At the summer Fancy Food Show I was able to have a nice conversation with Paula Lambert – the top kick at the Mozzarella Company. I’ve met Paula a few times over the past 20 years. I was surprised to see her at the show (not sure why though). She's one of the nicest ladies I've ever met, and boy can she talk about cheese. Off the cuff I asked her how fresh mozzarella was made and she went through the whole process in just a few minutes. 

Once upon a time I lived in Dallas for many years and when I needed mozzarella cheese for anything I would make the trek down to 2944 Elm Street (their location) and buy it. I could have just walked to the grocery which carried it but I went there for the experience. To me her story is the ultimate foodie dream come true. She fell in love with fresh mozzarella while she was on an extended holiday in Italy – She loved it so much she wanted to bring it back to Texas with her. While in Italy she learned how to make it, and she uses the same process she learned there now. Most of the equipment that goes into making her cheese came from Italy, and her small shop cranks out a quarter of a million pounds of fresh mozzarella a year. She found something she was passionate about and made her dream into reality with a lot of hard work. If you stop by her shop you can go on a tour. She gave me the first one I went on and you can tell just by listening to her how much she loves what she does. For more information about her site point your browser to http://www.mozzco.com/ . I have to admit I’ve not tried all their cheeses but what I have has been nothing shy of excellent! All their products hand made, and you can taste the passion and pride that goes into every bite. Give them a try…

 

This is a quick little bite I made using some of her cheese...

 

 

.5 lb fresh Mozzarella

1 baggett sliced into rounds (or to your liking)

1 bunch basil

1 jar of sun dried tomato spread (or make your own)

 

Slice the bread to your liking - toast it for a few under the broiler - slather on some of the spread put down a piece of basil and top with the mozzarella. Put it back under the broiler until the cheese has melted and looks good... It's a quick and easy bite...