Italian Mozzarella Wings Rachael Ray Recipes

FRIED MOZZARELLA BITES

Steps:

• Heat 2 inches olive oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat. Cut each pound of mozzarella and smoked mozzarella into 16 cubes. Set up a breading station: flour, 2 eggs beaten with 1/3 cup milk, Italian bread crumbs mixed with a couple of handfuls of grated cheese. Reserve the chopped parsley. Roll fresh plain mozzarella in flour, dip in egg, then coat in bread crumbs. Bread all the plain mozzarella, then add chopped parsley to the bread crumbs. Coat the cubed smoked mozzarella in flour, egg, then Italian bread crumbs mixed with parsley. The chopped parsley will allow you to distinguish between the fresh and fresh smoked cheese once fried. Place herbs into hot oil and fry 30 to 45 seconds. Be careful not to stand over pan, the oil will spatter a little because of the water content in herbs. Remove herbs with a slotted kitchen tool and transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Season immediately with fine salt. Fry the mozzarella bites in batches in a single layer. Cook until evenly deep golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and cool mozzarella bites on a paper towel-lined surface. Let stand and cool a few minutes so that the cheese will not be too runny when bitten into.
• For dipping sauce, heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, garlic and crushed pepper flakes. Saute garlic and hot pepper 2 or 3 minutes, and add tomatoes. Season with salt.
• To assemble your serving plate, pile mozzarella bites, alternating them with fried herbs. Set the dipping sauce in a bowl along side the balls and pile bamboo skewers or party picks on the edge of the plate to spear and dip the bites.
• Add some mixed olives, celery sticks, long bread sticks to round out this finger food selection.

RACHAEL RAY'S SPICY LINGUINI WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta.
• In a large pan, add olive oil using med/high heat. Brown sausage.
• Add diced pepper and diced garlic to sausage mixture. Cook 2 minutes.
• Add tomatoes to sausage mixture. Put a lid on the pan to help the skins of tomatoes burst. Cook about 8 minutes.
• Add arugula to the mixture and stir until it wilts down.
• Drain pasta and mix with sausage mixture.
• You can add about 1/3 cup of cream if you wish, or use some of the pasta water to thin the sauce at this point.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• .Enjoy!

RACHAEL RAY'S CAPRESE MEZZA LUNA (ITALIAN QUESADILLA)

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a small pot with garlic until it bubbles, simmer a minute. Brush a skillet with garlic oil and heat over medium-high heat.
• Add the first tortilla and blister it 30 seconds, flip and cover half of the surface with arranged layers of mozzarella, basil and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and fold over the quesadilla.
• Cook 30 seconds on each side to set. Remove from pan and repeat. Cut into quarters and serve as appetizers.

RACHAEL RAY ITALIAN PIZZA "THE ONLY PIZZA YOU'LL EVER WANT TO EAT"

Steps:

• 1) Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
• 2) On a 12-inch nonstick pizza pan, stretch out your dough and form the pizza crust. Drizzle 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil on crust and spread it with a pastry brush over the dough to the edges. Sprinkle crust with 2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
• 3) In a small covered saucepan, bring 2 inches water to a boil.
• 4) Separate broccoli tops into florets, discarding lower stalks or reserving for soup. Salt water and add broccoli florets. Cook covered 3 to 5 minutes. Drain broccoli and set on cutting board. Chop broccoli florets into small pieces.
• 5) Heat a small nonstick pan over medium high to high heat. Add oil, cracked garlic and chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Brown chicken breast cut for stir-fry or tenders until lightly golden all over, 3 to 5 minutes. Chop sauteed chicken and garlic on a cutting board into small pieces.
• 6) To assemble pizza, dot crust with chopped broccoli bits and cooked chopped chicken. Dot crust with spoonfuls of ricotta and spread ricotta gently with the back of your spoon. Add sliced sun-dried tomatoes, scattering them around the pizza to the edges. Complete the assembly with a thin layer of shredded mozzarella, about 1 cup.
• 7) Place pizza in oven on middle rack and lower heat to 450 degrees F. Bake 12 minutes, until cheese is deep golden in color and crust is brown and crisp at the edges. Remove pizza from the oven and let stand 5 minutes. Top with lots of torn or shredded basil. Cut pizza into 8 slices using pizza wheel and serve.