Fried Mozzarella Cheese Appetizers

The week after telling everyone is a different kind of week. The secret is out and suddenly there are texts arriving constantly — Linda has sent me approximately eleven articles about baby-proofing apartments — and Megan's phone has not stopped. It's good chaos. It's the right kind of overwhelmed. Megan is glowing in a way that has nothing to do with any pregnancy cliché and everything to do with relief, I think. She'd been holding the quiet of it for five months and now she gets to be just fully excited in public.

I made a big Polish Sunday dinner this weekend, partly as a thank-you to Tom and Linda for the reaction they had, partly because it just felt right. Żurek — the sour rye soup with hard-boiled eggs and kielbasa that I've been making every Easter since Babcia taught me — plus fresh pierogi and kapusta, the braised cabbage with caraway. Tom had two bowls of żurek and didn't say much but he made the face he makes when something is exactly right, which is a very slight softening around the eyes. I've learned to read it over thirty years.

At work Lakefront is in good shape. The summer wheat is locked in, tasting right, and I feel solid about it. One of the other brewers asked my opinion on a dry-hopping schedule this week and I gave it and he used it and it worked, and that kind of small professional recognition is its own thing — quiet, accumulating. I go home to my wife who is visibly, publicly, joyfully pregnant in the world now, and I make żurek, and Tom eats two bowls, and things feel like they're going somewhere good.

Megan and Jake married in June 2024. The small newlywed-rhythm is in its small second year. The small two-bedroom rental on the small east-side of Milwaukee continues to be the small first-home. The small thirty-year-mortgage-eventually-someday is the small five-year-goal. The small marriage is the small foundation the small life is being built on.

The small Polish-American heritage is the small kitchen-identity. The small pierogi-recipe-cards from Babcia Helen (Jake’s grandmother who passed in 2018, who had lived two blocks from the small Bay-View family-house) is the small monthly-Saturday-tradition. The small kielbasa-and-sauerkraut. The small bigos. The small recipes that came over from the small Krakow-region in the small 1910s.

The small Milwaukee-winter is the small six-month-condition. The small cold-weather-comfort-food rotation runs October through April. The small soups, the small stews, the small braises, the small heavy-baked-goods. The small Midwestern-comfort-vocabulary is the small kitchen-language.

The small Lakefront Brewery shift-work continues to be the small steady-paycheck. The small forty-hour-week brewery-floor job pays the small twenty-two-an-hour rate that the small Milwaukee-blue-collar-economy supports. The small benefits are the small union-decent. The small ten-year-tenure-target is the small career-anchor.

Megan is from a small Irish-Catholic Milwaukee-suburban family. The small Sunday-dinners at her small parents’ house rotate with the small Sunday-dinners at Jake’s parents’ house. The small in-laws on both sides have been the small welcoming-presence. The small two-family-network is the small extended-support the small newlywed-life rests on.

The small future-kid-conversations have begun. Megan teaches small fourth-grade at a small public school in Wauwatosa. The small adoption-vs-biological conversation is in the small early-discussion stage. The small five-year-plan includes the small kid-or-kids in some form. The small kitchen is the small place where the small future is being practiced.

The żurek and kapusta were always going to be the heart of that dinner — Babcia’s recipes don’t take second billing — but I wanted something to set the table with while everything simmered, something warm and shareable to put in front of Tom and Linda while the soup finished. These fried mozzarella appetizers were exactly right for that: no fuss, just hot cheese and something to do with your hands while the good news still hung in the air and everyone was still figuring out how to be in it together. They disappeared before I even ladled the first bowl.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 lb whole-milk mozzarella, cut into 3/4-inch-thick sticks or slices
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons whole milk
1 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Vegetable oil, for frying (about 2 inches in a heavy skillet)
Marinara sauce, for serving

Instructions

Freeze the cheese. Arrange mozzarella pieces in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for at least 15 minutes. This prevents them from melting too fast during frying.
Set up the dredging station. Place flour in a shallow bowl. In a second bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. In a third bowl, combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and pepper.
Coat the mozzarella. Working with a few pieces at a time, dredge frozen mozzarella in flour and shake off the excess. Dip in the egg wash, letting excess drip off, then press firmly into the breadcrumb mixture to coat all sides. For extra crunch, dip again in egg wash and breadcrumbs for a double coat.
Freeze again. Return breaded pieces to the baking sheet and freeze for another 10 minutes while the oil heats. Do not skip this step.
Heat the oil. Pour vegetable oil 2 inches deep into a heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven. Heat over medium-high until it reaches 350°F on an instant-read thermometer.
Fry in batches. Add 4 to 5 pieces at a time — do not crowd the pan. Fry for 1 to 2 minutes per side, turning once, until deep golden brown. Watch carefully; they move fast.
Drain and serve immediately. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel-lined plate. Season with a pinch of salt straight from the oil. Serve hot with warmed marinara for dipping.

Nutrition (per serving)

Fried Mozzarella Cheese Appetizers — The Appetizer That Started the Celebration Dinner