Upcoming Events: Skirt Steak, Mixology and More!

Photo by Lauren DeSantis

Tonight:  James Beard award-winning chef Ann Cashion and celebrity Top Chef finalist and TV personality Carla Hall, currently a host on ABC’s culinary show, The Chew, will jointly host a book signing reception for Charlotte Druckman’s new tell-all book titled Skirt Steak: Women Chefs on Standing the Heat and Staying in the Kitchen, on Thursday, October 18, 2012, from 6 PM to 8 PM, at Johnny’s Half Shell.  Priced at $45 per person, tickets include a copy of the much anticipated book along with featured cocktails and wine, as well as a selection of ten different hors d’oeuvres, created by both Cashion and Hall. 

Fall Mixology Class:  Spice up your ‘at-home’ bartending skills by attending Ripple’s Fall Mixology Class on Saturday, October 20 from 3:30 – 5:00pm.  Ripple’s mixolog.ist, Josh Berner, will instruct guests about the fat-washing process to make three delicious cocktails from Ripple’s menu—Play It Sam, Chile Manteca y Ducle, and Basil Exposition.  These cocktails feature oil-infused gin, bacon-infused mexcal and olive oil-washed vodka.  As part of the class, guests will enjoy these cocktails as they learn, as well as have the opportunity to try Ripple’s grilled cheese bar.  Cost for the class is $45, which includes the cocktails.  For reservations, please call 202.244.7995.  Visit Ripple at www.rippledc.com for more information. 

Ashok Bajaj’s authentic Penn Quarter Italian gem, Bibiana Osteria-Enoteca, is hosting a “Fall Game Dinner” on Thursday, October 25th. Priced at $135 per person (tax and gratuity not included), Executive Chef Nicholas Stefanelli has crafted a mouthwatering menu featuring four courses of premier game.  Standout dishes from Chef Stefanelli’s game menu includes Smoked Wild Green Winged Teal Breast, SavoyCabbage, Pear ‘Dolce Forte’; Roasted Wild Pheasant, Slow Roasted Polenta Integrale, Wild Mushrooms ‘Triafolati’.

From Oct 22nd through November 2nd, Jose Andres and his team at Oyamel are celebrating their sixth annual Day of the Dead festival.  This years theme is around the ancient foods of Mexico.  The restaurant was inspired by the pre-hispanic foods set out as offerings on traditional Day of the Dead altars.  Mexicans leave staple foods such as beans, corn, chiles, chocolate and mezcal (tequila is a mezcal) on their altars so their loved ones can stay sustained in the afterlife.  The pre hispanic foods of Mexico are a mixture of ancient cultivation techniques (corn, amaranth, chiles and beans), collecting indigenous foods (fruits, chapulines, herbs and cacao) and the art of the hunt (fish, venison, turkey and quail). 

Raise a Flute and Toast National Champagne Day at Marcel’s:  Celebrate National Champagne Day without having to fly to Paris! Marcel’s is hosting a celebratory five-course dinner to celebrate National Champagne Day on Friday, October 26, 2012.  The dinner will showcase refined French dishes such as Filet of Turbot with Saffron Risotto and Pea Tendrils, Five Spice Duck Breast, Baby Spinach and Duck Confit with a Smoked Apricot Purée and Blackberries, and Caramel Apple with Caramel Powder and Apple Gelée with Almond Crunch.  Each course will be paired with hand-chosen French Champagnes selected from DC’s largest Champagne collection.  Tickets are $135 per person and reservations can be made by calling 202.296.1166.  For more information, visit http://www.marcelsdc.com

Executive Chef/Owner Domenico Cornacchia of the authentic Italian neighborhood favorites Assaggi Osteria in McLean and Assaggi Mozzarella Bar in Bethesda as well as the French oasis, Bistro Vivant, are offering a special chestnut menu thru October 29th.  The chestnut has been a food staple and an icon of health in southern Europe since 400 B.C., and the symbolic nut is welcomed every fall with culinary creativity.  Throughout the month of October, villages in the south of France, Switzerland, and northern Italy draw hundreds of thousands of visitors for their chestnuts festivals, where chestnuts are roasted, candied, boiled, ormade into bread or sugar.  Dishes that will be available during the promotion include Chestnut Bisque with crispy ‘jambon de Bayonne’; Grilled Quail with chestnut risotto; Wild Boar Sausage with Chestnut and Porcini Mushroom Ragu; Fresh Chestnut Tagliatelle Pasta with Rabbit Ragu.