Thursday, May 29, 2008

Tuesday, June 3rd ~ Dinner with Daniela

Dinner with Daniela

Italian Home Cooking at its Best

Tuesday, June 3rd

5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. ~ open reservations


Join us every Tuesday night when Daniela Useli creates one of her wonderful and delicious homemade Italian Dinners. For those of you who want something more contemporary you can order off Sotto Sopra's Spring Menu.



Menu

Antipasto

Cocktail di Gamberi
Delicious hand-made “pasta brise” bowls filled with shrimp in a delicate cocktail sauce

Il Primo ~ La Pasta

Fregula con cocciulas
From one of the oldest Sardinian traditions, this pasta is one of Daniela’s signature dishes. Made with semolina flower and Sardinian saffron, the Fregula is slowly cooked with clams, Italian parsley, sundried tomatoes and garlic.

Il Secondo ~ Pesce

Calamari Ripieni al Vino Bianco
Fresh stuffed calamari sautéed in a white wine sauce
served with a side of home made potato's cake

Il Dolce

Baba’ al Rum
Delicious traditional Italian hand-made pastries, dipped in rum syrup
and topped with “crèma pasticcera”

$35.00 per person *
(excludes beverages, tax and gratuity)



When placing your reservation, let us know that you will be partaking of Daniela’s dinner.

Call 410 625 0534

*other promotions and discounts are not applicable to this dinner

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

First Thursday Wine Tasting - July 3rd


First Thursday Wine Tasting
July 3rd
5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.




The weather is getting warmer and the wines of spring and summer are clamoring to be tasted. Join us Thursday, July 3rd to discover the delicious flavors of sunshine, vacation and fun as we taste 5 wines. Enjoy a lite munch with our antipasti and if you are still feeling peckish, stay for dinner and receive 20% off.

Wine Tasting
$25.00 per person*
5 wines & antipasti

Stay for dinner after the wine tasting and receive 20% off


Please call and let us know you are coming at 410 625 0534 or e-mail at ciao@sottosopra.us

(*tax and gratuity not inclusive )

Italian Language & Culture Club - June 16th

Italian Language Dinner Club

Monday, June 16th - 7:00 p.m.
Reservations Required ~ Limited to 14 guests

The island of Sicily is our theme of our June Italian Language and Culture Dinner Group. Chef Bill Crouse will prepare dishes from Sicily for all to enjoy. So bring your pictures from Palermo, Marsala, Paterno and other Sicilian cities along with your stories. Speaking Italian is optional.


Cost per person: $48.00
(price includes food, wine, non-alcoholic beverages, tax and gratuity)

FOR RESERVATIONS: Call Deborah Puopolo at 410 625 0534 to make your reservation.

Not on the Italian Language Club E-mail List - send an email to ciao@sottosopra.us

no other promotions or discounts are applicable for this event

Monday, May 26, 2008

What is Growing Faster Than Jack's Beanstalk?

Childhood Hunger!

Sotto Sopra is proud to participate in Share Our Strength - Baltimore's Taste of the Nation on Monday, June 2nd - We hope you will help the local restaurant industry raise money to help alleviate childhood hunger. My friend, Dara Bunjon (aka Dining Dish) has already started a ground swell to sell tickets and can enlighten you. - here is her post:


Where do you start when you know children are going hungry in this city? Some statistics I gleaned showed that 29% of the hungry in Baltimore are children under 18. Another statistic that is shocking, 81% of the food insecure in the city are families with children. Nearly 185,000 children are facing hunger in Maryland. What do you say to a child who is hungry and there is no food?

Irony at Its Best – Eat Well and Help End Childhood Hunger


Mark your calendar for Monday, June 2 as Baltimore’s best chefs and restaurants cook to end childhood hunger at the American Visionary Art Museum from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. for Share Our Strength’s (SOS), Baltimore’s Taste of the Nation which raises critical funds needed to support SOS’s efforts to end childhood hunger in Baltimore and across America.The area charities that will benefit from this year’s event include Baltimore’s Garden Harvest, Maryland Committee for Children, and Advocates for Children and Youth.



More than 20 of the city’s finest restaurants will participate in this gastronomic event including (in no particular order):

Jack’s Bistro

Inn at Perry Cabin

Jordan’s Steakhouse

VIN

Sotto Sopra

Indigma

Pierpoint

Red Maple

Lebanese Taverna

The Capital Grille

Ixia Restaurant

Trapeze

Cabot Creamery

Lindt Chocolate

Corks

Kali’s Court

Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine

Karma’s Cupcakes…and many others

Guests will enjoy the city’s finest foods paired with beverages by Finlandia Vodka, Herradura Tequila, Woodford Reserve Bourbon and Southern Comfort.

