Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Ohhhhh I forgot about Nana's in Durham!!!!! Very very good

My favorite meal in DC was at the Tabard Inn in Dupont Circle.
http://www.tabardinn.com/restaurant/menus/dinner

A couple of my favorites.

http://simplyrecipes.com/
http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/

Paula's Deen's Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle. Makes a ton, fairly easy and looks beautiful when layered in the glass dish. Look for it on the FN website.

Here is the recipe I am making - see link. I haven't tried this yet but I get a ton of recipes from this blog and they are all yummy!

http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/2010/11/green-bean-and-mushroom-casserole.html

Here's how I do it. First, I saute half a diced yellow onion and about 5 minced garlic cloves in extra virgin olive oil. Then I add a 15 oz can diced tomatoes, 15 oz can tomato sauce and 6 oz can tomato paste. To this I add a pinch of sugar, S & P, a bunch of fresh basil torn and about a tablespoon of parmesan. I let this simmer for about 15 mins. This is my "weeknight" tomato sauce recipe. Of course it could be better if left to simmer longer but usually no time during the week. But it's much better than sauce from a jar!

Here are my suggestions (we go every summer to CM):

Breakfast - Mad Batter or George's (side note - Mad Batter seems to be more 'known' for their breakfast but is great for dinner too!)

Dinner - For something casual, Lucky Bones has great ribs, sandwiches, etc but usually a good wait. For Italian, Cucina Rosa or Godmothers both very good. The Blue Pig at Congress Hall is good and has outdoor seating. I like to go to the bar at Congress Hall first, very nice. I've heard great things about Washington Inn and Ebbitt Room - we are trying Washington Inn this month.

Bar Keepers Friend works amazingly well on all my stainless cookware and dutch oven. I think I bought it at the grocery store and it's cheap!

I spread pesto on a ciabatta roll and make a panini along w/ fresh mozzarella and sliced tomato.

OK so we're leaving tomorrow and I'm writing down everyone's suggestions. Let me ask for 1 more thing - of all these (or others) what is the best Italian restaurant that we cannot miss while there? There seems to be so many!

I always grill my London Broil after marinating using this recipe. It always turns out incredible

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/London-Broil-II/Detail.aspx

Nice post...Another question related to homemade pizza. Once stretched out and I put into the oven I always get HUGE bubbles that form in the dough! How do I stop this? I usually poke small holes with fork in the dough but still get these bubbles. help!

that sounds really good Garvey, my husband would love the sausage pizza. I, on the other hand, would probably not want to sit out my the pool the next day after eating that! LOL