Mozzarella Time

Mozzarella is one of those cheese you either love or hate. Unfortunately it's always had a bad rap thanks to it being a vital, if greasy part of pizza. Yet the true Italian style version of this cheese can be heavenly . Its' taste and texture is what creates new mozzarella lovers every day. One bite of the real thing and you're hooked.

True mozzarella is the subject of a brand new book called The Mozza Cookbook, written by a true California girl, chef, Nancy Silverton. She is also the owner along with another great chef, Mario Batali of Los Angeles' most popular restaurants, Osteria Mozza and Pizzeria Mozza. Yesterday's New York Times Dining section had an article featuring her in its' Feed Me column, written by Alex Wichtel. Ms, Silverman is something of a pioneer out west. She championed artisanal breads in a town not known for embracing anything yeasty or high in calories. She now is behind promoting mozzarella in its' truest form. Some of the book does feature pizza recipes but there are other ones, equally mouth watering highlighting the cheese.

Ms. Silverton is not only big on mozzarella but also burrata a type of mozzarella. Burrata basically translates into buttered an dis called such because it is a mix of hard cheese and soft cream. The exterior has a hard shell while the inside is soft and runny. The chef puts it as a topping to amazing sandwiches that also have caramelized shallots and sauteed escarole. In these she also adds hunks of smoked bacon , and then tops it with creamy blobs of mozzarella. It's a different and more true to form spin on this cheese,it is used as a topping but in a different way.

True mozzarella is heavenly. Buy Ms. Silverton's book, The Mozza Cookbook to discover it and what you can do with it. It'll be a far cry from just your typical pizza topping.