2 Amy's Again

2 Amy's is a great little authentic pizza place in the Cleveland Park area of DC.  We've been here before but its taken us almost a whole year to make it back here.  There are always so many new places we want to try, its hard to make it back to the good ones we've already been to.  But we had been craving some 2 Amy's pizza for a couple weeks and we had a free Saturday to make a trip to DC so here's where we ended up...

A selection of mixed olives in their own olive oil...

Be careful of the pits! These things are fresh!

 Nice tart mix of favors, some strong, some subtle, all delicious.

A lovely salty combination...sardines and olives

Pretty little salty sardines served with bread and butter...

The butter added a slight sweet and creamy texture to the salty little fish.

The bread was baked fresh too.  Soft on the inside, a bit crunchy on the crust.


And then the pizza...

Salami, peppers, buffalo mozarella...yumminess!

Oh yeah, sometimes on Saturdays, they also offer these donuts for a dessert.  I guess we ate them so fast we forgot to take pictures of them. But trust me, they were awesome!  Lightly crisp, covered with sugar, baked fresh, and still warm when they put them in the paper bag.  They even let you have the leftover donut holes that go with them!

2 Amy's

No, this post is not about a person or even two people named Amy. Its about a pizza.  A special pizza.  A Neapolitan pizza authenticated by the Italian government. Sounds like a pizza spy movie.  But its not. Its real. Very real and very yummy pizza.

Superking and I decided to head into DC for lunch today since he had the day off for Good Friday. And we were in desperate need of a food adventure. He found this little pizza shop called 2Amys.  Apparently they are well-known for their "pizza d.o.c."  What is this you ask?  2Amys website says this...
       "In 1998 the Italian government formally recognized Neapolitan pizza as a traditional food worthy of preservation and granted it D.O.C (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) status, which specifies the legally permitted ingredients and methods of preparation necessary to produce authentic Neapolitan Pizza."

pizza authentication all in Italian

crazy wine menu

regular menu: simple and yummy

These pizzas can only use very specific ingredients and be cooked in a very specific way, making it, what the Italians believe is, the best way to make pizza.

margherita pizza

One of these d.o.c. pizzas is called the Margherita.  Very simple ingredients...tomato, buffalo mozzarella, basil, with a little sea salt in the dough, and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil on top.  The pizza is just big enough for either one very hungry person or to split between 2 people who also want to share an appetizer.  The crust is light, thin, and almost flaky.  I'm one of those people who generally does not eat the leftover crust. I figure once the cheese is gone, whats the point? However, this crust was worthy of eating, even by me. And the entire pizza just had this fresh, clean essence to it.

beautiful slice with a whole basil leaf

In addition to the pizza, we decided to get a small cheese plate and a small charcuterie/meat plate.  Let's begin with the cheese. You may have remembered I'm a huge cheese-head! Absolutely LOVE cheese of all kinds. I haven't met a cheese I didn't like yet. And today was no exception.  I had never even heard of most of the cheeses on the menu! The two we chose were gorgonzola with chestnut honey and barilotto (a kind of semi-firm, ricotta-style buffalo cheese). Gorgonzola, I've had before. I've even had it with honey. But this was amazing. The entire world stopped on my first bite.  The barilotto was really good too. It had a soft mild flavor similar to fresh mozzarella and was lightly drizzled with olive oil.

Bread, cheese plate with round crusty breadsticks, charcuterie

delectable cheese (gorgonzola on the left, barilotto on right); honey also had pieces of apricot

For the charcuterie plate, we chose lomo, lardo, and boar cacciatorini.  Obviously, we all know what boar is.  This boar cacciatorini was very thinly sliced salami.  Nice salty meaty flavor.  But lomo and lardo? Lardo, you can probably take a good guess.  Its basically pure fat.  Like down in the south people cook their beans with fat-back.  This is kind of like that, but just a strip of fat on a plate.  I have to admit, I wasn't a fan. To me it tasted like I just had a spoonful of Crisco.  But Superking enjoyed it, so good for him! Thats why we call it a food adventure!  Lomo is cured pork loin, sliced paper-thin, you can almost see through it.  Light porky and salty flavor. Delish!