Tickets for Baltimore’s Taste of the Nation are $75 (100% tax deductible) and $125 for VIP admission (VIPs receive seating, champagne and surprise perks). Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-877-26-TASTE or visiting http://www.tasteofthenation.org/. The evening will be fun, fulfilling and filling.


Show your local restaurateurs and chefs that you can support their childhood hunger relief fundraiser as they have consistently and without waiver, supported all our charities year-after-year, day-after-day.

More About Share Our Strength


SOS has been working with the culinary industry for 20 years to create engaging, pioneering programs like Taste of the Nation, Great American Bake Sale, Operation Frontline and A Tasteful Pursuit.


Generous support from presenting sponsor American Express, national sponsors SYSCO Corporation and Food Network, Brown-Forman, S.Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water, the National Pork Board and OpenTable ensure that 100 percent of ticket proceeds go to Baltimore’s Taste of the Nation’s efforts to end childhood hunger.


Can We Fix Childhood Hunger?


Do I think childhood hunger is going to get better? I hope so, though I think it will get worse before it does. With utilities sky rocketing and gas prices growing faster than Jack’s beanstalk, families who were just getting by last year face the lack of food for their families.


The children need your support….gather your friends and join us Monday, June 2nd at The Visionary Art Museum for Baltimore’s Taste of the Nation.

Dara Bunjon-Dining Dish


P. S. Unable to make the event but you have a great auction item, do reach out and let the organizers know (tasteofthenation@strength.org).

Friday, May 23, 2008

Wednesday June 4th - Polish Home Cooking with Monika's Mama

Polish Home Cooking with Monika’s Mama
Wednesday, June 4th ~ 7:30 p.m.
Communal Dining – Family Style
Limited to 30 guests
$39.00 per person*



Yes, Polish home cooking at an Italian restaurant…you are reading correctly. Many of you are aware my wife, Monika, is from Poland. Her parents are visiting the US and while they are here, I have convinced her mother to prepare a traditional Polish dinner. Her mother is such a wonderful cook; you must taste her periogies before you die.

The dinner will be communal seating and family-style service and we are limiting it to 30 guests.
Call 410 625 0534 for reservations. When making your reservations please advise that you are making them for the Polish dinner. You don’t have to be Italian or Polish to enjoy good food (but it helps).

Menu

Przystawki
Polish Mixed Appetizers
a selection of sausages, assorted cheeses and pickles.

Barszcz z Pierogami
Red Beet Soup "Borscht" and Cabbage & Mushroom Periogies

Golabki oraz Wieprzowe Zrazy z Grzybami

Stuffed Cabbage and Braised Pork Cutlets with Polish Porcini Mushrooms
accompanied with a selection of traditional Polish vegetables

Sernik z Rodzynkami
Homemade Cheesecake with Raisins

Cost per person
$39.00 *
(*excludes beverages, tax and gratuity)

Reservations required - 410 625 0534



Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Dinner with Daniela


Dinner with Daniela
Italian Home Cooking at its Best
Tuesday, May 27th
5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
open reservations



Join us every Tuesday night when Daniela Useli creates one of her wonderful and delicious homemade Italian Dinners. For those of you who want something more contemporary you can order off Sotto Sopra's Spring Menu.

Menu

Antipasto
Cocktail di Gamberi
Delicious hand-made “pasta brise” bowls filled with shrimp in a delicate cocktail sauce


Il Primo ~ La Pasta
Saltimbocca
Traditional hand-made balls of ricotta cheese, spinach, mint and saffron
served with a flavorful tomato sauce and topped with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Il Secondo ~ Pesce
Calamari Ripieni al Vino Bianco
Fresh stuffed calamari sautéed in a white wine sauce
served with a side of steamed green beans and aioli sauce


Il Dolce
Baba’ al Rum
Delicious traditional Italian hand-made pastries, dipped in rum syrup
and topped with “crèma pasticcera”

$35.00 per person *
(excludes beverages, tax and gratuity)

When placing your reservation, let us know that you will be partaking of Daniela’s dinner.
Call 410 625 0534



*other promotions and discounts are not applicable to this dinner

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Dinner with Daniela-Tuesday, May 20th

Join us on Tuesday, May 20th for another authentic, Italian home-styled meal prepared by Daniela Useli.

DINNER WITH DANIELA
served through out the evening - open reservations

Frittelle di Melanzane e Carciofi.
Delicious sweet eggplants and artichokes dipped in pastella dough and lightly fried.

