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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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Our instructor sang the praises of H Mart as a reliable, affordable outlet for sushi fish and supplies. We ventured out, expecting not to fly too close to the sun on our first try, meaning no raw fish. Still, we stashed a cooler with ice in the car just in case we picked up a product that we wanted to keep cold on the drive back to Katie’s.

For two lifelong suburbanites, shopping in an ethnic supermarket is a little bit of a departure. The key is to keep an open mind and pretend you know what you’re doing. We started in the produce section, where we marveled at the freshness and variety of the offerings, which ranged from conventional to exotic. We selected a large cucumber, for cucumber and California rolls, as well as an avocado for the California. From the produce department we wandered down an aisle with hundreds of sauces and vinegars, where we selected vinegar for our rice. Next up was the rice itself, where we found a pricey looking bag that was marked down so that it was cheaper than many of the other brands. We congratulated each other on this victory and scooped up some nori, wasabi powder, and chopsticks before venturing over to the fish counter.

As I said, the original plan was to avoid raw fish on our maiden voyage. We scooped up some good looking fake crab (which we were told at the class was a respected, perfectly legitimate ingredient in Japan) with almost no English printed on the package and thought we were done, until Katie suggested we take a closer look at the counter, just in case. There were a lot of people crowded around the fish counter shouting instructions to the staff in several languages, which made the idea of selecting a whole fish even more intimidating. Then, Katie wandered toward a cooler with prepared fish, where she found a six-ounce slab of tuna marked “sushi-grade.” It was packed that day, looked fresh, and only cost about $5. This seemed like too good a deal to pass up, so we promoted ourselves on the spot and headed for the checkout counter, stopping only to grab a bag of frozen kimchi dumplings that we had previously sampled from one of the many employees (all women) who were loudly exhorting customers to try their wares.

Most American cooks and diners give little thought to rice; it is never the star of the show and is more often than not an afterthought. Of course, the rice is the central component of sushi, and it is very serious business. The first step in preparing rice for sushi is to wash it in several changes of water to remove excess starch. To wash it, you put the rice in a bowl and cover it with cold water. Then, you gently sweep your fingers through and under the rice to get it moving. The water becomes cloudly, and after several swishes you dump out the water (not the rice) and add a fresh batch.

Once the water is more or less clear, you cook the rice. When the rice is cooked and after a brief rest, it is turned out into a non-metal bowl where it is coated with a mixture of rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. This is accomplished by pouring the vinegar mixture over the rice while gently folding, all while an assistant fans the rice. This process takes a little while but it absolutely worth it. When the rice is cooled to room temperature, cover it with a moist paper towel and set it aside (do not put it in the fridge!).

With the rice resting, we turned our attention to fillings. We decided to skip nigiri in this batch, because it is harder and requires more precise cutting of the fish. Spicy tuna rolls are a favorite of both of ours, so we constructed a “salad” of diced tuna, mayonnaise, sambal chili, and green onion. The remaining tuna was cut into long strips for plain tuna rolls, and the cucumber and avocado were prepped for California rolls.

Rolling is a bit tricky, and I think pictures show it better than words. Observe some of this fine work:

Above is spicy tuna, below is the California roll:

Once the rolling is done, its time to cut and serve. Cutting is harder than it sounds, with a sharp knife being critical. Observe our handiwork below:

Making sushi at home is a lot of fun, and we highly recommend learning more about it. It’s easy enough to put out a basic product, but making it yourself really makes you appreciate the art it is when the pros do it. We’re excited to bring you more sushi Foodventures in the future, so stay tuned!

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1. Hands-On Learning: Sur La Table’s Sushi and Hand Roll Workshop

We decided this first effort should be undertaken with rockfish–or striped bass, as it’s called outside the Mid-Atlantic area–because it’s one of Frank’s favorites. And who doesn’t like a local specialty?

Thankfully, the selection at the Fish Market looked good. Frank took the fish in to a little stand to be cleaned; it’s cheaper than you think–only 90 cents for our 2 lb. fella. (Let the record show that a skiddish Katie waited oh-so-patiently outside.)

