But the other day the rarely inspiring Giada de Laurentiis of "Everyday Italian" on the Food Network gave me a recipe for a set of mozzarella sticks so tantalizing that it has earned a permanent place on my Tivo. It joins such greats as "The Ladies Man" and "Office Space."
The recipe is simple--about a 60/40 combination of italian style breadcrumbs and parmesan coat sliced mozzarella that has been prepped with beaten eggs. Freeze to set the breading, and pan-fry. How hard could it be?
The first try was a disaster. First the oil was too cold; I panicked and turned the heat all the way up, so now it was too high. The sticks stuck to the pan, the mozzarella came pouring out, and I had a huge mess. Amazingly, the leftover mess, which could really only be honestly called "mozzarella pile" was fantastic. I knew the ingredients were right--I just had to get the oil temperature right.
My second go around was sure to be met with more success. I got the temperature of the oil right, but by the time I flipped the sticks, mozzarella was already pouring out of the breading. Equally disastrous, except for these two that got super close attention:
Unfortunately, those two sticks weren't done on the inside. The mozzarella was warm, but not melted. Argh!
The third time will have to be the charm. I've realized you need to do them in smaller batches and pay super close attention. The problem is not merely keeping the sticks from burning/sticking to the bottom of the pan. You also have to cook them long enough to melt the mozzarella on the inside, but not so long that it melts enough to break through the breading. I'll combine that strategy with a double coat of egg/breading/egg/breading and see how it goes. Expect updates this weekend.
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