CAPITAL COOKING TRAVELS TO SOUTHERN ITALY; FLAVORS FROM CAMPANIA

Don't miss Cooking of Campania this Thursday on Dish Network!

The Campania region of southern Italy is home to Mount Vesuvius as well as the bustling city of Naples. The volcanic soils of Campania grow some of the best produce in Italy. Join Lauren and Chef Enzo Febbraro of D’Acqua Ristorante to make Insalata Caprese bites, Bruschetta, Gnocchi with Neapolitan Ragu, Salt Crusted Branzino, La Torta Caprese and the Blue Grotto Cocktail.

Produce (i.e. tomatoes used in Caprese and Bruschetta), cheese and fish are staples in the Campania diet. Campania's most famous cheese is the Mozzarella di Bufalo Campania, made from the milk of local water buffalos and gracing such favorites as Insalata Caprese. Seafood is another staple of Campania's coastline with fish fried in olive oil a favorite of Naples, while other specialties make use of local octopus, cuttlefish, squid, clams and mussels. The Salt Crusted Branzino is a perfect addition to this healthy diet. Lauren finishes off the meal with a sparkling melon cocktail that get its name from the cool blue waters near the Isle of Capri.

Capital Cooking with Lauren DeSantis airs on Colours TV Network every Thursday at 4 p.m.EST. Find all of the schedule at: http://colourstv.org/category/capital-cooking/. CoLours offers multi-cultural and multi-ethnic programming highlighting educational and cultural issues of African, Asian, Latin, and Native Americans. For further information visit their website at www.colourstv.org.

Watch Capital Cooking on the Dish Network channels 9396 and 9407. CoLours is currently available on cable from the following carriers: Time Warner, Comcast, Insight, NCTC and Cox .

Watch each episode and learn from the pros how to make delectable food right in your home. Lauren makes recipes fun and easy to prepare for anyone with any level of cooking.

Don’t miss the upcoming episodes:

Farmer’s Market Supper – 2/4

1789 – 2/11

Photo by Shauna Alexander
Show Summary by Kim Bryden

Hello Cupcake

Valentine's Day is around the corner and Hello Cupcake is launching Cupcake Design Classes starting February 13, 2010.

I recently checked out the design techniques at an open house design session this month. Although they will not reveal their secret cupcake recipes, they will teach you how to decorate your cupcakes at home. I made this special teddy bear above. Penny Karas sent us home with four cupcakes from the cupcakery and my favorite was the Peanut Butter Blossom. I also liked the 24 Carrot. These cupcakes are packed with a lot of icing, but you can always scrape some off if it is too much for you.

The Valentine's Design Class is offered at $50, including the instruction and a dozen cupcakes. Other classes are planned through May.

Also, share your stories of pick-up lines at youhadmeathellocupcake.com. If your story is chosen you can receive a free cupcake.

(202) 861-2253

Dupont Circle
1351 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036
www.hellocupcakeonline.com



Photo by Jenna Huntsburger of Modern Domestic

Check out the preview of the Reduce and Concord episode!

Reduce and Concord Final from Capital Cooking on Vimeo.

New French Bistro in my Neighborhood

Bistro La Bonne

Where: 1340 U St. NW, b/t 13th & 14th Sts. (202-758-3413)

I'm looking forward to checking this out. We needed a French bistro on U Street.

February Food Blogger Happy Hour at Againn

Thank you to our Food Blogger Planning Committee:

Arugula Files

Beer Spotter

Biscuits and Such

Capital Cooking

Capital Spice

Common Man Eats

Dining in DC

Gradually Greener

Modern Domestic

We Love DC

ThirftyDCCook

We Love DC

RSVP here.

Gira Mondo Wine Adventures Sip & Twit event tonight

GiraMondo Wine Adventures, a premier wine event company in the national capital area teams up with WineTwits, an online community of 40,000 strong wine enthusiasts who tweet, to bring the first ever online fully interactive wine tasting in the DC area.

Sip & Twit will be the first event of its kind in our area blending together the traditional world of wine tastings with new media and technology. The room will be set up like a traditional tasting, with stations featuring wines from around the globe, with an emphasis on Argentina and Chile. Representatives from major wine labels and GiraMondo Wine Ambassadors will be on hand to educate and inform.

