Mozzarella en Carozza - Valastro Style, Baby

Have you checked out Buddy Valastro's new cooking show, Kitchen Boss?  It's great.  He cooks all my favorite foods just the way my mother did when I was growing up.  She didn't, however, make these Italian Grilled Cheese sandwiches.  My girls are lucky I'm not my mother ;).   They've both proclaimed these to be the best sandwiches ever.  Oh yeah, baby - they're that good!

Let's make one - first, we schmear some sun-dried tomato pesto onto 2 slices of bread, then we add a nice slice of  fresh "Mootz" (mozzarella cheese).  Buddy's version didn't include the basil, but my plant was sitting right there and hey, what can I say, I couldn't resist!!

Okay, now we squish the two pieces of bread together and dip the whole thing in beaten egg...

...then into seasoned breadcrumbs (shake off the excess), and fry in olive oil over medium heat until the breadcrumbs are nice and brown, and the cheese is melted and gooey.  Be careful not to overheat the oil - if it starts to smoke, it's too hot.  Oh man, you gotta try them.  Estremamente Deliziosa!

Mozzarella en Carozza

makes 4 sandwiches

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 8 slices sandwich bread

• 4 slices fresh mozzarella, about 1/4-inch thick

• 4 tablespoons sun-dried tomato pesto

• 4 large fresh basil leaves

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 1 - 1 1/2 cups Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

• 1 cup olive oil

• extra sun-dried tomato pesto for dipping (optional)

Directions

1. Spread 1/2 tablespoon of sun-dried tomato pesto on each slice of bread.

2. Top 4 slices of bread with 4 slices of fresh mozzarella and a large basil leaf.

3. Top with remaining 4 slices of bread (tomato pesto should be on the inside of the sandwich); give each sandwich a little squish to keep them together as you dip them in beaten egg, followed by seasoned bread crumbs.

4. Shake off excess crumbs.

5. Fry sandwiches in olive oil over medium heat until golden brown on all sides, being careful not to let the oil overheat.

6. Serve with additional sun-dried tomato pesto for dipping.

adapted from Buddy Valastro, The Kitchen Boss (aka The Cake Boss)