Pin Busters! Cheesy Italian Bread

December 09, 2012

to Read (

Words)

When I was looking for an appetizer to take to our 3rd annual Christmas martini party, I found this recipe for cheesy stuffed Italian bread here on the Food Wanderings in Asia blog.

I modified the recipe a little, so here is my version:

{enjoy the view} Cheesy Stuffed Italian Bread

(recipe adapted from Food Wanderings in Asia)

Ingredients:

1 Italian loaf, about 12 inches long

5 TBSP. stick butter, melted

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tsp. minced onion

3 tsp. minced garlic

1 TBSP. spicy brown mustard

1 TBSP. poppy seeds

3 tsp. chopped parsley

12 oz. grated cheese (I used a mix of white cheddar, Monterey Jack, & colby.)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Mix the melted butter, olive oil, onion, garlic, mustard, poppy seeds, and parsley in a bowl.

Combine cheeses.

Cut the bread into cubes without cutting all the way through the bottom crust.

Spoon the butter-onion garlic mixture carefully into the cracks and over the top of the bread.

Next, fill the cracks with the grated cheese. It's messy and takes a few minutes, but take the time to get the cheese into the cracks. Every. Last. Crack.

Wrap the entire loaf with foil, sealing the seams, and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Remove from the oven, open the foil, & bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and gooey.

Pull apart and enjoy!!

The verdict: Pin-worthy! It was pretty good! I think I would probably have liked it better if I had used mozzarella, provolone, and Asiago or Parmesan cheese. I also think the mozz/provo/Parm combo would be great if you used one of those tiny loaves and sliced it - packing the cheese between the slices - and served it with pasta!

recipes