Maccaruin alla Carlofortina.
Traditional pasta served with a flavorful tomato sauce mixed with home-made Genoa pesto

Scaloppine di Vitello al Limone
Tenderful veal scaloppine doubled sautéed in butter sauce and in an Italian parsley-lemon sauce, served with Marcella’s salad

Fruttini
Home-made pasta-frolla tarts filled with Italian “crema pasticcera” and fresh seasonal fruit covered with a pineapple gel

Cost per person

$35.00

(does not include beverages, tax or gratuity)

When placing your reservations, do let them know you are coming for Dinner with Daniela.

Call 410 625 0534

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Opera Night - Sunday, June 22nd

A Little Night Music for Dad for Father's Day

Opera Night
Sunday, June 22nd 2008 ~ 5:30pm

Enjoy an evening of live Opera performances intertwined with
a gourmet 6-course Italian dinner.

Performances will Feature:
Ms. Kathleen Dougherty, Soprano
Diane Abel, Soprano
Mr. Joe Haughton, Tenor
Mr. Tom Hetrick, Piano

6-Course Italian Dinner
Menu

Fresh Cucumber and Mozzarella Salad
with white balsamic-dill dressing

Roasted Red Pepper Soup
with fried ricotta dumpling

Spinach Risotto
served with seared scallop and chive oil

White Peach Sorbetto

Pancetta Wrapped Beef (Teres Major)
served with truffle potatoes and roasted asparagus

Key Lime Panna Cotta

Cost Per Person
$57.00

(excludes beverages, tax & gratuity)

OPERA CAN BE FUN

For information and guaranteed reservations please call Deborah Puopolo at 410.625.0534 or e-mail debpuopolo@aol.com


Future Opera Nights-Save the Dates: July 20th and August 24th

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Modena, Bologna & Siena - Oh My!

Monika and I had a wonderful time in Italy in March, it was a great time to reconnect with my roots, visits friends (you all remember our chef friend from Siena, Stefano) and family (my mother and father).

I thought I would post our photos for those of you who have asked to see them.

We started in Modena, the home town of Pavarotti. Modena is famous for it's balsamic vinegars. We moved on to Bologna, an education hub in Italy and of course is known for Bolognese sauce.

On to Siena where we visited a pasta factory. The woman you see is the only one who still make tortellini by hand, she is 75 years old. There was lots of good salumi and you'll see me hamming it up under some Prosciutto di Parma.

Monika and I got some time on the ski slopes and then it was time to come home.

I know I'm not Rick Steves and this is a pretty quick tour but then again Rick Steves can't cook.



Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Italian Language & Culture Club - Every 3rd Monday


Sotto Sopra's
Italian Language Dinner Club
Monday, May 19th - 7:00 p.m.

Reservations Required
Limited to 14 guests


The Campania region will be the theme of our May Italian Language and Culture Dinner Group. Chef Bill Crouse will prepare dishes from the southern coastal region of Italy for all to enjoy. So bring your pictures of the Amalfi Coast, Capri, Sorrento and other Campania cities along with your stories. Speaking Italian is optional.

Cost per person: $48.00 inclusive of food, wine, non-alcoholic beverages, tax and gratuity

FOR RESERVATIONS: Call Deborah Puopolo at 410 625 0534 to make your reservation.

Not on the Italian Language Club E-mail List - send an email to ciao@sottosopra.us

no other promotions or discounts are applicable for this event

How to Cook Cool During the Summer

Cooking Class
Sunday, June 8th ~ 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Executive Chef Bill Crouse will be opening up the Sotto Sopra kitchen for a cooking class getting you ready with recipes for those hot summer months. The class is a demonstration class with some optional hands-on participation. At the end of the class students will sit down to a family-style meal with wine and taste the recipes taught in class.



$65.00 per person

We are limited to 16 students for the class. Guaranteed reservations are required.




For reservations call Deborah Puopolo 410-625-0534 or e-mail her at debpuopolo@aol.com.





Cancellation Policy: You can cancel you reservation up to 48 hours prior to the cooking class without penalty. Those canceling less than 48 hours before class will be billed on their credit card if we are unable to fill the opening with people on the wait list.

Daniela's Tuesday May 13th Menu

Daniela’s
Italian Home Cooking Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
Open Reservations

A taste of the sea, Daniela treats you to seafood, a mainstay of her island home, Sardinia.


Antipasto

Frutti di Mare
Tantalizing appetizer of fresh clams, mussels, calamari, shrimp and octopus served in extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, Italian parsley and garlic marinade

Il Primo

Fregula e Cocciulas
This recipe is from one of the oldest Sardinian traditions
as well as one of Daniela’s signature dishes. Made with semolina flour and Sardinian saffron, the Fregula pasta is slowly cooked with clams, Italian parsley, sun-dried tomatoes and garlic.