Left: lomo; Middle: boar; Right: lardo

gorgonzola spread on the bread...yummy

The whole atmosphere of the place was adorable. There was this old-world European charm to it, from the wooden tables to the single brick wall and the quaint little bar area with its wall of wine.  Even the bathroom was charming and clean.  Located in an area of DC called Cleveland Park, not far from Georgetown, it was definitely an Italian neighborhood gem.  When you're in DC and have a craving for pizza, this is the place to go!

there was even a hostess with pink hair

 

Shrimp Wonton Cups

Last week I made these for a church meeting. I thought these would be fresh and easy to make and something a little different for the group.  Wouldn't you know I get to the meeting and put my shrimp wontons on the table and see across from me that someone else brought some kind of wonton cup appetizer? What are the odds?

The other lady and I just laughed after she told me she thought the same exact thing! Oh well! Hers had a different filling which were also very yummy. And by the end of the night every wonton cup of both kinds were completely eaten up!

This is a recipe I got from a Pampered Chef cookbook called Celebrate!   Here are the ingredients...

24 square wonton wrappers (found in the produce section of the grocery store)
1 TBsp melted butter
10 oz shelled, cooked medium shrimp, chopped
2 green onions, finely chopped
1/3 cup grated carrot (you can also use the matchstick carrots and put them through the food processor)
4 oz cream cheese softened
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup (4oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray mini muffin pan.  Using pastry brush, brush one side of each wonton square with melted butter. Press each wonton, buttered side up, into muffin cup.  Bake about 8 minutes or until edges turn light golden brown. Remove from oven to cooling rack.

wonton cups before baking

wonton cups after baking

Reserve 24 shrimp for garnish later and finely chop the rest, along with the green onion and carrot.

another chance to use my food processor!!

shrimp, mozzarella, cream cheese, green onion, carrot

Combine cream cheese, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce. Blend well. Stir shrimp, green onion, carrot, and mozzarella cheese into cream cheese mixture.  Fill each baked wonton cup with a scoop of the filling and top with reserved shrimp. Bake 5 minutes or until wontons are golden brown and filling is bubbly around edges.

wonton cups served

Note: these make great appetizers alongside some Asian meatballs and sweet and sour sauce.  These could also be nice served with a sweet spicy chile sauce!

They offer a pizza you can't refuse!

A highlight on a local pizza shop...The Don's Wood-fired Pizza (formerly known as Don Corleone's Pizza before they got in trouble using a trademarked name...oh well).  This little pizza shop with a gangster/Godfather theme, has taken our town by storm.  And its nice to personally know the owners as well (friends of ours at church). 

In my opinion, its the best pizza in town.  We can't even eat any other pizza now because we love theirs so much that everything else is just subpar. They offer freshly made pizza with a variety of toppings, some pre-set but also with the option to customize your own version.  The ingredients are fresh, yummy, a few unique ones, and they have a little touch of the gourmet.  They are cooked in a brick wood-fired oven that reaches about 800 degrees, giving each pizza a delicious smoky flavor.  I love it when the pepperonis are slightly burnt on the edges!

Whats also great about this little pizza shop, is that you can go in and buy a container of their uncooked pizza dough so you can attempt to make your own version of The Don's pizza in the comfort of your own home. Its not quite the same because most conventional ovens don't go hot enough to really do it justice.  Maybe someone would like to buy us a Big Green Egg? :) You can order a small dough or a large dough for only a few bucks.  It takes a little practice stretching and rolling out the dough but it makes a great pizza crust.

Superking (aka Hubby) and I have brought home their dough several times to make pizza at home.  This time I wanted to make a yummy veggie pizza in an effort to have a hearty yet somewhat healthy meal (lots of veggies cancels out the cheese and makes it automatically healthy right :) ??)  So we rolled out the dough as best we could, put it on the baking stone, and popped it in the 450 oven for about 5-10 minutes to pre-bake it slightly.  If you don't do this pre-baking step, once you add on all the toppings (especially if you use lots like we do), theres a good chance the dough won't cook all the way in the middle and you'll end up cutting into a soggy center. Gross!

I made my own sauce, which is really easy and theres a number of ways to do it.  I just heated up a little olive oil in a pan.  Crushed up a few tomatoes, added them to the hot oil along with a little tomato paste, water, sugar, and other spices.  I didn't really measure any of it, just a little of this, little of that, to taste.

