Thursday, April 24, 2014

il Lazzarone: What to expect

 

Now that the restaurant announcement has been made, here’s some things you can expect from an authentic Neapolitan pizzeria and more specifically, what to expect from il Lazzarone!

Oven
At il Lazzarone, our wood fired oven is an Acunto Mario, made on the main street of Naples, Italy by a fifth generation oven builder. Why this oven? For true Neapolitan pizza you must have a wood fired oven capable of achieving over 800 degrees constant temperatures. The mouth of the oven and the oven dome height must all be constructed within specific ratios to achieve a true pizza Napoletana. Our oven is constructed of all hand laid brick made from the soils of the Campania region of Italy. In our opinion, there is absolutely no oven in the world capable of producing a better product. We are very lucky to have received the first one imported into America.

a pizza oven

Size
Neapolitan pies are traditionally 11 inches round. For an average appetite, you'll likely want one pie per person.

Cook Time
Due to the extreme temperatures and the craftsmanship of the oven, the pizza will cook between 50-90 seconds.

a pizza time

Ingredients
Less is more. A good Neapolitan pie is minimally topped with the freshest natural ingredients to strike the perfect ratio of flavor.

  • Dough: the dough is made simply of water, flour, yeast and salt with no added preservatives or additives
  • Sauce: San Marzano tomatoes are a very rare tomato native to Italy. At il Lazzarone, we use only DOP certified San Marzano tomatoes which insures the tomatoes have been grown in a specific historical region outside of Naples. The magic of the San Marzano comes from the soil which they are grown in. These specific tomatoes are considered the richest and sweetest in the world and are grown around the base of Mt. Vesuvius in a soil extremely rich in minerals. This very soil is where the material for the oven is harvested and made into bricks for our oven’s hearth and dome, creating a symbiotic relationship between ingredient and oven.
  • Flour: Our flour is a 00 flour which holds an 11.2% protein ratio. This 00 flour refers to the size of the mill. 00 is the finest mill on earth and creates a soft silky crust. 00 grade flour is also a requirement for true Neapolitan pizza.
  • Cheese: For our cheese, we hold true to Neapolitan standards as well using only fior de late (fresh mozzarella) or mozzarella de bufala. All of or cheese hold true to the artisan roots of old and are completely hormone free.

a pizza picture a pizza pic 3

Charring
Also due to the high temperature cook time, the crust has a slight charring on bottom and edges characteristic to Neapolitan pizza giving it another depth of flavor and texture.

pizza char 2 pizza char 3pizza char 4 pizza char

Wet or Soupy
Unlike typical American pizza, a delicious pool of flavor forms in the middle of a Neapolitan pie during its short time in the oven making it  what one might call wet or "soupy".

Knife and Fork
As to not disrupt the "soupy" middle (thereby making the crust soggy on the way to the table) these pies are meant to be served whole, uncut, and eaten with a knife and fork.

Organic/All Natural
At il Lazzarone, we're passionate about authentic real food therefore our ingredients are organic and all natural incorporating both local ingredients with special authentic Italian imported items. Our cheese is always rBgh free and our meats are antibiotic and hormone free.

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Friday, April 18, 2014

Moist carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

Til the Easter season!
I haven’t found my way to The Purple Carrot in far too long and after making this carrot cake a few days ago, I knew it was the perfect thing to share. We found it to be extremely moist and delicious! I’ve been doing a lot of juicing lately as well and I never know what to do with all that pulp. 
Enter: a great way to use up pulp from juicing carrots!
a carrot cakea carrot cake4
Moist carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (makes one 9x13 inch pan or two 9 inch cake pans)
*adapted from All Recipes
Ingredients:
  • Carrot cake
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups melted coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 2 cups cane sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspooons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3 cups grated carrots (I used the pulp from juicing carrots, works great!)
  • Cream Cheese frosting
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 8 ounce cream cheese softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla – I ended up using almond because I was out of vanilla and ended up loving the flavor with this cake)
Instructions:
Cake
  1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees and grease two 9 inch cake pans or one 9x13 inch pan
  2. In large mixing bowl, beat together eggs, coconut oil, sugar, vanilla and milk
  3. Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon
  4. Stir in carrots
  5. Bake for about 45 minutes or until toothpick in center comes out clean
Frosting
  1. Combine all ingredients and beat until mixture is smooth and creamy.
a carrot cake2
Nom, nom, nom!
Happy Easter, all Smile
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Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Seven Months

Seven Months

Seven months old and getting to be such a big girl! It's hard to believe you're more than halfway to being 1 year old! You've changed our lives in so many ways but nothing would mean anything without you. We love and treasure you, Emy!


Seven Months

What you weigh: 17 pounds 9.6 ounces

Eating: You don't love solids but we've been experimenting with different veggies and some fruits as well as egg yolks. So far most of it ends up on your face and bib. Besides that, you usually nurse when you get up, then around 10, 2, 5, and at bedtime.

Sleeping: Sleeping this month hasn't been your forte, ha. Nighttime is pretty hit and miss these days. You're waking up on average three times a night and haven't had more than a 5 hour spurt at all this month. You're still napping about twice a day for 45 mins to an hour. Your favorite place to nap is still on mom but you have napped in the stroller and car seat a little now too.

Clothes: You still range from 6 month to 12 month clothes but I'd say average is in the 9 month range.

Favorite Activities: Sitting up, scratching on everything you touch, smiling, laughing, making silly noises, waving, sticking your tongue out, being outside.

Least Favorite Activities: This month, sleeping "good"

Big moments/firsts:
- We took our first road trip to Nebraska this month which was quite a feat considering your history with car seats!
- You're talking so much more and can make noises like ba-ba, ma-ma, and da-da
- We've finally ventured down to Kansas City with you now that we're able to be in the car longer.


Seven Months Pictures


Seven Months Videos

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