is fine. Same thing. I do the yeast separate from my flour because if my yeast doesn't activate I can try again and not waste my flour.<---

4. Combine yeast, olive oil, and flour until a dough ball forms. If the dough is too wet, add a sprinkle of flour until it firms up. If it is too dry, try adding a couple teaspoons of water.

5. Flour your hands and work surface lightly and knead dough into a ball.

6. Divide dough in half (or more for mini pizzas) and form into balls.

7. Drizzle a bit of olive oil in the bowls for your dough to rise, rubbing it around the sides.

8. Place each ball of dough in a bowl and cover with a dish towel to double (for about an hour; cut the rising time in half by doubling your yeast in the ingredients list).

9. While your dough rises, light your wood for your brick oven... Oh, don't have one of those? Then heat your oven to 475 

Look. Unless you've got a sweet pizza oven, I highly suggest you invest in a pizza stone. I long for the day when I will have one, but for now I have a pizza stone from Emile Henry. Pizza stones come several different sizes from several different companies but they're far superior to a baking sheet because of their ability to maintain high heat. This heat allows that crisp crust to form on the bottom of your pizza.

With that said, preheat your stone, for at least fifteen minutes. This will allow the stone to get to that crust crisping temperature you want. While your pizza stone preheats you can prepare your toppings & pizza sauce. Our go-to pepperoni (salame picante here in Italy) consists of a simple tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, pepperoni (salame picante), and Parmesan cheese.

Tomato Sauce Ingredients:

Tomato purée

Pinch of sea salt

Step one: mix them together.

Remember I said simplicity? Well, here  is a great example of that. I've tried several pizza sauce recipes but none have ever lived up to this simple recipe. I'm not making spaghetti, I'm making pizza and believe it or not, the unmuddled flavor of simple tomato and salt is divine.

Now, if your stone is almost done preheating and your dough has doubled, roll out one ball of dough large enough to fit your pizza stone. Pull your pizza stone out of the oven & sprinkle a bit of flour on it. Transfer your dough to the stone, spread on a layer of pizza sauce, and pop it back in the oven for five minutes.

Remove stone. Add toppings. Return to oven for 8-10 minutes until crust is golden. Serve.