Month: June 2014

Neapolitan Pizza at Pizza Republica
PizzaDiavola

Pizza Diavola

Pizza Republica is all about Neapolitan pizza and fresh ingredients (of course.) Fresh ingredients in every menu item.

Neapolitan pizzas originated in Naples, Italy. They’re made from simple and fresh ingredients: dough, raw tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and olive oil. No fancy toppings.  There is always more sauce than cheese. Before the 1700s, flat breads were served without any tomatoes. These came to Europe in the 16th century, and although popular today, they were not so back then. Europeans thought tomatoes were poisonous. Fortunately for us, necessity, and mainly hunger, drove very poor peasants to top their flat breads with tomatoes towards late 18th century. Soon poorer neighborhoods made this delicious combination their specialty.  Well, we know now how vastly it spread out and became the pizzas we all enjoy today. And back to the Neapolitan pizza, it has to basically consist of a thin soft crust and it must be topped with simple fresh tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese and fresh basil.

Back to our search for Neapolitan Pizzas… We ordered some bread to start. Obviously we dipped it into balsamic vinegar, olive oil and black pepper. 🙂

Bread

Bread, ready for dipping in balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and olive oil.

 

Next course, BUFALA MOZZARELLA CAPRESE salad. Wonderful!

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Bufala mozzarella caprese salad

All gone a in few fast unforgettable minutes..

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Next, Pizza Diavola, with smoked bufala mozzarella, hot salami, hot capicola and extra virgin olive oil. Oh yes! All those delicious fresh ingredients with a perfect spicy but not too fiery balance.

PizzaDiavola

Pizza Diavola

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Neapolitan Pizza

We also had to try their Pizza Vesuvius, 1/2 pizza, 1/2 calzone. Heavenly!
pizzavesuviusThe calzone part was simply filled with a variety of fresh vegetables. Yum!

No room for dessert in this visit. For sure, we will return to Pizza Republica for more Neapolitan Pizza and for their  Limoncello Cheesecake, and I will definitely blog about it! 🙂

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My Marvelous Apple Tree

AppleTree

My marvelous Apple tree! Finally! Here is my pictorial attempt to track my apples. Thrilled, ecstatic, quivering, extremely happy, I run regular checks. Bunnies and squirrels are watching too, although not too innocently. Ulterior motives go with them. I hope I can get to my sweet ones on time. Never had I seen such beautiful spectacle. Three seasons had passed until I could enjoy the reward. Mother Nature’s patience enforced at its best!

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1/2 Chicken and Green Olives – 1/2 Pineapple and Ham Pizza – 3 of 3
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Half Chicken and Green Olives, Half pineapple and Ham Pizza in the Oven

1/2 Chicken and Green Olives – 1/2 Pineapple and Ham Pizza! Wow! This takes me back home with every bite. Pizza places in Cartagena feature the chicken and green olives pizza in their menus. A rare item to find in pizzerias here in the US. Of course we had to include it in our pizza galore… 🙂

Recipe

Ingredients: Store-bought pizza dough of good quality, marinara sauce (store-bought or homemade), cooked chicken (boil 1 breast of chicken with just salt and pepper), green olives, pineapple, ham, mozzarella cheese, olive oil, oregano, red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese to garnish (optional.)

Start with store-bought dough of good quality. Spread it on the pan and let it bake in the oven for 5 minutes at 500 degrees F. Then take it out and cover the pizza dough with marinara sauce. Add a layer of mozzarella cheese. Cover half of the pizza with chicken pieces and green olives and the other half with pineapple chunks and ham pieces. Add some 1 TBSP of olive oil drizzling all the area and finish with 1 TBSP oregano to cover all the pizza. Put it back in the oven for 5 minutes also at 500 degrees F. Check the pizza before the 5 minutes are done, as oven temperatures vary. It will be done when the edges start to turn brown.

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Pizza is done! 🙂

Cut, serve and enjoy this pizza with a glass of good white wine! 🙂

 

Veggies and Jalapeno Peppers Pizza – 2 of 3

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Under normal circumstances, to make Vegetable Pizza at home, I simply reach into the fridge and use every possible vegetable there. However, a basic veggies pizza can’t be without: White onions, tomatoes, sweet peppers, green olives, black olives and jalapeno peppers (my favorite.) Those were the exact ingredients in this pizza. A note on jalapeno peppers: They are really optional, but my family loves a spicy pizza! 🙂

To read the English version of this post, go here.

Recipe

Start with store-bought dough of good quality. Spread it in the pan and let it bake in the oven for 5 minutes at 500 degrees.

PizzaDough

Add the marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese and vegetables in that order.

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Drizzle with olive oil and add 1 Tablespoon of oregano. Bake at 500 degrees for 5 more minutes. Check on your pizza as ovens vary. Take it out when you see the edges turning brown.

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Cut into slices and enjoy! For more taste bud kicks, add red peppers and Parmesan cheese. This veggies pizza goes perfectly with greens salad  and a glass of white wine. 🙂

Pizza! 1 of 3.
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1/2 Pepperoni 1/2 Cheese pizza ready for the oven.

We all love pizza! Last night we decided to make pizza at home. We made pizza three ways. In this post I will share our 1/2 cheese, 1/2 pepperoni.

To read the Spanish version of this post, go here.

PepperoniCheesePizza

Same pizza, different shot! 😉

We decided to make things simple and we went for good store-bought dough (not hard today.) I got good mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. First I baked the dough at 500 degrees for 5 minutes. Then I got it out of the oven and added home-made marinara sauce. My experience with store-bought marinara is also as good. I have added store-bought marinara to other recipes  which I have shared in my posts and the end product is just as delicious.

I added a layer of mozzarella cheese and then 1/2 of the pizza received a layer of pepperoni while the other half did not. Last, I sprinkled the pizza with oregano and a drizzle of olive oil. Back to the oven for another 5 minutes.

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Pizza baking in the oven.

And … Ready to eat! My kids devoured it! 🙂

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Kid devouring pizza!

 

I obviously set the red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese nearby for an extra kick. 🙂 Next time I will share the veggie and jalapeno pizza! 🙂