Garlic Gold: Double Crusted Cheese sticks made with Marinated Mozzarella #Recipe

I’m so in love with the Garlic Gold brand, that I made another easy recipe to enjoy. These go with everything from pizza, wings, to even a light Italian dinner.  I even pair them with a dinner salad and these sub for my croutons.

Let’s Begin…..

• Large Mason Jar
• 1/4 cup of Garlic Gold’s Red Wine Vinaigrette
• 8 to 10 sticks cut from Mozzarella Cheese (from a semi-soft block, not the soft fresh type)
• 1/4 cup of All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup of plain Panko Bread Crumbs
• 1/4 cup of plain Bread Crumbs
• Dash of Garlic Gold Nuggets
• 1 egg
• Salt & Pepper (to taste)
• Optional- 1/4 teaspoon of chili flakes if you want to make Fire Crackers. Add the flakes to the marinade.
• Peanut Oil (or one of your choice) for frying

Take your Mason Jar and add 1/4 cup of the Garlic Gold Vinaigrette. Take your cheese sticks and close the jar, give it a toss and lay it down in the fridge.

I marinated mine overnight and I would walk by the fridge and shake it a few times. You can use a small jar if you wish but I wanted to not fill the jar and waste vinaigrette, so I opted to not filling and used this shaking method.

You will notice the oil will solidify so take the cheese out an hour before cooking and allow the marinade to liquefy and every now and then give the jar a shake.

Take out a plate (I use a glass pie plate) and use that as your flouring station and another dish for the bread crumbs (both the panko and plain combined). Add salt and pepper to taste to the bread crumbs and a dash of the Garlic Gold Nuggets.

Take cheese out of jar (reserve the vinaigrette) and dip them in the flour, rolling and making sure to not forget to dab the tips too.

Once the cheese is floured, dip the cheese back into the vinaigrette and then roll into the bread crumbs.

You will notice that not much will stay, but this is the first dip that will insure you have that great flavor. The flour will soak it up and give it a beautiful layer and crunch. Do all the bread sticks and let them relax in the bread crumbs.

Crack open the egg and whisk.

Dip each bread stick in the egg and back into the bread crumbs. I lay the cheese sticks on a plate because they will be relaxing in the freezer for 20-30 minutes after they have received their second coat. This is the coat that will stick really well and just continue until all cheese sticks are nicely covered and coated.

Put plate in freezer and depending how cold yours is, it only takes 20 to 30 minutes for them to set nicely. This buys you time when frying and also allows the breading to set.

Once the above time has lapsed, it’s time to fry! I use Peanut Oil for how it tends to fry everything really crispy. You can use any frying oil of your choice. Heat up the oil and this is a quick dish to make.

It takes less than 30 seconds to get golden. I take about 2 to 3 sticks at a time because I used a small frying pan but you can use a larger one (I don’t like wasting oil either 🙂 ). You just drop them in and you can see my oil comes up half-way and then once they are golden and this happens in a few seconds, just flip and finish.

I placed my fried cheese sticks on parchment to rest. Serve immediately and enjoy.

If you are frying more than the above quota, no worries as you can use a pan with parchment to rewarm them. Again, this happens quick as we are dealing with cheese. Heat your oven to 375 degrees and set your cheese sticks on a cookie sheet (with parchment) and heat until warm and gooey. This can take 5 minutes and I do this with leftovers (from the fridge). You can serve with a pesto and I opted for a eggplant and vegetable marinara sauce. The cheese sticks are flavorful and you can make these into “fire crackers” by adding the chili flakes to your marinade.

 

You can also make this easy dish by getting your own Garlic Gold Products at:

• On-line– http://garlicgold.com/
• Visit Garlic Gold on Facebook– https://www.facebook.com/GarlicGold
• Twitter– https://twitter.com/garlicgold
• See the pretty Garlic Gold products and the other dishes you can create onPinterest– http://www.pinterest.com/garlicgold/

I received the above product free of charge from Garlic Gold.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

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Wafu style Chicken Egg Rolls

I have been enjoying myself and trying all of Wafu’s wonderful dressings that are so delicious, that they can be used as marinades. Tonight was one of our “trips to Asia”, so that means I needed something that went beyond a potsticker for dinner. I had one defrosted chicken breast that was screaming I don’t do my fall back and make Orange Chicken. My answer was simple and quick egg rolls since the chicken breast seemed to be dictating the night 🙂

I don’t own a mandoline because so many seem to have poor reviews, that I can never decide which one to actually buy. I make do with the knives I own, plus that also means I don’t need to make room for another kitchen tool.

Filling:

• 1 Carrot thinly shredded
• 1/2 cup of shredded Cabbage
• 3 Green Onions thinly sliced

• 1 large Chicken Breast
• 1/4 teaspoon of Chinese Five Spice
• Salt and Pepper to taste

• 2 to 3 Garlic Cloves (diced)
• 1 tablespoon of Peanut Oil and 1 tablespoon of Seasame Seed Oil

• 3 to 4 tablespoons of the Original Wafu’s Japanese Vinaigrette
• 1/2 teaspoon of freshly grated Ginger (less or more, as to your taste)

Wraps:

• Egg roll wraps (you will yield 10 to 12 egg rolls depending on how you stuff)
• 1 egg whisked

Frying Oil:

Peanut Oil for frying, about 1 to 1/2 cups

Dip:

• Wafu’s Wasabi Edamme Japanese dressing
• Sriracha sauce to taste (between 2 to 3 drops or be brave and do more)

I start by peeling the carrot and discard the peels. I then take my peeler and make thin slices of the carrot. I take my knife and then julienne the carrots into fine slices.

I then finely slice the cabbage.

Next, comes the green onion and I use all the white parts, saving the green stalks that can be used for garnish.  I start by slicing the onions in half, and then in halves again to create thin strips.

