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Now, it’s my turn. I’ve never been to Horace and Dickies, at H and 12th NE, admittedly because I’m a little intimidated. I love the H street corridor bars and restaurants (Argonaut is my all-time favorite bar in DC), but I have a tendency to get a little too comfortable in the area and forget that I am still somewhere that requires alertness. Beyond the typical safety concerns, I haven’t known quite what to expect. But I think I’m excited enough to get over my fear of the unknown now.

Horace and Dickies serves lightly breaded fish and not too many other things (click here to view a photo of the menu), but I’m ready to give it a shot.

Have you ever tried Horace and Dickies? Any feedback or suggestions?

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Nearly every weekend, my boyfriend Frank and I experiment with different recipes we find (mostly online). During these “Foodventures,” as we’ve taken to calling them, I learn so much and, partially because I got a new camera, I’ve decided to start a series of posts about said experiments.

(Full disclosure: My parents own an Italian restaurant in St. Louis, Mo., and I’m embarrassed to admit that I’m not a very good cook. But, perhaps that’s relative. I have friends who think cooking means defrosting a pizza. Anyway, let me say now that Frank does most of the cooking and I do most of the…assisting, observing and wine-opening. But I digress…)

Most of the recipes that Frank and I use come from Serious Eats, our favorite food blog, and tonight was no exception. I first read about this pasta with arugula (my favorite among the lettuce varieties) and tomatoes there last week–and when it came time to decide what to cook tonight, there was no hesitation in my mind. Frank wanted to pair it with “something fishy,” and we agreed we needed a thicker fish for the event. At the store, tuna looked great, so tuna it was. We found a very straightforward, very fresh recipe for grilled Tuscan-style tuna on the Food Network website, courtesy of Rachel Ray.

Without further adieu, here’s the photo essay of tonight’s Foodventure:

Here’s a picture of the beautiful raw tuna with the parsley, garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper blend. Unfortunately, the grocery store was out of fresh rosemary, so we had to go without. It did leave something to be desired, but certainly didn’t ruin the dish.

One of my jobs was to cut the cherry tomatoes. This is my pseudo-artsy shot of my handiwork.

Gotta have the computer set up in the kitchen, with two tabs open for each of the two recipes.

Mmm… The tuna looked gorgeous on the grill. And the fire was perfect.

Tomatoes, garlic and red pepper… These are a few of my favorite things.

There was a strange move in this recipe which really threw me off at first: we put the arugula into the boiling water with the pasta while the pasta was still cooking. Revolutionary!

Grilled to perfection.

We combined the pasta and now-cooked arugula with the sauteed tomatoes and added a wee bit of grated parmesan.

Here we have the finished products. I couldn’t quite finish both medallions of tuna, but all in all, the foodventure was a success.

I’m going on vacation next week, so the next post or two in the Foodventure series will likely take place in Colorado and/or Florida. Stay tuned!

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La Cappuccina!

I first discovered it at The Italian Store in Arlington, Va., and I haven’t seen it anywhere else in the last two years, though I’ve been back to the Italian Store for it time and time again. (I hadn’t bought much wine at the time and, it’s worth noting that I still consider myself very much a novice.)

While searching for a good pick for Thanksgiving back in 2007, I spotted this selection and its label boasted hints of “tomato leaves, sage, oregano and yellow peppers.” To me, that screamed Thanksgiving; it was eerily serendipitous. Sure enough, the dry white lived up to the high expectations I set upon reading the description, and I’ve been in love with it ever since.

The Italian Store would have you believe that La Cappuccina’s Soave is better – the posted ratings, if I recall correctly, rank it higher – but I’m partial to the Sauvignon. You can’t go wrong with the Soave, but if the Sauvignon is available, it’s a much better choice. I’ve yet to find a wine I enjoy more.

That being said, I’m content to die trying.

Ever had a particular bottle of wine that was perfect in one moment–or in many moments, for that matter? What’s your all-time favorite wine? Post a comment or send us a message on Twitter (@TheFoodventure), and we’ll try some of your picks for future Wine Wednesdays.

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If you’ve never ventured into an international or ethnic market of any sort, I highly recommend it. Smell some new things. Explore a little. You never know what treasures you might find, like pre-made mole sauce, religious candles on display next to ketchup, new vegetables or even a pool of jalapeno that makes you imagine crazy swimming adventures.

I felt a little bit uncomfortable before I arrived, but as soon as I was inside, that went away. I was a lover of food and too fascinated by everything around me to even appear like an intruder of some sort. Frank’s mom happened upon this particular market in search of a special kind of cheese; find a reason to step outside your comfort zone and see what you’ll discover!

I invite you to browse a selection of photos I took at the market–and then please post your comments below or send us a message via Twitter (@TheFoodventure) about your own experiences with ethnic markets. If you haven’t been, what’s stopping you? If you have, what treasures have you discovered? We want to hear your stories!

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Pork Barrel BBQ, an award-winning sauce and dry rub company, was born right here in the Beltway, but their founders Heath and Brett were raised in my home state of Missouri. In his day job capacity, Heath and I worked together very briefly on getting a contribution from a Missouri politician I respect in the magazine I managed about a year and a half ago. (Sorry folks. Can’t name names. No politics on the food blog!)

Come to think of it, Frank works with the brother-in-law of the other half of this BBQing duo, too. It’s a small world after all!

Stay tuned for updates as we receive them about the restaurant’s opening.

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Why didn’t I think of that?

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