We didn’t follow a recipe, because it seemed simple enough: Salt and pepper the fish, inside and out …

… and stuff it with the appropriate goodies (in this case, garlic, lemon, parsley and thyme).

We grilled it on both sides over direct heat …

… and let it hang out for bit on the cooler half of the grill while we cooked the zucchini.

It sounded like a no-fail plan, and it didn’t fail per se, but I was disappointed that the “stuffing” didn’t have a bigger impact on the flavor. Anyone have suggestions on that? From the reading I’ve done, the only partial solution I’ve come up with is to cook the fish covered instead of with the open air. I also read a recipe for herb-stuffed grilled fish–but it was wrapped in bacon, and when it comes to flavor, that’s cheating, my friend. Like I say, I wouldn’t call this a Foodventure Fail by any means; I am interested, however, in how we can make it better for next time. Please post a comment with your own experiences cooking whole fish.

Oh, and the zucchini–brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper–was amazing!

View a photostream of all the photos from our Foodventure, or watch the slideshow below:

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1. Chesapeake Cioppino
2. Leftover Monday: Cod with Lemon Butter Sauce

Because the Italian food in D.C. is famously below par, I sought out Italian food on my business trip to Chicago last weekend. I ate three different Italian restaurants and wanted to share some brief thoughts about those restaurants here.

On Thursday night, I had dinner at Vivere, one of the three “Italian Village Restaurants” that boasts the largest wine selection in the entire city. I started with a small Caesar salad and my entree was the oh-so-delicious Linguini con Gamberi e Pomodori Secchi, which featured linguine, sauteed shrimp, toasted garlic, extra virgin olive oil, chili flakes, and Sicilian sun-dried tomatoes. In our group of 8, three people ordered this and if you could taste it, you would understand why.

On Friday night, I was able to slip away from work for a bit and meet up with Emily, my best friend from high school, at Rosebud on Rush. Again, I started with a Caesar; Emily and I shared–and it was definitely big enough for two. I was having a hard time deciding and told the waiter that I wanted the tortellini, but that I couldn’t eat meat during Lent and “excluding the prosciutto would take away all the fun.” He suggested that I switch to the tortellini in a tomato cream sauce, which actually isn’t on the menu. Tortellini with tomato sauce might be my favorite food of all time, so I embraced his line of thinking and was very happy to have done so. Emily and I split a bottle of Travaglini Gattinara Vendemmia 2003, and it was incredible. I took a picture of the bottle so I would remember the name and remember to order it again in the future. It was light enough to not have to compete for attention with our cheesy pasta dishes, but full-bodied and spicy enough to hold my interest.

Saturday afternoon, I needed to grab something relatively quick near my hotel, but still wanted hot food. I headed back over to the trio of “Italian Village Restaurants” and tried The Village, a Northern Italian restaurant with the most adorable, rustic village decor. I ordered Scampi Casalinga, which was sauteed shrimp in sherry wine with shallots and mushrooms, over angel hair pasta. It wasn’t bad, but I made it much better with red pepper flakes and a little Parmesan cheese. Unlike the shrimp pasta dish from Thursday night, I probably wouldn’t order this one again. The waitress said it was the best thing on the menu, in her opinion, and if that means anything, I’m guessing that I’d refer visitors to Vivere instead of The Village.

That’s all to say, I was pretty sick of shrimp pasta by the time I headed back east. I am, however, on my way back to Chicago about a week from now and need to pick out some additional places to eat then. Bearing in mind that meat is still off limits, any suggestions?

Alternatively, if anyone in the D.C. area would like to argue that there is other good Italian food around town, I’m happy to be proven wrong.

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His recipe is titled simply “Pan Fried Fish,” and simple it was. He calls for trout, which is nearly the opposite of the cod I had in the fridge, but I decided it couldn’t be too bad; it did call for three full tablespoons of butter after all.

Salt and pepper the cod fillets and roll them in flour. Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium heat and add some vegetable oil and butter. When the butter stops foaming, or in my case, you get nervous and think its burning, add the fish and cook until golden brown on all sides.