Your trio should look like this:

Next comes the chicken breast.  I start by dicing the breast into chunks and then add Chinese Five Spice

This is about the size of my chunks but please cut them to any size you are comfortable with.  I then just add salt and pepper to taste and massage the seasonings into the meat.

The vegetables do not require to be pre-cooked but the meat does.  These egg rolls take only but a few minutes to cook, so the meat needs to be fully cooked before frying.  I start by adding a mix of peanut oil and sesame seed oil, plus the fresh garlic I diced up.

While that cooks, I take a bowl and add 3 to 4 tablespoons of Wafu’s Original Japaneses Vinaigrette.

I fry the chicken on both sides until the breast pieces get a nice color and are fully cooked, making sure to not burn the garlic.  I then add everything once it cools for 5 minutes to the Wafu dressing.  This includes the garlic, any left over juices and oils.  I toss making sure everything is incorporated.

I then take my fresh Ginger out of the freezer because it’s the only way I can make it last.  Using a knife, I finely grate enough to make 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of shavings.  I then add it to the chicken and toss.

Next comes the fun part, assembly time.  I went to three stores that I knew stocked egg roll wraps, however everyone was out of stock. I finally found some at Von’s market and this is the brand I used.  Use whatever brand you desire as I do not have a favorite.  Just make sure the ingredients the wraps are made of are to your liking.

This how I assembled and I did not take certain amount of vegetables and meat.  I went with what seemed like an even amount and sometimes even a little more meat than veggies because then I could almost hear my husband asking if there was a chicken shortage he did not know of 😛

Then add the egg wash all around.  I used a silicone brush to make it easier to swipe all around.

Next, comes the folding and it’s just like making mini burritos.

I then add a little more wash to the folded edges to insure things remain closed and also stuck together.

Then just finish rolling.

Repeat the process until you are out of chicken.  I was able to make 10 of this little guys.

I covered my uncooked egg rolls with slightly moist paper towels while my oil heated up.

Once my oil was hot, I began to fry three egg rolls at a time.  They cook up quickly….like less than a minute on each side.

Flip once you see the edges slightly brown.

When done, I just take them out and pat them on paper towels.

Continue to fry until you are done and this goes by quickly, which is a good thing!  I then make my dip.  I take 1 to 1/2 tablespoons of Wafu’s Wasabi Edamme Japanese dressing and add 2 to 3 drops of Sriracha sauce.  Mix and you are finished!  This is my first time making egg rolls, if I can do it….so can you!  Enjoy!

I received the above dressings and vinagrettes free of charge from Wafu.  I am not obligated to provide positive/favorable feedback, just my honest opinion.  I highly recommend this company because they have one of the best dressings on the market.  From flavors that make a simple salad that much more enjoyable, to the practicality of being able to use their products as marinades.  I love the ingredients and the pride the company takes in keeping things simple but delicious.  My review is based on my experience with the brand, which may differ from yours.

Check them out at: http://www.wafu.ca/  on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/wafubrand Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/wafubrand or even on Pinterest at: http://pinterest.com/wafubrand/

Swaggable brings you WAFU Original Japanese Vinaigrette

WAFU Original Japanese Vinaigrette

I love Japanese cuisine and I make a great sticky rice with vegetables when we have our “trips to the Orient” on dinner nights.  I am always a little lost when I want a salad with my meal because I was unsure how to still make it go flavor wise with dinner.  I ended up using a cold pressed Sesame oil that I emulsify with a little Olive oil and a red wine vinegar.  The dressing was sort of there taste wise but was missing something that truly incorporated it with my meal.  The worst thing you can have is an “almost there” dressing, so let’s say my Japanese homemade dressing did not get made very often.

WAFU is the answer to my salad dilemma!  They take Canola oil, water, rice vinegar, Soya sauce, Soybeans, sea salt, onion and sugar to create a well balanced flavor that I love.  WAFU also adds garlic, Sesame oil, and the only odd ingredient was pasteurized frozen egg yolk but again, you recognize easily what the product contains.  I imagine the yolk gives it that yummy creaminess, so I welcome it!  They use zero colors or artificial flavors.  The product has 0 grams of Trans Fat per serving and is also Kosher.  A serving size of 1.5 fluid ounces is just 190 calories and my packet that was considered one serving, dressed three salads nicely, so that was a major plus.  The company is based in Canada and is currently working on their US site at: http://www.wafu.us.com.  In the meantime before they launch over here, you can check out their Canadian site at: http://www.wafu.ca/.  They make other dressing varieties like the Original above but also in a “Light” version.  WAFU also makes a Ginger Carrot and Wasabi Edamame.  Have a gluten allergy or you are restricting it from your diet?  WAFU has you covered with their “Natural WAFU Dressings”.  The Natural line is gluten free and GMO free too, plus they have a new flavor called Roasted Sesame.  I put roasted sesame seeds on my salads so this is a flavor I hope to taste in the future.  The Natural line also offers all the above flavors, except there is no “Light” versions available yet.

Taste wise, it is excellent and this I would classify as a creamy vinaigrette.  You pick up the sesame flavors that come through as nutty and roasted.  Very delicious and I can’t wait until they launch in the U.S.  I liked it so much, that I want to be able to try the product on other dishes, like chicken.  This would make an excellent marinade, but I was in salad mode and used mine all up on lettuce.  Definitely a company I will be contacting and I hope to do a follow-up piece on how many ways I can WAFU in the kitchen!  Imagine the Wasabi version used as a dip for tempura shrimps……oh’ my!  Even a fish dish!

I received the above product free of charge from Swaggable and WAFU.  I am not committed in providing a positive/favorable review, just my honest opinion.  I base my review on my experiences with the product, which may differ from yours.