How To Break Down A Chicken

Sotto Sopra's Executive Chef, Bill Crouse teaches high school culinary students how to break down a chicken in record time. Time is always of the essence in any restaurant kitchen.

Chef Crouse is working with the Carver Center for Arts and Technology culinary students developing recipes they will prepare for their Spring Fair Culinary Walk About. More to come in a future post. We hope you enjoy the video...it goes quickly.

Cooking Class - Sunday, April 13th

Cooking Class
Sunday, April 13 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Executive Chef Bill Crouse will be opening up the Sotto Sopra kitchen for another cooking class. As you can see from the photographs everyone had a good time.

At our March cooking class students learned how to make risotto, break down a chicken, stuff a chicken thigh and create a veal roll and chef threw in his absolutely fabulous lemon-basil sorbet recipe. April’s class will have a fish theme

Cost: $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.

We're Open on Easter

Happy Holidays! Yes, Easter is fast approaching and here at Sotto Sopra we will be opening earlier on Easter Sunday, March 23rd at 2 p.m and remaining open until 10 p.m. We will be offering a limited holiday menu for the day.

We are open on Good Friday, March 21st and closed ONLY FOR LUNCH on Easter Monday, March 24th.

We hope to see you.

Music on the Menu - Smart Woman Magazine

Have you seen what Baltimore Smart Woman Magazine has to say about Sotto Sopra's Opera Night in their March issue - grab a copy. If you can't - CLICK HERE for a story by Martha Thomas

First Thursday Wine Tasting - March, 08

We have postponed our First Thursday Wine tasting for the month due to our special happy hour we are running throughout March in celebration of 12 years in business. Check back for updates for April.

12th Anniversary Happy Hour Celebration-March, 2008

Come Celebrate Our 12th Anniversary

March, 2008 ~ Mondays through Fridays ~ 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

$1 Martini ~ $1 Wine
$10 pasta ~ 50% off entrees
AT OUR BAR*


*Some restrictions apply
~ not applicable with any other promotions or discounts

The Etiquette of Pasta

March's Opera Night - March 30th

Sunday, March 30, 2008
5:30 p.m.

A Evening of Live Opera Performances
featuring

Kathleen Dougherty, Soprano
Diane Abel, Soprano
Paul McIlvaine, Tenor
Tom Hetrick, Piano

Come relish live operatic performances and a 6-course gourmet dinner in Sotto Sopra’s historic Mt. Vernon town house setting. The energy is vibrant, the food tantalizing and the live opera performances will excite both young and old. Have fun Italian-Style.

Menu

Spinach Salad
with warm goat cheese, red onion, toasted pine nuts and honey balsamic

Roasted Corn and Leek Bisque
with black bean puree and tomato confit

Seared Rockfish
over pesto risotto

Grapefruit Sorbet

Petite Filet of Beef
served over sautéed Swiss chard with a lemon-caper oregano oil

Fresh Fruit Tart
with pastry cream and raspberry coulis


Enjoy Live Opera Performances & 6 courses of exceptional Italian cuisine
$55 per person
(excludes beverages, tax, & gratuity)

For reservations please call Deborah Puopolo at 410 625 0534 or email her at debpuopolo@aol.com.

Save the Dates for Upcoming Opera Nights: April 27th and May 11th

No Lunch on President's Day

Sotto Sopra will be closed for lunch on Monday, February 18th - President's Day and re-opening that evening for dinner. If you speak Italian come to the Italian Language Dinner Club's first gathering that night.

Artichoke Pie Recipe

March Cooking Class at Sotto Sopra

Cooking Class

Sunday, March 9
1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

We had great fun with our cooking class in January that we are all set to go with another on Sunday, March 9th. Chef Crouse will be demonstrating more involved recipes this time so we are limiting it to 3 recipes, one being a risotto. Once the recipes are completed all the students will sit down and enjoy a sampling of what has been prepared.

Cost: $65.00 per person

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

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 waitlist.

Snow Policy: If phase one of the snow emergency plan is in effect in Baltimore City one hour prior to the class it will be cancelled and we will reschedule.

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

Guest Chef Dinner - Jim Benson, Culinary Artist

Guest Chef Dinner

Wednesday, March 5th , 2008

Jim Benson, Culinary Artist

of

Eleven Courses ~ Luxury Dining

Guest will gather at 6:30 p.m.