Move the fish to a plate and drain the oil from the pan. Rinse the pan, then return to the heat with two more tablespoons of butter. As the butter melts, throw in a tablespoon or two of drained capers (also leftover from yesterday, score!), and the juice of one lemon. Stir until the sauce thickens a bit.

This was a qualified success. The texture and the taste of the fish was just as good as yesterday, and the sauce had a lot of potential. I would scale back the lemon by half and at a few shakes of Tabasco, but on the whole, I was very happy. The whole recipe took 10 minutes, which I can’t argue with.

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1. Leftover Monday: Mussels Mariniere
2. Favazza’s Inspired Sunday Dinner

Venture into an American city that is new to you and you will more than likely encounter ethnic neighborhoods with distinctive cultures all their own. As new waves of immigrant groups replace the ones that come before, the neighborhoods develop a whole new character, and the food takes on a whole new flavor.

“The Hill” in St. Louis, MO bucks the trend. Since the days Italian immigrants first settled in St. Louis, The Hill has been the center of the community. To this day, there are many restaurants, delis, churches, and businesses that speak with a distinct Italian accent.

Katie’s family is a part of this proud tradition. Favazza’s restaurant has been a Hill mainstay for more than 30 years, and it continues to serve some of the best Italian-American dishes in town. Katie is justifiably proud of this history, and she’ll readily admit to missing it when she’s in Washington.

In that spirit, tonight’s Foodventure is a tribute to Favazza’s on the Hill. Meat-free Lent calls for a fish dish, and Katie instantly suggested sole piccata, sauted sole or other firm, white, fish topped with a lemon butter sauce. I am familiar with chicken and veal piccata, but this technique with fish was new to me.

For a side, we strayed from The Hill and opted for Mark Bittman’s linguini with slow-cooked onions, pulled from the pages of How to Cook Everything. Katie was skeptical that this would be good, but I prevailed and it made the menu.

Knowing that we’d be hungry while we cooked, Katie lobbied for a mainstay from the Favazza’s appetizer menu,  fried artichoke hearts. These are a favorite of mine too, so it was a pretty easy sell for her.

The basic ingredients were gathered at Safeway, and then it was off to the Fish Market to grab the “sole.” Katie called her brother Mark, the head chef at Favazza’s, for a pre-meal consultation, and he informed us that sole piccata is hardly ever made with sole, but usually cod. Cod was easy to find at the Fish Market and at about $7 per pound, a pretty good deal. A filet weighing in at about 1.25 pounds went for $10 even, and I’ll probably get two more meals this week out of it.

The artichokes came first. We brought a few inches of canola oil to 350 degrees in a saucepan, and drained a can of artichoke hearts. The artichokes were then rolled in flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs before a swim in the hot oil. Drained and topped with Parmasean and a squeeze of lemon, they were the perfect pre-meal snack.

Meanwhile, we tackled the pasta with slow-cooked onions. Bittman always requires a leap of faith, and the idea of putting onions in a stainless skillet without any oil was a little frightening, but the low heat drew the moisture out slowly so nothing stuck. When the onions were soft and starting to brown, a little olive oil was introduced to make the onions brown further and really caramelize the sugar.

I’ve had great success with Cooks Illustrated’s chicken piccata recipe, and I figured that the cod would make a pretty fair substitute. The cod is dredged in flour and seared on all sides in olive oil.

When the fish is brown on all sides, stash it in a warm oven to hold while you build a pan sauce of stock (veggie in this case, thanks to Lent), lemon juice, a dash of vermouth (at Katie’s insistence), and to finish, butter.

This was a big success from start to finish. The fish came out perfect, and the sauce was balanced, with the freshness of the lemon stealing the show. The pasta was exceptional as well. The sweetness of the onions was a nice counterpoint to the tartness of the piccata sauce, and the two mixed together nicely on the plate.

Sole piccata may not be as familiar as its poultry cousin, but it was a big hit tonight. Does anybody have any stories of a major substitution coming in big in the clutch?

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1. Leftover Monday: Cod with Lemon Butter Sauce

The egg rolls were supposed to cook for 20-25 minutes in a 375 degree oven and be turned once after about 10 minutes. I put them in a lightly oiled pan, as instructed, but when I went to turn them, they were stuck in a bad way and fell apart. When the entire cooking time was up, they were not crisp and the insides that ended up on the pan were burned in such a way that made the pan almost impossible to clean.