Whereas a typical tasting involves attendees busily scribbling in notebooks, Sip & Twit participants will be able to ‘tweet’ their tasting notes and thoughts as they walk around the room. The tweet-feed will be simultaneously broadcasted locally to plasma screens around the room and globally to the online community utilizing the technology of our partner WineTwits.

The two participants who tweet the most that evening will take with them a magnum of fine Argentine Wine. Other prizes will be awarded as well including Crushpad’s Fusebox- blend your own wine, wines, accessories, and more!

For more information and ticket purchase, please visit GiraMondo Wine Adventureswebsite.

Location: Whittemore House 1526 New Hampshire Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036 – Metro: Dupont Circle (Red Line) Hours: 5:30pm-8pm

Meet me in St. Louis airing on Thursday

Starting November 5, 2009, Capital Cooking with Lauren DeSantis began airing on Colours TV Network. It now airs every Thursday at 4 p.m.EST. Find all of the schedule at: http://www.colourstv.org/site/schedule.php.

CoLours offers multi-cultural and multi-ethnic programming highlighting educational and cultural issues of African, Asian, Latin, and Native Americans. For further information visit their website at www.colourstv.org.

Watch Capital Cooking on the Dish Network channels 9396 and 9407. CoLours is currently available on cable from the following carriers: Time Warner, Comcast, Insight, NCTC and Cox .

This week check out our Meet Me in St. Louis episode. The first episode, Meet Me in St. Louis, will bring some Midwest treats to the table including: Chicken Tetrazini, Gooey Butter Cake, Toasted Ravioli, and the St. Louis Cardinals Cocktail.

Watch each episode and learn from the pros how to make delectable food right in your home. Lauren makes recipes fun and easy to prepare for anyone with any level of cooking.

For more information about this episode or the Capital Cooking series, please contact Lauren DeSantis at capitalcooking@gmail.com.

Photo by Ashley Mosley

Review: Ris

Ris was on my list of new restaurants I'd like to try so we made our way there for Restaurant Week. While the food was good, the ambiance feels like you are in a hotel restaurant...carpeted floors, generic decor, etc. I tried the lamb shank which was flavorful, but heavy. It was a huge slab of meat with a yogurt sauce and chick peas. Interesting flavors and almost enough meat to share. Corey got the pork chop which was also large and delicious. The gnudi appetizer was delicate and satisfying. The butterscotch pudding was rich and creamy. Overall, I'd describe the food as upscale comfort food. Good service, tasty food, mediocre atmosphere.

Thrill of the Grill Airs today At 4 p.m. on Dish Network Channel 9407

Starting November 5, 2009, Capital Cooking with Lauren DeSantis began airing on Colours TV Network. It now airs every Thursday at 4 p.m.EST. Find all of the schedule at: http://colourstv.org/category/capital-cooking/.

CoLours offers multi-cultural and multi-ethnic programming highlighting educational and cultural issues of African, Asian, Latin, and Native Americans. For further information visit their website at www.colourstv.org.

Watch Capital Cooking on the Dish Network channels 9396 and 9407. CoLours is currently available on cable from the following carriers: Time Warner, Comcast, Insight, NCTC and Cox .

This week check out our Thrill of the Grill episode.

Learn the art of grilling peaches topped with homemade mascarpone ice cream and vegetable ratatouille with the help of our special guests Heath Hall and Brett Thompson from Pork Barrel BBQ. We will smoke some tasty pork BBQ!

Watch each episode and learn from the pros how to make delectable food right in your home. Lauren makes recipes fun and easy to prepare for anyone with any level of cooking.

For more information about this episode or the Capital Cooking series, please contact Lauren DeSantis at capitalcooking@gmail.com.

Check out the new Write-up in Flavor Magazine

Flavor Magazine recently wrote an article about Capital Cooking in the most recent addition.

Homemade Pizza Co coming next week!

1522 14th Street NW
COMING SOON (Jan. 21, 2010)

Check out the Menu here!

Don't Forget: DC Winter Restaurant Week

January 11-17, 2010

Join us this January when nearly 180 of metropolitan Washington, DC's finest restaurants offer awe-inspiring, multi-course meals prepared especially for this gourmet event.