Sotto Sopra is pleased to introduce you to culinary artist, Jim Benson, our guest chef for what proves to be a phenomenal tasting dinner on Wednesday, March 5th. Where as Benson’s dinners are normally 11 courses we have narrowed it to a 7 course tasting menu for this evening’s festivities. This dinner is limited to 30 guests and will be communal seating.

More about Jim Benson & Eleven Courses

For as long as Jim Benson can remember food and music has always been his life’s passion. Although different in some various obvious ways, his food and music are very much intertwined. He goes about creating a dish, the same way he goes about writing a song, formulating a (culinary) melody. He enforces a solid main ingredient and then uses secondary accompaniments to highlight and embrace the versatility of that main ingredient. In every dish his goal is to balance texture, taste, and temperature all contributing to that perfect cohesive dish. Each dish is a sum of its parts and any one component could compromise the goal of the entire dish. He uses these blueprints as the foundation to implement recipes that in theory seem familiar to us all, but are presented in a new way.

Eleven Courses ~ Luxury Dining comes to your home creating an eleven course tasting menu for you and your guest. Like many great chefs his path was not culinary school. His interest in food was fueled by travel to different American regions and foreign countries to experience their food first hand.

Eleven Courses ~ Luxury Dining is perfect for dinner parties, romantic occasions, business get-togethers, and for any and everyone who really wants an ultimate culinary experience. Their complete staff of trained professionals brings the restaurant experience (and then some) to you. They ship ingredients in for their events from all over the world and let their clients be as involved in the process as they want to be. Their goal is to make each event unforgettable for the host and all those in attendance.

At a recent 12 course event for a client’s 50th birthday, she looked at Benson and said “I feel like my taste buds have been awakened for the first time after 50 years.” He was so taken back by the profoundness of the statement that he decided to use its essence in Eleven Course’s slogan: “Luxury Dining. Awaken Your Taste Buds.”

The first time Jim Benson dined at Sotto Sopra he was drawn to the passion both Riccardo Bosio and executive chef, Bill Crouse have for their food. Every dish on the menu reflects both the balance of layered flavors and deep rooted Italian tradition. Jim invites you to participate in his tasting menu that mirrors Sotto Sopra standards of quality and passion while showcasing his own approach to cooking simple, yet innovative flavorful dishes.

The Tasting Menu

1st
Jumbo Lump Crab, Avocado Mousseline & Mango Gazpacho
with Fresh Chilies & Cucumber

2nd
Lobster Fennel Soup
with Risotto Crusted Lobster Croutons

3rd
Black Cod, Poached Pear Ravioli, Caramelized Onion Crème
with Crisp Leeks

4th
Oven-Roasted Veal Meatballs, Parmesan Gnocchi, Sweet Potato Puree,
Porcini Reduction & Scallion Confetti

5th
Pan-Seared Scallop, Chic Pea Emulsion, Acini di Pepe, Bacon Bonito Jus
Finished with Black Lava Sea Salt

6th
Braised 5-Spiced Pork Shoulder, Carrot Puree, Toasted Northern White Beans, Basil Oil,
Carrot Powder & Truffle Broth

7th
Upside Down Lemon Pine Nut Tart with Honey Mascarpone Cream

$75.00 per person – wine and alcohol ala carte
(includes tax and gratuity)
$120.00 per person with wine pairings
(includes tax and gratuity)

seating will be communal for this event

For reservations please call Deborah Puopolo at 410 625 0534 or email her at debpuopolo@aol.com. Due to the nature of this special dinner all reservations will need to be guaranteed with a credit card.

Cancellation policy: Reservations can be cancelled up to 48 hours prior to the dinner event with no penalty. Reservations cancelled less than 48 hours prior to the event will be billed to the credit card.

To Create Your Own Special Dinner in Your Home

contact

Jim Benson ~ Eleven Courses ~ Luxury Dining
410 459 6773

2007 Memorable Dish List

One of the city's diner/bloggers, 'minxeats' highlighted her 10 favorites dishes for 2007 and Sotto Sopra not only made her top ten but also another dish made honorable mention. Click HERE to see her choices.

First Thursday Wine Tasting Competition

Sotto Sopra’s First Thursday’s Wine Tasting Competition
Thursday, February 7, 2008
5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

World-class wines (the kind that are hard-to-find and more expense to drink) do battle in a side-by-side blind tasting, the ultimate wine competition, and like any competition there will be a reigning champ.

