When Cowboy and I get home, I immediately took the mozarella sticks out of the freezer. As I feared, they were frozen... solid. I popped them in the oven on 150 for about 10 minutes.
As I said in Part 1, I threw these together really fast so I didn't have time to take pictures. To get to the picture above you take 16 string cheese sticks and cut them in half. Dip them in flour, then egg and milk mixture, then parsley and Panko mixture.
Before you start all the cuttin' and dippin' I suggest heating your oil so it will be nice and hot when you get ready to put them in.
Once the time comes to cook them, test the oil by sprinkling a small amount of Panko crumbs in the oil. If they bubble and fizz, it's hot enough. The tricky part is keeping the oil hot enough to brown/cook the sticks but not hot enough to make the cheese bubble out, as shown below.
I never really found the perfect temperature. I stayed between medium and medium high heat. Even though the cheese bubbled just a teeeeny bit out of most, they were still delicious !
I found it easier to use a spatula instead of tongs when getting them out. When the sticks got hot and the cheese melted, they tore more easily.
Once the sticks have browned (you may have to carefully roll them in oil to acheive a complete brown) place them on a paper towel lined plate.
I promise the oozing cheese isn't as messy as it looks. Once they sit there a minute the cheese sets .
Heat some marinara sauce in a bowl and you're set!
On to dessert. Thank goodness I made them the night before (minus the dipping you will see in a minute).
First bake a cake. Whatever flavor cake you like. I chose yellow because Cowboy's favorite cake is yellow with chocolate icing. Now for the fun part, crumble it up in a bowl.
Next, take a container of icing and mix it in with the cake. I chose cream cheese.
Mix it together with a spoon or your hands.
Once it's all about the same consistency, take a mini ice cream scooper and scoop out small balls.
To make the balls more round, I scooped some out then rolled it in my palm.
Place these on a baking sheet with wax paper.
Now you can either put them in the freezer for 20-30 minutes to flash-freeze them or refrigerate them for several hours. This helps firm them up before you dip them in chocolate. I made these Sunday night and left them in the refrigerator over night.
I might or might not have taste tested one or two JUST to make sure the over night refrigeration didn't take away from their taste. It could happen.
I chose chocolate almond bark to dip the balls in. I started by melting half of the block. People it's a miracle this BLOCK OF CHOCOLATE sat in my house for almost 2 weeks and remained in uneaten. Just sayin'.
Put it in a small saucepan over low heat and watch it melt.
Don't turn the heat too high because the chocolate will burn.
It's really hard to keep from sticking your finger in and tasting it. So don't hold back, just do it. It's the right thing to do.
Once it's almost completely melted, start rolling the balls! Carefully drop a ball or two in, roll it around and drizzle some on top then spoon it out. I used a fork so the excess would fall through.
Carefully place the balls back onto the wax paper. See that rather large one on the bottom right, that's Cowboy's. He made sure to be around when I made them so he could make a BIG one.
While they cool you can add sprinkles or other toppings.
The good thing about this dessert is you can combine any cake mix and icing to your liking. The possibilities are endless. Hope everyone had a good Valentine' Day !
*On a sad note, little Valentine didn't make it. He did make our first Valentine's Day an unforgettable one though !
**Here are links to the two recipes.
