Review: luna grill
if your visiting DC and looking for a brunch spot in Dupont Circle, I would vote to try someplace else

The service was very slow, the food mediocre, the bathroom was broken so I had to walk down to Starbucks to pee. I will say it was nice to be outdoors and the company was splendid.

What I had: coffee, omlet with brocolli, tomatoes, cheddar and wheat toast. (TS had a greasy portobello sandwich)

Recipe: Pecan crusted chicken / Salad with maple bbq dressing
basically hi-jacked from Rachel Ray

For the Chicken:
1 pound chicken tenders
~1C flour
1 egg
~1 c finely chopped pecans
~1c bread crumbs
1/4 t nutmeg
1T orange zest
oil for cooking (~1/4c)
put the flour in bowl #1, egg, beaten, in bowl #2, and pecans, bread crumbs, nutmeg and orange zest in bowl #3. Dip chicken in bowl 1, then 2, then 3.
Heat oil in frying pan, place 1/2 chicken pieces cook ~3 min, turn, ~3min more. remove cover to keep warm, cook 2nd batch of chicken.

For the Salad:
2 heads romaine lettuce, washed, dried, torn
6 spring onions, chopped
6 radishes, sliced

For the Dressing:
juice of one orange
1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c bbq sauce
1/4 c olive oil
mix the first 3 ingredients together, then whisk in the oil.

Recipe: Bridal Shower Cake
based on Kraft's White Chocolate Raspberry Cake
serves 16

1 large bar Ghiradelli White Chocolate
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
1 pkg. (2-layer size) white cake mix
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3Tbsp. seedless raspberry jam
2-5 drops red food coloring
frosting (see below)
1 cup raspberries

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 2 (9-inch) round cake pans; set aside. Microwave chocolate and butter in medium microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted; cool slightly.
BEAT cake mix, milk, eggs, vanilla and chocolate mixture in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed just until moistened, scraping side of bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes or until well blended.
Take 1 - 1 1/2 c batter and put in separate bowl. Add the jam, and food coloring, mixing well. Pour some regular batter evenly into prepared pans. Add dolups of colored batter. Add rest of regular batter to pans. Run a spatula through the pans a few times to "marbelize" the batter.
BAKE 25 to 28 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks.
Place 1 cake layer on serving plate; spread with layers of 2/3 cup of the White Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting. Cover with remaining cake layer. Frost top and side of cake with remaining frosting. Top with raspberries just before serving. Store in refrigerator. Enjoy!

Frosting:
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1 large bar Ghiradelli White Baking Chocolate, melted, cooled slightly
1 tsp. vanilla (this slightly tints the frosting, might want to omit for white frosting)
2 cups powdered sugar
BEAT cream cheese and butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add melted chocolate and vanilla; mix well.
ADD sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy after each addition.