The Rules

Three (3) world-class wines will square off and the winner will proceed to the next month’s first Thursday wine tasting to face two new challenging wines. All wines will be blind tasted, discussed, and your vote will determine the winner.

Why Blind Tasting?

We chose blind tasting so no national or varietal prejudice will come into play. The fun of tasting blind is assessing flavors and aromas in your glass and calling the wine based on the evidence you collect. An award will be presented to the participating taster who guesses closest to the identity of all three wines.

The Referee

Our sommelier, Chris Clune, will make the selection of these very expensive and hard-to-find wines and oversee the blind tasting.

Sounds Greats-Give Us A Call

$30.00 per person

(tax and gratuity not included)

Stay for dinner and take advantage of our extended Restaurant Week 3 course pre-fix dinner menu at $30.08 per person.

The number of participants is limited so please call or e-mail Deborah Puopolo (410.625.0534 or debpuopolo@aol.com ) and make a reservation to guarantee your spot.

Be sure to bring that friend who loves wine - let’s have some fun.

Save the dates for future First Thursdays:

March 6, 2008
April 3, 2008
May 1, 2008

Chef Crouse's Lentil & Sausage Soup

I created this recipe for our January 08 Opera Night Dinner and also demonstrated in on Channel 45. I've put up the video that we took, as in all things related to batteries, they went dead before we finished...we still thought you might enjoy this. It was my first time on television - let me know what you think......Chef Bill Crouse

Sotto Sopra's Sausage and Lentil Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion -- chopped
2 cloves garlic -- chopped
1 large or two small carrots -- chopped
2 links Sweet Italian Sausage (meat or turkey) -removed from casings
1 quart chicken stock (homemade or canned low sodium)
fresh thyme
1 cup brown lentils -- rinsed
1 cup Swiss chard -- coarsely chopped
chopped tomato

Heat a large pot with the oil. Add the onion garlic and carrots and sweat them until the natural sugars come out.

Add the sausage and brown with the vegetables.

Add the chicken stock and fresh thyme and bring to a boil.

Add the lentils and reduce the soup to a simmer, covered and cook for 40 minutes.

Add the Swiss Chard or Spinach

Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper

Plate the soup and top with chopped tomato

Notes: Depending how thick or thin you want the soup to be you can add another pint of chicken stock. Never cook lentils with tomatoes, the acid will make the lentils tough.

Opera Night - February, 2008

Don’t let the cold keep you away from a great evening of live opera performances and a delicious 6 course Italian meal perfectly executed by our executive chef, Bill Crouse. We make opera fun and interactive – join the party – treat your sweetheart.


Opera Night
Sunday, February 24, 2008
(Snow date March 2nd)
5:30 pm to 9:30 pm

Enjoy an evening of outstanding vocals sung by:

Ms. Kathleen Dougherty, Soprano
Ms. Diane Abel, Soprano
Mr. Paul McIlvaine, Tenor
Mr. Tom Hetrick, Piano

Menu

Amuse
Warm Bibb Salad
with roasted shallots, Gorgonzola cheese and sherry vinaigrette

Zuppa
Split Pea Soup
with lobster and fennel

Primi
Porcini Mushroom Risotto
served with duck confit

Intermezzo
Lemon Verbena Sorbet

Secondi
Braised Veal Cheeks
on top of soft Gorgonzola polenta

Dolci
Ricotta and Orange Tart
served with hazelnut chocolate sauce and vanilla gelato

Enjoy live Opera performances and 6 courses of exceptional Italian cuisine
only
$55 per person
(excludes beverages, tax, & gratuity)

FOR RESERVATIONS & INFORMATION PLEASE CALL
(410) 625-0534 or email Deborah at: debpuopolo@aol.com

Gift certificates are available on line at www.sottosopra.us

Save the Dates: March 30th and April 27th

We've Extended Our Winter Restaurant Week

Winter Restaurant Week Extended

Monday, January 28th through Sunday, February 10th

Prix Fixe $30.08 Dinner

Choice of Appetizer

Zuppa di Giorno
Soup of the Day

Grilled Romaine Salad

with sun-dried tomato bruschetta and an anchovy dressing

Prosciutto di Parma

Prosciutto from Parma with fresh mozzarella in a Parmesan basket

Roasted Beet Napoleon

Sliced red and yellow beets with buffalo mozzarella, pesto and balsamic

Fritto Misto

Fried shrimp, oysters and calamari with tarragon-caper rémoulade
and roasted red pepper coulis

