Chef David Guas’s Bayou Bakery in Courthouse opened recently, bringing beignets, po’ boys, and other New Orleans classics to Arlington. In our video below, the Big Easy native shows how to make a simple dessert that’s always a hit for the holidays: caramel popcorn with nuts. Wrapped in cellophane bags, it makes an easy—and easy-on-the-wallet—stocking stuffer.
>>If you'd like to watch a chef demonstrate a particular dish, e-mail recipesleuth@washingtonian.com.
Can't wait for Morou Ouattara to reopen Farrah Olivia? He's now selling his African ingredients—and teaching customers how to use them.
Morou Ouattara hopes to reopen his African-inspired Old Town restaurant, Farrah Olivia—which closed last April—in DC by the end of this year. But diners don’t have to wait to get a taste of his deconstructed dishes: Once a month at Kora, his Italian trattoria in Crystal City, Ouattara is creating what he calls an “ethnic dining experience.” Translation: cooking that’s a lot closer to the Kobe-beef tartare with berbere oil from his old menu than to spaghetti and meatballs.
You don't have to jump the pond to find tea fit for a queen. We found delicious handmade blends right in downtown DC.
Tea takes a back seat at many restaurants, and considering the way most places regard tea service, it’s little wonder. Who wants a cup of bagged Constant Comment you can have at home? But Ris, chef Ris Lacoste’s new West End restaurant, has made tea a point of pride by investing in handmade blends from Laurie Bell and her excellent Great Falls Tea Garden.
A good chef is known for consistency. That’s why so many—including Citronelle’s Michel Richard—are using sous-vide, a method of cooking that involves poaching vacuum-sealed ingredients in heated water. (See “Hi, I’ll Be Your Server Tonight” in the March Washingtonian.) Beef cooked sous-vide at 134 degrees—the temperature at the center of a medium-rare steak—will emerge from its water bath a rosy pink from edge to edge.
Until recently, there was no way for the home cook to use the technique. Then SousVide Supreme hit the market. Is the appliance worth the $449 price? We tested it on a variety of foods.
Back in 2007, The Washingtonian food critic Todd Kliman examined the pizza boom that had started to take over Washington. Since then, the boom has transformed into a full-fledged golden age—one which we recently celebrated with our Pizza Pool contest.
One of the frontrunners of the area’s pizza renaissance is Café Pizzaiolo, owned by former Smithsonian culinary director Larry Ponzi. The Crystal City pizzeria has built a reputation on its crisp crusts and unfussy pies, which are more street than boutique. Ponzi’s spicy spin on the New York-style pizza, the Diavala, is one of the most popular items on the menu. The dough is prepared with a sourdough starter and later topped with whole-milk mozzarella, Italian sausage, and roasted peppers. If reading this is making you hungry, just wait until you see Ponzi demonstrate how to make the pizza in our video below.
Steaming bowls of monkfish with garlic aïoli. Plates of soft cheese and rabbit pâté. Cassoulet thick with white beans and pork sausage.
France is renowned for its cuisine, but so much of it is meat-based. What will a French chef do when challenged to make a vegetarian dinner for two for less than $15?
Chef Patrice Olivon—who grew up in Provence, cooked at the Embassy of France and the White House, and now teaches at L’Academie de Cuisine—agreed to give it a whirl. Not including standard pantry items—sugar, flour, olive oil—this vegetarian feast can’t exceed $15.
Our recommendations for the best in live music over the next seven days.
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Ann Limpert
Though Ann Limpert graduated from Connecticut College with a degree in art history and creative writing, she spent most of her time in New England debating the merits of warm, buttery lobster rolls vs. cold, mayo-y ones. She spent two years covering the internet for Entertainment Weekly magazine (highlights include interviewing the Beastie Boys and dancing to "Livin' la Vida Loca" with Penn Jillette), then left to hone her kitchen skills at the Institute of Culinary Education. She has worked as a cook at several New York restaurants, researched and edited cookbooks, and now writes about food and restaurants for the Washingtonian.
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Kate Nerenberg
Kate Nerenberg started as an editorial intern at The Washingtonian in January 2008 and became an assistant editor in September 2008. A native of West Hartford, Connecticut, she spent the first half of her writing life as a sports reporter, and was the editor of the athletics section for the newspaper and student-run magazine while at Middlebury College. A joint Spanish and Art History major, Kate graduated in 2005 and took off on a year-long journey around the world. After tasting everything from fried crickets to lavish Turkish breakfasts, she realized she wanted to devote herself to writing about food, a lifelong passion. She lives with three roommates just east of Logan Circle in a house that's often filled with the smell of sauteed garlic, warm banana bread, or fried bacon and eggs.
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Rina Rapuano
Rina Rapuano's English degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond put her on the path to becoming a managing editor of a weekly business magazine; a freelance copy editor; and assistant managing news editor—and later the lifestyles editor—at a weekly paper in Maryland. But she realized her true calling when her descriptions of meals to friends and colleagues always seemed to end with the same statement: “You're making me hungry.” Frankly, it was making Rina hungry, too. She chucked her day job in 2006 to become a full-time freelance writer focusing mainly on food, and now works as assistant food and wine editor at The Washingtonian.
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