4 of us had dinner at this tucked away culinary gem last night. Due to the time change we settled on an early 7:00pm dinner and carried in 2 bottles of wine. There is no cork fee...
We got started with appetizers, Mushroom Arancini with provolone and truffle-spiked tomato sauce, a dish of crispi calamari (not at all greasy) with roasted peppers, spinach and citrus dressing, finally the evening's special ravioli.
For main courses we sampled Grilled Hangar Steak with mashed potatos, grean beans and a gorgonzola green peppercorn sauce, a Rioja-braised Chicken with carrots and sweet-potato Spaetzle, finally baked Salmon with olive topping, saffron, beurre blanc, sun-dried tomato and quinoa.
The proteins were juicy, not over-cooked and the sides were perfect. Seasoning was exactly to taste and every plate left the table clean.
Before leaving we had to try the home-made strudel with a scoop of banana gelato...wow!
Il Mercato is tucked away at 1454 E. Hallandale Beach Blvd. in Hallandale, FL. It is next to a Publix and hard to see from the road. I recommend you plug the address into your GPS and make the effort to get to their door.
The food is excellent, half-plates are offered and a certified sommelier is on staff. Service is friendly and prompt; they will make you feel like a part of the famiglia right away.
Our tab came to $78.00 before tip. We did not take advantage of the restaurant's wine selection although it appears well-sourced and researched with reasonable markups.
Final verdict - Go!!!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
My Home Made Pizza
For many years I felt that pizza is something you ordered out or had delivered. Recently I broke the pizza DNA code and have been making home-made pizza that is to die for.
You need a pizza stone for your oven; I got the cheapest clay stone from Marshalls that cost $7.00 aqnd have used it many times.
Dissolve 1 packet of instant yeast in a cup of warm (not hot but tap-warm) water. Throw in a bit of sugar for the little babies to start eating and burping for 6-8 minutes.
In a mixer bowl put 2 cups of bread flour and 1/2 a cup of whole wheat flour, a tsp of salt, 3 tsp olive oil and...1/4 cup of minced onion. Add the yeast/water mixture, 2 tsp honey and mix with hook attachment for 1 minute before scraping sides and mixing for 2 more minutes.
Add 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour at a time (every 2 minutes) until the mixture begins to clean the sides (not so sticky anymore). Once it reaches this stage flour your hands and pick up the dough; place in a greased bowl (olive oil is best) and make sure to oil top to bottom until well-coated (not dripping).
Cover and let rise for 60-90 minutes (double in size). Then turn oven to 450F and while it is heating up take your stone, cover with a bit of corm masa harina. Pick up the dough and turn in hands to strech a bit. Place on the stone and roll out (you can flour or oil roller) to cover stone.
Place 1/2 jar of Whinn-Dixie brand pizza sauce on top of the rolled out dough, add veggies (onions, jalapenos, mushrooms etc), cheese (Mozzarella) and turkey pepperoni on top.
Place in oven for 8-10 minutes before turning the stone to get even heat on both sides. At this point the oven should reach 450F and you can add 10-12 minutes to your timer. Look at your pizza at the end; if the crust is golden brown, not too much fluid in the venter you have a winner.
Take it out, cut into 8 slices and enjoy after it cools a bit...
You need a pizza stone for your oven; I got the cheapest clay stone from Marshalls that cost $7.00 aqnd have used it many times.
Dissolve 1 packet of instant yeast in a cup of warm (not hot but tap-warm) water. Throw in a bit of sugar for the little babies to start eating and burping for 6-8 minutes.
In a mixer bowl put 2 cups of bread flour and 1/2 a cup of whole wheat flour, a tsp of salt, 3 tsp olive oil and...1/4 cup of minced onion. Add the yeast/water mixture, 2 tsp honey and mix with hook attachment for 1 minute before scraping sides and mixing for 2 more minutes.
Add 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour at a time (every 2 minutes) until the mixture begins to clean the sides (not so sticky anymore). Once it reaches this stage flour your hands and pick up the dough; place in a greased bowl (olive oil is best) and make sure to oil top to bottom until well-coated (not dripping).
Cover and let rise for 60-90 minutes (double in size). Then turn oven to 450F and while it is heating up take your stone, cover with a bit of corm masa harina. Pick up the dough and turn in hands to strech a bit. Place on the stone and roll out (you can flour or oil roller) to cover stone.
Place 1/2 jar of Whinn-Dixie brand pizza sauce on top of the rolled out dough, add veggies (onions, jalapenos, mushrooms etc), cheese (Mozzarella) and turkey pepperoni on top.
Place in oven for 8-10 minutes before turning the stone to get even heat on both sides. At this point the oven should reach 450F and you can add 10-12 minutes to your timer. Look at your pizza at the end; if the crust is golden brown, not too much fluid in the venter you have a winner.
Take it out, cut into 8 slices and enjoy after it cools a bit...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)