Choice of Entrée

Risotto with Seafood Cioppino

Gnocchi di Ricotta

House-made ricotta gnocchi sautéed in butter and sage with fresh tomato sauce

Agnolotti di Vitello

House-made veal stuffed pasta served with Applewood smoked

bacon, sautéed spinach and veal reduction

Cartoccio di Pesce
Fresh filet of red snapper steamed in a parchment bag with julienned vegetables and tarragon-shallot butter

Veal Scaloppine
Coriander crusted veal medallions, with a medley of sautéed porcini mushrooms, artichoke hearts and lima beans with mushroom essence

Braise Shortribs
with Gorganzola polenta

Pollo Rustico

Crispy roasted chicken with rustic bruschetta and a shallot-currant sauce

Choice of Dessert

Tiramisu

Gianduia Pot De Crème

Ricotta and Orange Tart

served with hazelnut chocolate sauce and vanilla gelato


Prix Fixe $20.08 Lunch

Choice of Appetizer

Zuppa di Giorno
Soup of the Day

Grilled Romaine Salad

with sun-dried tomato bruschetta and an anchovy dressing

Arugula Salad
Baby arugula salad with sun-dried cherries, crispy Applewood smoked bacon, crumbled goat cheese, stone ground mustard and sherry vinaigrette

Choice of Entrée

Chicken "Sotto Sopra"

Grilled chicken breast topped with fresh tomatoes, asparagus, prosciutto and aged provolone served with tomato Provençal

Bucatini all' Amatriciana

Bucatini pasta with bacon, Vidalia onions, crushed red peppers and fresh tomato sauce

Grilled Tuna

with a salsa verde and haricot vert

Panino di Giorno
Sandwich of the day

Risotto di Giorno

House prepared risotto of the day

Choice of Dessert

Tiramisu

Fresh Mixed Fruit

with vanilla bean gelato

menu subject to market changes

Italian Language Dinner Club

Sotto Sopra's
Italian Language Dinner Club
First Gathering - Monday, February 18th - 7:00 p.m.
Reservations Required


We have had a wonderful response on the Italian Language Dinner Club and thank those who responded. Those who will attend will get to dust off their Italian language skills, share the company of others who are passionate about Italy and enjoy some wonderful food.

Riccardo feels a family style meal is more condusive for the evening's gathering and has created a menu including wine, tax and gratuity for $55.00.

By your responses, Monday night seems to be the most popular night for the gathering. We are looking to kick it off in February. We would like those attending to help formulate ideas for future gatherings.

If you haven't reached out to us about your interest, just send us an e-mail and we will put you on the Italian Language Dinner Club e-mail list. Dining will be communal.

Let us know your interest, your thoughts and ideas - please reach out to Dara Bunjon ciao@sottosopra.us

Monika's New Favorite Biscotti Recipe

Here is a recipe that was given to Monika from our favorite public relations gal, Dara Bunjon. Dara has been making this recipe for years and loves the fact that there is no butter. She uses parchment paper on the cooking sheet so no fat is used other than what is natural to the pistachio.

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

Recipe By : Gourmet Magazine 1992 pg 162
Serving Size : 36


Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 1/3 cups Dried cranberries(approx 1/4 Lb)
2 1/2 cups Unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Double acting baking powder
1/2 tsp Salt
3 lg Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 cup Shelled natural pistachio
Egg wash-beat 1 egg+1 ts water

In a bowl combine the cranberries with enough hot water to cover them and let them soak for 5 minutes. Drain the cranberries well and pat them dry with paper towels.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment blend the flour; the sugar, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt until the mixture is combined well, add the eggs and the vanilla, beating until a dough is just formed, and stir in the cranberries and the pistachios.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, knead it several times, and halve it. Working on a large buttered(you can eliminate the buttered pan by using parchment paper) and floured baking sheet, with floured hands form each piece of dough into a flattish log 13 inches long and 2 inches wide, arrange the logs at least 3 inches apart on the sheet and brush them with the egg wash.

Bake the logs in middle of preheated 325 degree oven for 30 minutes and let them cool on baking sheet on a rack for 10 minutes. On cutting board cut the logs crosswise on the diagonal in 3/4 inch slices(use a serrated bread knife). Bake for 7 minutes on each side. Store in airtight container.

La Traviata in Food

Verdi - Traviata - Choeur Bohémiens
Uploaded by Quarouble