Chef Chuck's Egg and Prosciutto Breakfast Roll

Rotolini di Frittata al Prosciutto e Mozzarella

A wonderful breakfast surprise for your family and friends, fluffy scrambled eggs, with creamy mozzarella and salty prosciutto. A nice presentation for your morning table, serve along with toast, fresh fruit and muffins. Get creative and fill your eggs with your favorite meats and cheeses.

Egg and Prosciutto Breakfast Roll

10 fresh farm eggs

3 tablespoons milk

1/4 cup parmigiana cheese, grated

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon butter

1/3 pound mozzarella, thinly sliced

1/4 pound prosciutto, thinly sliced

salsa or marinara sauce

Scramble eggs with milk, parmigiana cheese, salt and pepper. In a large frying pan on medium to low heat, melt butter add eggs, cook till most of the egg mixture is done. Flip over to finish cooking eggs. On a board cut egg to a square shape. Lay slices of cheese on egg then the prosciutto, gently roll up and place on serving plate. Drizzle salsa or sauce over, slice and serve.

Chef Chuck's Pork Medallions

Medaglioni di Maiale


Tender breaded pork medallions, sweet basil, garden tomatoes and soft mozzarella all together is a symphony. The tenderloin is a lean cut so the juice from the yellow cherry tomatoes and the smooth mozzarella gives moisture to the medallions.


Pork Medallions
1 small pork tenderloin
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
4 tablespoons flour
1 egg, beaten with salt and pepper
1/2 cup breadcrumbs, panko
cherry tomatoes, sliced thin
fresh basil leaves
mozzarella cheese, sliced thin
salt and pepper to taste


Bring pork to room temperature this takes about half an hour, cut pork in 3/4 inch slices. Lightly dip in flour, egg and then breadcrumbs. Heat olive oil and saute garlic for 1 minute, discard garlic. Brown pork 3 minutes on each side place on a broiler pan. Top with a slice of tomato a basil leave and a slice of mozzarella. Broil on top rack till cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Salt when warm and serve. Makes 8 medallions.

Chef Chuck's Caprese Salad

Caprese Insalada


A popular summer dish prepared in Italy, Caprese Insalada, is a salad prepared with fresh mozzarella, garden picked tomatoes, fragrant genovese basil, olive oil and a pinch of fresh earthy oregano. Mozzarella di bufala (from buffalo) is Italy's best choice for a quality cheese, and can be found in the states. Use the finest ingredients possible to truly indulge in another simple and tasty salad. Serve with your favorite bread and a glass of white wine, that's a meal in itself.

Caprese Salad
fresh mozzarella cheese
2 large ripe tomatoes
a sprig of fresh basil
pinch of fresh oregano
arugula or lettuce leaves
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil


Cut tomatoes in 6 quarters and place on a platter covered with arugula or lettuce leaves. Arrange sliced mozzarella in between tomatoes, spread basil leaves and fresh oregano over entire dish. Salt and pepper the salad and drizzle with olive oil.

Chef Chuck's Fried Mozzarella Sticks

Bastoncini di Mozzarella Fritti


Fried mozzarella sticks, has a buttery crunch flavor plus a saltiness from the proscuitto ham, which makes a perfect appetizer. A quality cheese is a must for this recipe. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce for dipping.

Fried Mozzarella Sticks

mozzarella

thin slices of prosciutto

1/2 cup flour

2 eggs

panko breadcrumbs

salt

canola oil for frying

In a small heavy saucepan, heat 3 inches of oil to 350 degrees, meanwhile cut mozzarella to 1/2 inch square sticks and about 3 inches long. Wrap proscuitto around cheese dip in flour, egg, then breadcrumbs. Fry 2 to 3 at a time, until golden brown, be sure to maintain 350 degrees. Place on paper towels and salt.

Chef Chuck's Homemade Manicotti

Crespelle

Homemade crespelle makes my recipe for manicotti, irresistible. Crespelle, meaning crepes in Italian, is the only way to make the best manicotti. Inside are three cheese's, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper. Always use your favorite marinara sauce. It's a very easy recipe and so worth it ,you will never buy store bought shells again!

Crespelle
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tablespoon butter
extra virgin olive oil


Mix all ingredients together, lightly oil pan and pour about 3 tablespoons of mixture into a 6 inch non stick frying pan. Slowly swirl in pan and cook for about 45 seconds to 1 minute. Flip over and cook another 45 seconds to 1 minute. Remove and continue cooking until the rest of the batter is used. Can make a day ahead, refrigerate.


Filling


2 pounds ricotta
2 eggs
1/2 cup parmigiano cheese, grated
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese,grated
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
marinara sauce


Combine all ingredients, using a 11x7 pan or similar, coat bottom of pan with sauce. Fill each crespelle with the cheese mixture and roll up, place in pan add more sauce over manicotti and sprinkle with parmigiano cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Buon Appetito!

Chef Chuck's Baked Pasta

Pasta al Forno


A pasta dish baked with all that cheesy goodness and my favorite part, the crunchy top. Having all the fresh herbs in the marinara sauce enhanced this dish. I used penne pasta you could use rigatoni or mostaccioli or a similiar pasta.

Baked Pasta
1 pound penne pasta
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated
1 cup parmigiano cheese, grated
2 cans tomato sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste


In a saucepan heat olive oil add tomato paste and brown for 2 minutes. Add garlic stirring for 30 seconds then add sauce, all fresh organic herbs, salt and pepper and simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Heat a large pot of salted water and cook pasta al dente, drain and place in a baking dish. Pour sauce over pasta and mix with mozzarella and parmigiano cheese. Top with a sprinkling of parmigiano cheese on top and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Margherita Pizza

Pizza Margherita

The Queen of Pizza!

A classic pizza straight out of Naples, Italy. Named after Queen Margherita, queen of Italy in the late 1800's. The colors green white and red represent the Italian flag. I use a pizza stone and heat it up in the oven to get really hot. This will give you a crispier crust. Put your basil leaves under the cheese so it will not burn. It's another simple recipe with great results. Make your own pizza dough with a marinara sauce, wet mozzarella and fresh basil leaves.

Pizza Dough

2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

4-5 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon salt

Add 1 tablespoon of yeast to warm water and sugar, stir. Let sit for 7 minutes (until foamy). Pour into mixer bowl, set to a medium speed, add olive oil. Mix in one cup of flour at a time with salt until it forms into ball of dough. Dust a cutting board with flour and knead dough for 3 minutes. Lightly coat a large bowl with olive oil, transfer dough and cover with plastic wrap and layer small towel on top. Let rise in a warm area for 1 hour 30 minutes - 2 hours. When dough becomes 2-3 times it's original size, spread onto floured board knead a little and cut into 4 sections. Form into round disks, use a rolling pin and roll out to 8-10 inches add marinara sauce, basil leaves, and mozzarella cheese. Bake in a 450 degree oven till the top is crispy and the mozzarella cheese is bubbly. Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper over finished pizza.

Sauce

1 large can San Marzano whole tomatoes

2 garlic cloves minced

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon basil

salt and pepper

Heat olive oil add garlic for 1-2 minutes add crushed tomatoes and all the herbs stir and let simmer 20 minutes.

Toppings

wet mozzarella cheese

fresh basil leaves

olive oil

salt and pepper