I wanted to make a casual, playful dinner to celebrate William’s return from New York (what a long nine weeks). To fit the bill, I prepared a deconstructed pizza of herbed breadsticks with marinara dipping sauce, marinated mozzarella, Genoa salami, olives and sauteed mushrooms.
Admittedly, I sourced epicurious.com for my breadstick and marinated mozzarella recipes. I chose these largely because I had all of the ingredients in my pantry. The breadsticks call for standard pizza dough laced with herbs, Parmesan and garlic, and although they’re far superior to the “endless bread basket” versions you find at chain eateries, these didn’t blow my mind. The sticks were tough—they should have been more crisp or soft. And extra salt, oil and Parmesan would have been a flavorful blessing.
The mozzarella, on the other hand, had the perfect combination of brine and heat and slick olive oil. The appetizer was SO easy to prepare and so delicious that it’s likely to become a standard.
With the rising and rolling of the dough, simmering of the marinara, etc., this “simple” dinner actually took a few hours to prepare. But assembled in advance this meal would make perfect party fare. An unexpected twist to comfortable flavors.