Tag Archives: mozzarella

Little Rollies

I saw this recipe on Amy’s site and thought that it would be the perfect appetizer to make for our Thusrday night Bible study. Amy calls them ‘Baked Salami Mozzarella Bites,’ and that’s a great name for them. However, when explaining what I was going to make to my husband, the name ‘Little Rollies’ popped out. And stuck.

They’re small enough that nobody will hesitate to try them (one bite is not a huge commitment), and so delicious that they disappeared by the end of the study. This is the first treat I’ve made that has been fully consumed by the group, which makes it the most popular Bible study food I’ve made to date. It beat out the apple tart. It beat out the queso. It beat out the pumpkin cranberry bread. It beat out the beer bread. Its trail to victory has left everthing else in the dust.

Let the Little Rollies sweep across the Bible studies of this nation.

These crunchy little pizza-flavored rolls with the salami and melted cheese, dipped in a little marinara, are so crazy good. And so crazy easy to make. Don’t be doubting–I’ll show you!

Ingredients

(Serves 10-12)

32 wonton wrappers
4 pieces string cheese
32 salami rounds
Cooking spray/olive oil
Marinara sauce, to serve

Preheat the oven to 450 F.

Quarter the pieces of string cheese lengthwise . . .

. . . then cut all the strips in half crosswise.

Spread out the first 8 wonton wrappers, with a corner facing you. Place a salami round in the lower section of each diamond shape, as close to the edge as possible.

Place one piece of string cheese (crosswise) across the bottom of the salami round.

Folding up the bottom corner, roll the wonton wrapper once so that it partially covers the piece of string cheese.

Fold in the sides like so . . .

[Sorry, that was possibly the worst photo ever posted on my blog. It’s a crime, that’s what. In my defense, I was really struggling to roll and photograph at the same time, and wasn’t even paying attention to my overly-bright flash settings. Yikes.]

. . . and continue to roll (like a burrito).

Seal the edges with a dab of water.

Repeat with all the wonton wrappers until they’re gone! Do this assembly-fashion and it won’t take long. Especially if you have a friend or little helper by your side (thanks Carrie, my dear “little helper”!).

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spritz it with olive oil or cooking spray. Place the little rollies on the baking tray, and lightly spritz the top with olive oil or cooking spray as well.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until they’re starting to look golden and toasted. Turn them over with tongs, crank up the heat to 500 F, and continue to bake for 5-10 minutes, until they’re crispy and brown.

You may have noticed there are not 32 little rollies here. That’s because I didn’t photograph them the night I made them for small group, but instead made a few more the following night for our personal consumption. They’re just that good.

Pad off the excess grease with a paper towel . . .

. . . and serve with marinara sauce for dipping.

Wanna see inside these addictive little bites? The rolled salami encasing the melty cheese . . .

It may be better to make a small batch, because I’d hate to think what would happen if it was just you alone, faced with 32 of these temptations.

Moderation . . . moderation . . . moderation . . .

(I’m hypnotizing myself into self-control)

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Chicken Parmesan

Bonjour, my friends!

As I was saying yesterday, this recipe hung out on the Tasty Kitchen sidebar for weeks and weeks, and by virtue of seeing it there every time I logged onto the site, it finally became a necessity to make. Like an itch I finally just had to scratch.

Does food photography every do that to you–tickle your imagination mercilessly? Force your hand, so to speak?

Anyway, it’s so good–and I highly recommend that you make your own tomato sauce to go with it. The sauce is such a central flavor to the dish that you really should have the best of the best. With just a light breading (no eggs and flour–just straight up crumbs and herbs), this is pretty darn healthy! Well, maybe except for the piles of melted cheese . . . but I wouldn’t give those up for anything!

If I ever became lactose intolerant, that would be a huge problem. Huge.

Knock on wood.

Anyway, the recipe serves 2, but it could so, so easily be doubled. Or tripled. Or zillionupled, if your baking dish is big enough.

Ingredients

(Serves 2)

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (halved)
1 TBS dried oregano
1 TBS dried basil
1 TBS dried thyme
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp pepper
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
2 TBS olive oil
2 cups good-quality (or homemade!) tomato sauce
2 TBS grated Parmesan
4 oz fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
Fresh basil, to garnish

See that lovely container of homemade tomato sauce lurking in the background? Oh man. How I love that stuff.

Preheat the oven to 500 F.

Also, I didn’t have dried basil . . . or at least I couldn’t find it. So I minced up some fresh stuff:

And I didn’t regret it for a single second. Or nanosecond. Or tetramegananonanonanosecond.

Mix the herbs, salt, pepper, and bread crumbs together in a shallow dish.

Oui, like dees.

Cut the chicken breast in half (with the knife running parallel to the cutting board) . . .

. . . and sprinkle all sides with a little salt and pepper.

Thinly slice the mozzarella.

And grate the Parmesan.

Now! Drag the chicken breast halves through the breadcrumb mixture, and gently shake off any excess.

Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized oven-proof skillet (I used my lil’ 8’’). When hot, add the chicken and cook about 3 minutes per side, until browned.

Turn off the stove and take the skillet off the heat. Spoon the tomato sauce on and around the chicken.

Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over each chicken breast, and top each one with the thinly sliced mozzarella.

It’s looking good enough to eat now . . . but patience, my dear prudent one.

Cover the skillet with aluminum foil . . .

. . . and bake it for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5, until the cheese is melted and the chicken cooked through.

You can use this time to set the table.

Have I mentioned that I finally bought a table cloth? And that it took me 6 years of marriage and owning a battered hand-me-down table to realize that covering it with cloth would greatly improve its looks?

I need a decorator to come and tell me about all the mistakes I’m making now, before 6 more years go by and I realize that I’ve been living in folly, error, and general oblivion.

And here it comes . . .

Oh look! There are my feet!

Garnish with basil, and serve with pasta!

These little shells tossed with Parmesan, black pepper, some heavy cream, and some frozen peas were the perfect accompaniment.

And let me tell you another secret–the next day I tossed the leftover pasta with the leftover tomato sauce and it was almost a spiritual experience for me.

Will it disturb you if we move in close to check out that tender, tender chicken?

Mmmm, mmm, mmmmm.

And all that was left . . .

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