Destination DC and the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington are proud to present the 16th Washington, DC Restaurant Week from January 11-17, 2010.

Lunch: $20.10 for a three-course fixed-price meal
Dinner: $35.10 for a three-course fixed-price meal
Beverages, gratuity and tax are not included.

I'm hoping to finally try Adour at St. Regis Washington DC and RIS.

Which spots are you looking forward to trying?

Click here for Reservations!

Patty Boom Boom Opens in My Neighborhood

Check out photos here!
A new place to try Jamaican carry-out from the team behind Marvin and The Gibson.
1359 U St. NW, b/t 13th & 14th Sts. (202-629-1712).

Looking forward to trying it this week on my way home!

Last night's Food Blogger Potluck at Union Row

We had lots of fun meeting local foodies and trying some amazing dishes. I made Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies so they'd be ready the night before (I knew I'd be running short on time). We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of food people contributed. Great turn out and Great Success! Thank you to everyone for joining in the fun. Quinn from Everything in Moderation, Pete Bakes, Mary from Arugula Files, Jenna from Modern Domestic, Olga from Mango and Tomato, Amelia from Gradually Greener, Luke and Joe from Passion Fruits, Lisa from DininginDC, Ms. Wheelbarrow, The Cupcake Avenger, Biscuits and Such, Thrifty DC Cook, Charred for Life, Kitsch and Classics, Food and Think, Johnna Knows Good Food and many more. If you missed out, hope you can make it to next month's Food Blogger Happy hour.

Photo from Biz Now

Eating over the Holidays

When we weren't noshing on our Midwest favorites, we made our way to some dining establishments.

Meiwah

(202) 833-2888

Dupont Circle
1200 New Hampshire Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036
www.meiwahrestaurant.com


After the celebration of the New Year, we headed to Meiwah for dinner with friends. The food was your typical Chinese food that you'd find at most places around DC. Nothing to write home about, but decent. The restaurant accommodated our large group and provided great service.

Nage
Dupont Circle
1600 Rhode Island Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036
www.nage.bz


You don't usually find great restaurants in the bottom of a Marriott hotel, but Nage is an exception. We enjoyed our New Year's meal here and had the 7 Lucky courses tasting menu. The food and service were both good. I liked the Lobster Potpie...all of the comforts of any potpie, but you get to eat lobster too. The molten lava cake dessert was yummy!

Happy Joe's Pizza


You can't go to Iowa without making a stop by Happy Joe's Pizza. The taco pizza and BLT are hot commodities. This place is always packed and lots of fun.

Kaldi's


Kaldi's offers some of the best coffee in St. Louis. My friend Alice brought me here and I enjoyed the Holiday Roast and even brought a bag to take back with me to DC. Now we have some to drink during the new year.

Rizzo's


Rizzo's is one of our family favorites. I don't make a trip home without stopping by Rizzo's for pasta. The tutte mare is creamy and the seafood melts in your mouth. The salad has my favorite provel cheese that you can only find in the STL.

Lion's Choice


My friend Phil likes Lion's Choice so much that he has their logo tattooed on his back. Yes, it is that good. Not your typical fast food joint... I'm talking about freshly sliced roast beef sandwiches with the signature seasoning. Make sure to get some of that seasoning on your fries as well. If it is summer, don't pass up the frozen custard dip cone.

Pomme Cafe and Wine Bar

(314) 721-8801

Clayton
44 N Central Ave
St Louis, MO 63105
www.pommerestaurants.com/cafe/


My friend Alice introduced me to the Pomme Cafe and Wine Bar for lunch after working in the Clayton office. The grilled cheese sandwich was tasty. Alice also liked the omelet with tomatoes and feta. Cute ambiance.

Ulah
U Street/Shaw
1214 U St NW
Washington, DC 20009
www.ulahbistro.com


We got snowed in and missed our flight home so we made our way to Ulah Bistro. You can't go wrong with their pizza. Ulah is a fun spot that usually isn't hard to get a seat. They also offer brunch.

Photo by Mike Thorpe

Happy New Year: Potluck time!

Capital Cooking with Lauren DeSantis: Potluck time!
Don't miss out on our Food Bloggers Potluck on this Wednesday, January 6th! Show off your cooking skills or come enjoy a drink among friends. We hope to see you there.