Grilled Cheese for Grown-ups via Mario Batali

Updating a classic

Batali claims the American cheese classic, through his recipe, can be “turned into performance art.”  I wouldn’t go that far--nobody's getting naked and using her body as a paintbrush for buttering the bread, or having strangers cut off their clothes while they flip it on the griddle--but it’s an impressive sandwich made more impressive by its simple ingredients and childhood throwback.  All you need is some decent bread, fresh mozzarella (it’s got to be very good mozzarella or forget it), an egg, heavy cream, thyme, nutmeg, and a little olive oil.  You end up with a creamy filling (non-aged cheese melts like none other) and almost French Toast-style bookends.  I’m sure you could add other things between the bread slices, but I kept it simple, throwing in some Mesclun (field greens) salad and a few loose cherry tomatoes in a bag at the store--for an extra 90 cents I had a small salad to freshen up the heaviness.  Toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. On a second visit I’d probably not eat this as a main course, instead slicing it into mini sandwiches as a little antipasto finger-food.  Very high-class, art-world stuff.  Big sunglasses, white wine, etc.  Maybe that's what Batali meant. Mozzarella in Carozza (Mozzarella in a Carriage) Adapted from Molto Italiano .  Recipe available online in slightly different form here .  I made ¼ of this recipe for one sandwich but used the full teaspoon of thyme and, as suggested in the book, grated nutmeg and cream instead of milk. 2 pounds fresh buffalo mozzarella, cut into 4 (3 by 4-inch) slices 8 slices American-style sandwich bread, crusts removed 4 eggs 1 cup milk 2-3 grates fresh nutmeg 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon plus 3 tablespoons sweet butter Divide the 4 pieces of mozzarella on 4 slices of bread. Cover with the 4 remaining slices of bread to form sandwiches. Cut the bread away to leave a 1/4-inch border around the perimeter of the cheese and set aside. In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk the eggs and add the milk, thyme leaves and salt and mix until well blended. Dip the sandwiches into the egg mixture one by one to coat, and set aside. In a 12 to 14-inch non-stick saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil until smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and cook until the sizzling subsides. Place 2 sandwiches in the pan and cook until golden brown on the first side. Flip each sandwich and cook on the other side. Remove sandwiches and set aside. Repeat the process with the remaining oil, butter and sandwiches.  Before serving, check for miraculous images in the bread. Don't worry, it's saved in a plastic baggy with cotton balls.  I'm taking bids now.  Anyone?