
Looking for the perfect appetizer to serve at Thanksgiving dinner? Look no further than this delicious mushroom and pancetta crostata. A crostata is an Italian free-form tart that's similar to a savory pie.

Sometimes the simplest of dishes can be the most rewarding. Take the classic margherita pizza, for example. With its crispy crust, fresh tomato sauce, and melted mozzarella cheese, it's far from complex, yet it's probably the world's most well-known pizza!

If fried mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce is one of your favorite bar foods, you're going to love this recipe! Smoked mozzarella is breaded and pan-fried in a shallow pool of oil.
A fresh tomato-basil mixture replaces the marinara sauce.

A delightful alternative to the classic caprese salad, these skewers are bite-sized pieces of heaven. The recipe couldn't be easier, and the simplicity highlights the pure flavor of ripe tomatoes and fresh cheese. To make these easy appetizers, I tossed pieces of bocconcini, or mozzarella balls, with homemade pesto.

You'd be hard pressed to find a simpler dinner than these quesadillas served alongside melon. The quesadillas, with their flour tortillas encasing oozy, gooey melted mozzarella, are inspired by Mexican and Italian cuisines. Next time, for even more of an Italian twist, I'll swap the ham for prosciutto to balance out the mozzarella, which is mild and doesn't contain much salt.

Packed with cheese, olives, and salumi, an antipasto platter is one of my favorite Italian appetizers. So imagine how excited I was when I discovered this recipe for an antipasto salad!!
Fresh balls of mozzarella mingle with salami, olives, and pepperoncini in this hearty, crunchy salad.

At the
Food and Wine Classic, I watched
Jose Andres make bread chips. He froze a baguette, sliced it superthin with a mandoline, and panfried it until crisp. While Andres topped his with anchovies and other Spanish ingredients, I haven't stopped thinking about this bread chip and wondered how it would translate into a nacho.

Every day when I water my small herb garden, I get a whiff of fresh basil. My first thoughts always go to one of my favorite summertime dishes:
caprese salad! However, the tomatoes I've picked up lately are rather disappointing.

Let me just say that taking a gorgeous, appetizing picture of nachos is hard. The image certainly does not do these amazingly delicious Italian nachos justice. They were so good that I ate an insane amount all by myself.
Is there a more heavenly word combination than grilled cheese? I'm a sucker for any variation of toasted bread and melted cheese, but this
mozzarella and pesto version looks to die for. — Vicarious Foodie