Our Italian Restaurant...

Our favorite Italian Restaurant in Norfolk is Razzo in our neighborhood, Oceanview. This intimate and delicious restaurant is lit with dim sconces, has booth seating and a great roasted garlic app....oh and did I mention their dessert is to die for? Love it!! If you're ever in the area check it out...it really is "our Italian restaurant."

Cherry cheesecake with a Godiva whipped cream....amazing!~

Roasted garlic app (or what's left of it) with goat cheese, peppers, olives, roasted garlic and capers served with crostini...mmmmm

Veal parm, very big and very good, crunchy exterior, moist veal, wonderful sauce and fresh mozzarella, perfection! I also love their red sauce (think its a marinara?).

Bowl of pasta w marinara, I could just eat a bowl of this, good balance of garlic, tomato and basil that compliments the perfectly al-dente pasta.

Veal Francese, pounded veal, butter, caper, lemon sauce, breadcrumb pasta-perfect for soaking up all the wonderful juices from the dish!

I don't have a photo of my favorite dish at Razzo, stuffed eggplant (and I hate eggplant usually, but this place has made me a lover of at least this preparation) with ricotta, artichokes and fresh spinach stuffed between 2 layers of fried eggplant, then topped with more cheese and their wonderful red sauce, it's a party in your mouth :-). J loves the antipasto plate and the chicken parm and we both love the cheesecakes (usually a different one every week handmade by the chef.) Try Razzo sometime but SHHHHHH just don't tell too many people about it!

Marsala mushroom burgers

J and I decided to make burgers on a warm Virginia evening and needing to use up mushrooms and bacon, I decided to make marsala mushrooms to top the burgers. These were the best burgers I have ever made and I hope you try the recipe too :-)

Meat:

1 lb Ground sirloin

1/2 chopped small sweet onion

2 tbls hoisin (chinese bbq sauce you can find in the Asian section)

1 tsp salt and pepper

*mix all ingredients to combine (make sure not to overwork the burger meat) make patties and dust w. a little more sn'p grill on high temp for aprox 3-5 min per side (depends on thickness and how done you want them to get).

Mushrooms:

1 whole container button mushrooms sliced

2 green onions chopped

1 tbls butter

2-3 tsp marsala or sherry

salt and pepper to taste

*saute butter until just melted, add mushrooms and let brown (don't season until they are brown or they will leech out too much liquid) add green onions and let soften. Deglaze the pan with marsala, cook out alcohol (about 1 min) then take off the heat and wait for the burgers.

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I like my burger done medium and I topped this burger with a garlic/mustard aioli I bought at Trader Joes, a little mayo (Hellman's), fresh tomatoes from Voula's garden, cheddar cheese, center cut bacon and dill pickles. Let me know if you try it/like it!

Julia