Mozzarella in Carozza

This is Mario Batali’s idea of a grilled cheese sandwich. I made some earlier today for a late lunch, and I just LOVED them! Go easy on them though; any more than two half-pieces and you’re gonna want to reach for a defibrillator. All that cheese, oil, butter, egg, and cream is quite heavy on the heart (and the stomach).

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh buffalo mozzarella, cut into 4 equal pieces about 3 inches by 4 inches
• Eight ½-inch-thick slices firm white sandwich bread
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• A grating of nutmeg
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preparations
Place the mozzarella on 4 slices of the bread. Cover with the 4 remaining slices to form sandwiches. Trim the crusts off to make perfect 4-inch squares.
In a wide shallow bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the cream, thyme leaves, salt, and nutmeg and whisk until well blended.
In a 10- to 12-inch nonstick sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat until smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook until the sizzling subsides. Dip 2 of the sandwiches into the egg mixture, turning to coat, place in the pan, and cook until golden brown on first side, about 2 minutes. Flip over and brown on the other side. Transfer the sandwiches to individual plates and repeat the process with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon butter, and 2 sandwiches. Cut in half, and serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.