The shrimp fried rice wasn’t terrible, but it took much longer to cook through than the bag said it would. After heating a little butter in a pan and getting the pan very hot, the food should only have taken about 2-3 minutes to cook, but after 3 minutes, the shrimp were still frozen solid. Plus, I’m not sure why this didn’t occur to me before I bought it, but the idea of frozen egg pieces did not sit well with me and I never got past that. I was too filled with anxiety wondering if the shrimp were really cooked enough and praying that I didn’t bite into a semi-frozen piece of egg to enjoy what was otherwise an ok meal.

What’s worse though is that because this was all so unsatisfying, I’m still craving Chinese.

Yes, I’m embarrassed to admit all of this, but I promised Frank a post about my Tuesday dinner. It was an official Foodventure Fail. But hey, for those of you who don’t like pretentious food blogs, know that I’m big enough to admit that I’m not above a fast, frozen option, particularly on a weeknight.

If you have a better suggestion for a cheap, takeout alternative–or weeknight meal in general that doesn’t disappoint–please pass it along in the comments section.

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1. Foodventure Fail: The Corned Beef Fiasco
2. Leftover Monday: Cod with Lemon Butter Sauce

So when it crossed my mind to give up meat for Lent this year, I didn’t mention anything to him right away. He suggested–rather unexpectedly–that we attempt this sacrifice together. For the first Sunday Supper documented on this blog (and knowing that there’s 6-10 inches of snow expected overnight), Frank and I decided on cioppino. With friends like these, who needs meat?

Like many a prior, undocumented Foodventure, this one begins at the Fish Market.

Located along the waterfront of Southwest Washington, D.C., the Fish Market has recently become the only place I like to buy seafood. This town can be so dreary, so full of folks who want to step on top of each other to get to the top. Shopping at the Fish Market, however, is liberating; it transports you from the Beltway to a seaside vacation. Aside from the happy mental state that comes with walking along the water, the fish is also incredibly fresh and the folks who staff the Fish Market know their stuff. (I’ll write another post soon about the time a fish guy taught me about Carolina shrimp–seen in the middle of the photo below–and how it changed my life.)

Meanwhile, back to cioppino.

Before we arrived at the Fish Market, Frank and I had a rough idea of what fish we wanted to include in this batch: rockfish (a local favorite) and salmon as our fin fish selections, plus clams, mussels and shrimp.

When I asked for clams, the fish guy asked what size I wanted. He must have figured from my blank stare that I didn’t know how to answer his question. We chatted about the menu, and he suggested that I go with the larger of the two sizes he had available (on the right in the photo below).

In retrospect, I’m not sure the clams brought anything noticeable to the party. They were cheap, but definitely the least exciting of the fishies included in this batch. Next time, I think I’d leave them out.

While I talked to a separate vendor about clams, Frank picked out the piece of salmon that he wanted (see photo below) and ordered our rockfish and Carolina shrimp.

Back at Frank’s house, I got some olive oil going in his enameled cast-iron dutch oven and the cooking was underway. We more or less stuck to Giada’s cioppino recipe. Both the Harris Teeter and Safeway near Frank’s house do not sell fish stock, so ultimately, instead of 5 cups of fish stock, we used 4 cups of vegetable broth and 1 cup of water. Despite the fact that we did not cut this recipe down for 2 servings, we only used a half pound of clams–for no good reason other than the fact that we’d never prepared clams before–and a half pound of shrimp.

All in all, the stew came out pretty good. I did miss the fish stock, and would go further out of my way to make sure it was included next time. We were also a little shy about the salt, but an extra tablespoon wouldn’t have hurt.

I snagged some leftovers to bring home and I’m looking forward to a possible snow day tomorrow to experiment with the yummy broth.

Related posts:

1. Can we cook a whole fish?
2. Foodventure Fail: Shrimp Fried Rice and Veggie Egg Rolls
3. Leftover Monday: Mussels Mariniere