title: Return dataset as json in c#
body: <p>I'm really new to json, and I have browsed some of the prior questions regarding this topic. I think I am missing something basic, I have a table where "item" is the primary key, and I want to return json in the format of </p>
  
  <pre><code>{
      "item": [
          {
              "item": "12345",
              "description": "ece"
          },
          {
              "item": "34567",
              "description": "abcde"
          }
      ]
  }
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I have tried to serialize the datatable being returned from the database using </p>
  
  <pre><code>JsonConvert.SerializeObject(dt)
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>and I get the json format, just without the outermost "item":[  ]" block. </p>
  
  <p>Any suggestions would be appreciated</p>
  
  <p>Edit: 
  I am filling the datatable like so:</p>
  
  <pre><code>SqlConnection conn = new SqlConnection(conStr);
  String sql = "select distinct item,description from item where item like '" + id.ToString() + "%'";
          try
          {
              conn.Open();
              SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand(sql, conn);
              dt.Load(cmd.ExecuteReader());
          }
  </code></pre>