| From curds and whey to fresh, creamy mozzarella |
Restaurant
was once famous for tableside flambe dishes like Crepes Suzette, particularly in its more formal original location at 75th and Wornall, and the waitstaffstill prepares Caesar salads tableside. But lately, the ten-year-old Jasper's location at 1201 West 103rd Street has begun offering a new twist, as it were, on tableside theatrics: fresh mozzarella prepared right in front of a diner's eyes. It's not only quite a show -- it's absolutely delicious.The celebrity chef at Jasper's, Jasper Mirabile, Jr., the youngest son of the restaurant's late founder, believes his tableside preparation of mozzarella is the only one in the United States. Mirabile has become accomplished in creating new recipes using cheese in his role as one of the ambassadors for the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. That organization has sent him around the United States as a spokesman for its products.
While creating new marketing possibilities for Wisconsin cheese, Mirabile concocted the tableside mozzarella performance using, of course, Wisconsin cheese curds. He fills a stainless steel bowl with cheese curds and whey, adds a pitcher of boiling water to separate the curds from the whey and begins stretching and twisting the cheese solids until a satiny hunk of mozzarella forms. Mirabile caps off the completed ball of cheese, slices it and drizzles it with Sicilian olive oil and a twist of freshly cracked pepper and serves it with crostini and fresh Kansas asparagus for $8.95.
It's an extraordinary way to enjoy mozzarella. And the cheese is just as sensational eaten with the restaurant's excellent ciabatta (baked for Jasper's by Roma Bakery) as it is with the crispy crostini.
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