Il Secondo

Zuppa di Cozze
Mussels cooked in a delicate marinara sauce with fresh tomatoes
served on a bed of bruschetta

Il Dolce

Sebadas
(A traditional Sardinian dessert)
Hand-made crispy dough filled with fresh pecorino cheese
finished with a touch of honey

$35 per person *
with a complimentary glass of Prosecco
(excludes all other beverages, tax and gratuity)




*not applicable with other promotions or discounts

Mia Madre (in honor of Mother's Day)

In honor of Mother's Day I thought I would introduce you to my madre. She's a beautiful woman, inside and out - and can she cook! Amo mia madre con tutto il mio cuore

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Italian Home Cooking with Daniela-Tuesday Evenings

Tuesday Evening’s
Italian Home Cooking with Daniela
Inaugural Dinner
Tuesday, May 6th

Ciao,

Let me introduce myself, I am Daniela Useli and I want to share with you the traditional foods of my Italy and my home, Sardinia, where meals are prepared with simple and locally-grown, fresh ingredients.

As a child, I would spend much time in the kitchen with my mother, a culinary artist in her own right, as she prepared wonderful meals and beautiful, delicious pastries. I learned at my mother’s apron strings and she at her mother’s apron strings and so on, this way the traditional Sardinian and family recipes continue to live.


My Passion

It has been many years since my 8th birthday when I was given my first recipe book, even then, at such an early age, my passion for cooking was apparent. I have prepared all the recipes in that treasured book, many times over and the pages are well-worn with love.

There is no greater joy then to have family and friends alike to my table and see their eyes close and their head nod upon the first bite. I revel in throwing parties and I have been known to have up to 100 guests. For these types of occasions, I will be in the kitchen from early dawn and through the night preparing, with love, the foods of my home country.

An Idea is Born

Any cook worth their salt, continues to work and refine their recipes whether a pinch more of this or a little less of that and I too was doing the same with my Spinach Lasagna. The results of this recipe have been unanimous among our best friends, Alberto, Nancy, Jim, Marilu and Massimo: it is a delicate, light, fabulous dish. At that point, I thought it could be time to submit my creativity to the attention of restaurants and my friend Alberto agreed and wrote to Riccardo Bosio at Sotto Sopra.

When Riccardo replied saying that he was really willing to give my recipes a try, I was shocked and started immediately to organize myself for making the best food out from my recipes. That night, I only slept three hours. When Riccardo tasted my hand-made pastries and my famous Spinach Lasagna he told me I had to cook for him.

My initial idea of selling pans of lasagna has grown to cooking for you, one night a week, every Tuesday evening at my favorite restaurant, Sotto Sopra. Please accept my invitation to my Italian table - my menu for this coming Tuesday is listed below.

Buon Appetito!

Daniela


Inaugural
Daniela’s Traditional Italian 3-Course Dinner
Tuesday, May 6th ~
Open Reservations

To celebrate Daniela’s first Traditional Italian Dinner at Sotto Sopra, this dinner will have four (4) courses instead of three (3) and a complimentary glass of Prosecco for $35.00. Bookmark this LINK to Sotto Sopra’s Blog where we will update Daniela’s weekly menu.

For those of you who like a contemporary Italian menu we will be offering our Sotto Sopra ‘Spring Dinner’ dinner menu as well.

Everyone should taste the love and passion that is in Daniela’s food. This is the heart of what Italy is all about and we are excited to be able to offer you Daniela’s rustic and home styled cuisine


Tuesday, May 6th
Daniela’s Menu

Antipasto

Funghi Trifolati
Delicious hand-made “pasta brise” bowls filled with portabella mushroom cooked to perfection in a sauce of Vernaccia wine, smoked pancetta, Italian parsley, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and extra virgin olive oil

Il Primo

Lasagne Verdi
One of Daniela's newest Sardinian recipes, this hand-made spinach lasagna will melt in your mouth with the delicate combination of prosciutto, fresh ground nutmeg, mozzarella, cream and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Il Secondo

Roast Beef
The beef is slow roasted on a bed of rosemary, smoked pancetta, fresh ground black pepper and dry white wine. This lean cut roast beef will surprise you with its tenderness and flavorful taste.

Il Dolce

Panna Cotta
Made from slow-cooked dairy cream this light, silky eggless custard is a traditional Italian dessert and will be topped with a raspberry sauce


$35.00* per person with a complimentary glass of Prosecco
(excludes all other beverages, tax and gratuity)

Reservations Requested - Call 410 625 0534


*promotions and discount do not apply to this dinner