Messy and Picky

KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid: words to live by. And there's nothing simpler than a loaf of bread and some fresh cheese. But you can step it up a bit and go get yourself some really good bread and some fantastic mozzarella (and that's pronounced mutz-a-rell).

I love the bread from Sarcone's down on 9th and Fitzwater Sts. You can get it around town in various places, but I know you can get it at Sue's Produce (115 S. 18th St just north of Sansom St) fresh and daily. You'll probably hear it called Sar-cone's or Sar-cone-a's depending on who you ask, but just about everyone will tell you to go do yourself a favor and get yourself some. A loaf of Italian will set you back $1.30. I prefer the unseeded.

But what kind of cheese to put on top of that luscious, soft, crunchy bread? I love me some mozzarella from Claudio's in the Italian Market at 924-26 South 9th St. One side of the store is their state of the art mozzarella factory churning out loads of bursting-with-flavor balls of mozzarella. The other half of the store is a specialty foods store with cheese, olives, cured meats, pasta, olive oil and all the other goodies you'd expect to find in a specialty foods store in the Italian Market. Like the Sarcone's mentioned above, you can also get Claudio's at Sue's (it's like they know exactly what I want and make it centrally available!). At Sue's you can get 1/2 pound balls of mozzarella for about $3.50 and a pint package of little balls for $2. A pound of the smoked mozzarella (pictured above on the Sarcone's) will set you back $6.99/lbs. and it's worth every penny.

Slice off a few inches of Italian bread and split it, but not all the way through. Take a sharp knife (not serrated) and slice off some chunks of mozzarella. Not too much though, you want a decent balance between the bread and cheese. A spritz of olive oil on the bread could add a splash of taste, but I prefer mine dry. Fold over the top half of the bread and smoosh it down a bit. Now, enjoy your masterpiece in old world simplicity. A loaf and a 1lbs. ball of mozzarella is probably plenty for a picnic with some friends and with this insane weather, you can enjoy your picnic in some of the 9,000 acres of green space that is Fairmount Park through Thanksgiving.

The bread will stay fresh for a few days so you don't have to wolf it down in one sitting (but I'm not advising you not to eat it all). Enjoy it for lunch. Have it on the side for dinner. Heat it up and butter it in the morning. The mozzarella you can save for a few days too, but be sure to sniff it after a couple of days - nothing worse than spoiled milk products.