Then I cut up some green peppers, red peppers, red onion, and 2 kinds of mushrooms (crimini buttons and shitakes).  I also added slices of fresh mozzarella cheese and on top a light dusting of very finely grated grano padano cheese (sort of like a parmesan).

At 450 it ended up taking about 30 minutes to bake all the way through.  I probably should've turned up the heat a little more. And beware that all those veggies and fresh mozzarella contain a lot of water so its a good idea to put a large cookie sheet on the rack in the oven under the baking stone in case there is any drippage.

But all in all a very yummy gourmet pizza at home that still supports the local business!

Venison Meatballs

I found this great meatball recipe from this little pamphlet-type cookbook I had tucked away in the cabinet.  Meatballs make a great appetizer for any party or family gathering.  And for me, if I'm going to use some kind of meat, I want it to be organic and free-range. 

A customer from hubby's work is an avid deer hunter and said he always has tons of venison available, all we had to do was ask him for some.  So ask away we did.  And boy did he deliver! The first time we asked, he brought us a couple packages of deer burger and a couple deer steaks.  This time though when we asked for more, right before Christmas, he brought us a huge box full...at least 10 pounds of deer burger, several pounds of steak, and even a roast!  And all for FREE!!  My husband said the venison Santa had arrived!

And venison...it doesn't get more organic and free-range than that! When the meat is processed properly it shouldn't have a gamey taste.  It is also fairly lean and healthy as meats go.  Yet its still juicy and very flavorful.

So as an appetizer to take to my mom's house for Christmas Day, I made venison meatballs.  And they were oh so tasty! Even my dad, who himself is an avid deer hunter and all-around-outdoorsman-extraordinaire, was quite in love with these meatballs! Here below, you'll find the recipe to try them yourselves.  Of course if you wanted you could easily use ground beef or any other kind of ground meat instead of the venison as well.

Ingredients:  2 eggs lightly beaten, 1 cup (4oz) shredded mozarella cheese, 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs, 1/4 cup finely chopped onion, 2 TBSP grated Parmesan cheese, 1 TBSP ketchup, 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp salt, 1.4 tsp pepper, 2 lbs lean ground venison
For the SAUCE: 1 bottle (14 oz) ketchup, 2 TBSP cornstarch, 1 jar (12oz) apple jelly, 1 jar (12oz) currant jelly

In a bowl, combine the first 11 ingredients.  Add venison and mix well.  Shape into balls and place on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 10-15 minute.  Remove and drain if necessary.  In another bowl combine ketchup and cornstarch, then add jellies.  Combine meatballs into sauce.  Then you can either bake them for another 30 minutes in the sauce or put into a crockpot on low until ready to serve.

This recipe yields about 8 dozen but can be easily halved or doubled.  The meatballs can be made well ahead of time and refrigerated overnight or even frozen until ready to serve.  But its best to wait to make the sauce until you're ready to do the final baking or place in crockpot.

Hot Crab Dip

Here's another winning recipe from Pampered Chef.  And as usual I modified it slightly though the original one is nice too. Its very yummy, easy to make, and is a very warm comforting addition to any holiday feast.  Or even just for yourself :)

The original recipe is actually Hot Artichoke Crabmeat Dip but I didn't want to use the artichokes this particular time. The ingredient list is as follows:

*1 package (8 oz) cream cheese softened
*1 cup mayonnaise
*1 garlic clove, pressed (or chopped)
*1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts in water, drained and chopped ( if you don't want to use these you can just add more crabmeat or another similar veggie of your choice)
*1 package (8 oz) imitation crabmeat, chopped  (I usually used canned crabmeat; its real crab already chopped and slightly shredded=less work but better texture and quality than imitation...I used 3 small cans to cover the lack of artichokes)
*3/4 cup (3oz) freshly grated Parmesan cheese (though you can use any cheese, I used shredded mozzarella)
*1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
*1 lemon (optional)
*1/8 tsp black pepper
*1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper (which I also didn't use)
*additional green onion slices for garnish

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine cream cheese and mayo; mix well.  Press garlic into cream cheese mixture and stir.  Drain artichokes and chop crabmeat if necessary.  Grate Parmesan cheese, slice onions, zest lemon.  Add artichokes, crabmeat, cheese, green onions, lemon zest, and black pepper to cream cheese mixture.  Mix well.

