Mozzarella in Carrozza

Gordon Gano once told me (and a couple hundred other people) that Frank Sinatra's favorite restaurant was Patsy's (up on 56th St.) Anyhow, when my sister invited me to dinner at Patsy's up on 56th St. I was super-excited because Gordon Gano told me it was Frank Sinatra's favorite restaurant and I was sure old blue eyes had some taste. He was a classy individual.

One of the things I had at Patsy's was something I never had anywhere else before, that being, you guessed it, mozzarella in carrozza. It was good. Very good. Mind-bogglingly good.

I resolved then and there that I had to learn to make it. Some time passed... a number of years in fact.... and I finally did learn to make it. So, without further ado, here is how to make mozzarella in carrozza. If you have never had it before, I highly recommend you try it. If you have tried it before, then I probably need to do no further coaxing.

Step 1: Go Get Stuff

You will need:

- A large chunk of mozzarella
- A loaf of pre-sliced white bread
- Flour
- Italian-style Bread Crumbs
- 2 Eggs
- 1/4 cup of milk
- Parsley flakes
- Garlic Powder
- Chopped basil
- Canola oil
- Marinara Sauce
- A frying pan
- A sharp knife
- A couple of bowls
- A baking sheet
- A couple of plates
- Paper towels
- Cooking tongues
- A cutting board

Step 2: Remove the Crust

Remove the crust from every slice in the entire loaf of bread (excluding the ends).

Save the excess crust for the feeding of the ducks.

Step 3: Cheesy

Cut cheese slices that are roughly as thick as the slice of bread and will be large enough to cover the surface area of one slice. You can fill in small gaps on the bread with small pieces of cheese. Once done, place another slice of bread atop the cheese and then cut it in half diagonally.

In other words, make a mozzarella cheese sandwich and slice it diagonally in half.

Step 4: Flour

Place a fair amount of flour in a large bowl. Take each of the triangles that you just made and coat it on all sides with flour.

Step 5: Egg Batter

In a bowl beat together 2 eggs, 1/4 cup of milk, a couple pinches of parsley, a couple of pinches of chopped basil and a few shakes of garlic powder.

Step 6: Batter Up!

In yet another bowl, pour in a fair amount of bread crumbs.

One by one, coat the mozzarella triangles in the egg batter and then in the bread crumbs until they are all coated.

If you run out of batter, just make more using the same ingredients.

Step 7: Saucy

Start heating up a little bit of marinara sauce over a low to medium-sized flame... or you can just cheat like we did on this occasion and heat it up later in the microwave.

Step 8: Fry

Pour into your frying pan just enough canola oil to cover about halfway up the mozzarella triangles. Let it heat up over a medium flame.

Also prepare a large plate covered in paper towels off to the side of the stove (but not to close! They will catch on fire!). The paper towels are used to soak up the oil.

To test to see if the oil is ready, drop in a small piece of battered breadcrumbs and see if it starts to float and sizzle. If it does, then you are good to go.

Cook the triangles for a minute on each side and then place them on the plate you have prepared.

You can also place a paper towel on top of the fried triangles to help soak up the oil on both sides.

Step 9: Bake

Place you mozzarella in carrozza on a baking sheet and broil it for a minute or two to help cook off the extra grease.

Step 10: Serve

You just made enough to easily feed about eight people (or more). Perhaps I should have brought that up earlier.

Serve with warm marinara sauce and enjoy.