Spoon mixture into baking dish such as a large deep dish pie plate.  Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.  Sprinkle with remaining green onions and red bell pepper if desired.  Serve with pita chips, crackers, or hearty chips or even veggies.  Makes about 4 cups/16 servings.

This dip is quick and easy to make up to a day in advance except for the baking part.  Wait to do the baking until you're ready to serve.

Capital Grille-a-licious!!

So last night was my husband's company Christmas dinner we have every year come December.  Some people really dread their holiday company parties but feel obligated to go so they don't look like the office party pooper.  We, on the other hand, actually really enjoy ours every year.  It might have something to do with the fact that the company is made up of only 4 people, and they all happen to be close friends and family of ours...my husband's boss Tony (and close friend), along with his wife, Lisa (who is also the business VP), my brother-in-law Matt (who just recently joined the company) and his wife, Gwen, plus my hubby and I.  All 6 of us are close and get along great.  And the restaurant we went to was very yummy and we all rolled out of there very full!

The restaurant is called Capital Grille, located in McLean, VA.  Its basically an upscale steak and seafood house.  "Be wined, dined, and dazzled" is their motto and they did not disappoint.  The decor was rich and warm as was the service and the food despite the bitter snow-flurrying cold outside.

(Be aware...most of these photos are a little dark as they were taken with my cell phone camera that has no flash and I was trying to take them on the sly so as not to look like some crazy woman taking pictures of her food...can anyone else relate?)

The first course was appetizers.  We ordered several different ones to share around the table.  Hubby ordered Wagyu Beef Carpaccio which was served seared and chilled then sliced razor-thin accompanied by a small arugula salad. Very unique and tasty.  My appetizer was prosciutto-wrapped mozarella served with a lovely tomato salad.  The mozarella was very yummy, like cheese sticks for the foodie snob.  And the tomato salad was sweet and juicy, drizzled with a balsamic glaze.  I'm not one to just sit and eat tomatoes but these, I could've eaten a whole plate of them!

The next course was soup.  Actually before the appetizers they brought each of us a sample of their butternut squash bisque...very creamy and squashy (in a good way).  So for our soup orders, hubby got french onion and I got lobster bisque.  Both delectable!

The French onion soup was covered with a warm blanket of gooey cheese and underneath a broth of sweet and savory onions.

The Lobster bisque was rich and creamy with huge chunks of sweet lobster. The waitress even topped it off at the table with a few drops of dry sherry. I could just go swimming in that stuff!

Next the entrees...hubby ordered king crab legs.  And let me tell ya, they were the King of king crab legs!  When he pulled the meat out, they were like thick crab hot dogs!  That may sound weird and gross but trust me, it was wonderful!

For me, I ordered lobster and crab stuffed shrimp.  It's like, okay, how many different types of seafood can we cram into one dish?  But again it was lovely, lightly breaded and roasted with a touch of wine, served on top of a light tomato sauce.

The sides were ordered a la carte.  The side we got was parmesan truffle fries.  Fries, maybe a little unrefined, but served like this, they were delish!  Although at this point we were starting to get full and wanted to save room for dessert so we ended up boxing most of my shrimp and all the fries to take home.

And last, but certainly not least...dessert.  My favorite part of every meal.  Heck, dessert should be a meal all on its own.  But thats a whole other blog post.  Hubby's not a big dessert person (I know, weird huh) so he didn't get any.  But our friend let me take a picture of his dessert to share with you.  It was a light and fluffy vanilla cheesecake topped with raspberries and blackberries, drizzled with strawberry sauce and sort of flambeed with a sugary crust on the top.

My dessert was the restaurant specialty, Fresh Strawberries Capital Grille.  Fresh sliced juicy strawberries, (one of my favorite fruits ever), topped with handmade vanilla ice cream and wonderful sauce made of ruby port and Grand Marnier. Oh to die for! I tried my best to refrain from licking the bowl after scraping every bit of that sauce I could get on my spoon.

Needless to say, the dinner was a hit.  I must also add that I appreciated the more petite portion sizes of the appetizers and soups, and even the desserts...just enough so you could have a taste, maybe share with friends and have room for the next course without feeling like you were going to be sick. All in all great food, great friends, and...great food. (Yeah I know, I couldn't think of anything else to say!)  We will definitely be adding this place to our list of restaurants to visit again in the near future.