Daniel O'Connell's Restaurant in Old Town Alexandria

After the August lull, our work schedules have kicked back up into full gear. I couldn't find enough relevant think tank events to attend in August, and now have to deliberate which timely and interesting-sounding event to attend. We're also working longer hours. Feeling unmotivated to cook dinner, we stopped off at a local restaurant after work. We haven't been back to O'Connell's since my parents visited half a year ago.

A very literal dish of Chicken Curry.

Diced Chicken in a Curry Sauce on white rice. The husband liked it, but we were surprised there were no vegetables included all.

Feeling a touch of fall in the air, I chose the Irish Shepherd's Pie.

Seriously savory and comforting with a light salad on the side. The cast iron keeps the meat and potatoes nice and hot. I'm definitely ordering this again.

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Best thing: The husband didn't have to wash dishes, and I didn't spend over an hour in the kitchen finagling something edible out of the refrigerator after a long day of work. Win-Win.

The Royal Restaurant in Old Town

We decided to try out a different restaurant near the Trader Joe's in Old Town. It's an old diner that is apparently popular for breakfast. It was kind of weird place when we tried it out for a casual dinner this week.  

Fried calamari with marinara sauce and cocktail sauce.

Spaghetti with meatballs (this came with a trip to the salad bar).

Buffalo chicken sandwich with provolone cheese.

Ever since Chick Fil-A's owner came out with his staunch support for a set of beliefs I cannot support, the fried chicken sandwich joint has been on the banned list for us. Unfortunately I've been fixating on the idea of a crispy fried chicken sandwich ever since. This did not assuage that craving.

Making Mapo Tofu at Home

I have a Sichuan mapo tofu obsession. I'm obsessed and continuing to try to get the flavor and spicing correct in my homemade versions. The sauce is a wild mixture of chili powder, sesame oil, Sichuan peppercorns, fermented black beans, chili oil, tobanjan (spicy chili bean paste), a dash of this, a splash of that. I'm getting closer and closer. My husband is a fabulous taste tester too. 

Bok Choy with oyster sauce.

Mapo Tofu with ground pork and scallions.

Served with hot rice, this was a super satisfying dinner, and an even more delightful bento lunch the next day.

Japanese Dinner Party

I wish I had the skill to pull off this amazing array of Japanese dishes for a dinner party, but the credit goes to my boss' wife.  Years of hosting dinners and entertaining at home, she is truly a master at creating a special menu for our small office parties. 

The schedule is always the same, leave the office together and travel to their apartment in Court House. Arrive, say "ojama shimasu" and put on the apartment slippers. We start off with a kampai with glasses of Japanese beer, and enjoy the carefully prepared appetizers. Usually there is a platter of fruit, some fresh vegetables with a spicy Korean dip, and bacon wrapped water chestnuts. This time there was Old Bay spiced shrimp, boiled peanuts. and a baguette filled with cream cheese and vegetables. 

After awhile, we move to the dining room to settle in for the parade of dishes. A number of the dishes are prepared right before serving, to make sure the taste, texture and temperature are perfect. 

 Chinese-style hiyayakko tofu with diced pickled radish.

The simmered dishes (Nimono)

Ganmodoki (tofu mixed with carrot, mushrooms and black sesame seeds.)

 Nimono with renkon, konnyaku, take, ninjin, toriniku and shiitake. 

(Lotus root, konnyaku, bamboo, carrots, chicken and shiitake mushrooms)

 Steamed Dish (Mushimono)

Homemade shumai: seasoned pork wrapped with rice and steamed.

 Fried Dish (Agemono)

 Beautifully fried croquettes with a fluffy potato and beef mixture and tonkatsu with a super crispy outside and tender pork cutlet. Top with a special vegetable sauce or Bulldog sauce.

 Tonkatsu is often served with thinly sliced cabbage.

 Chirashi sushi with pickled ginger and tsukemono pickles.

Perfectly seasoned sushi rice with a mixture of vegetables, thinly sliced egg, and slivers of seaweed. 

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This is the last dinner party we'll have with them before the move back to Japan. It was a really wonderful dinner party, including my husband and my coworker's husband, who are both Japanese. I think it was a pretty natsukashii parade of familiar dishes for them as well. My only regret is not asking for cooking lessons while they were stationed in DC.

Relaxed Cooking over the holiday weekend

We stopped in Peking Gourmet Inn for dinner Friday night and enjoyed the duck, soup and baby bok choy with shiitake mushrooms. They were unfortunately out of the garlic chives so we couldn't order the pork with garlic chives. When we order more than we need, we take home the leftovers and reinvent them in other meals.

 Duck with bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, carrot and cilantro ramen.

A little unconventional, but I made a duck broth with the duck bones first, and it was super satisfying on a rainy, gray Saturday. For dinner, I used the leftover duck skin to make tacos with scrambled egg, cucumber and scallions. Along with some frozen shrimp dumplings I made last week, it was quick and easy dinner.

 I'm obsessed with the spicy flavors of Sichuan food.

This was a riff on dan dan noodles with the remaining shrimp dumplings.

I boiled some Korean noodles to mix with the ground pork with sesame oil, chilies, jalapeno, garlic and ground Sichuan peppercorn. By splitting the one serving of noodles into two, we were able to enjoy the flavor of the dish with a little less guilt. Next time I might add a bit of chicken broth to make it a little more soupy like the version at Sichuan Pavillion.

Virtue Grain and Feed

For an impromptu dinner during the middle of the work week, we headed over to Virtue Grain and Feed in Old Town. Perhaps due to the early hour or being the last week of August, we were quickly seated downstairs. 

While the decor is relaxed, the leather loveseats are a little too relaxed and when I sat on one, I sank down low. My sweet husband was kind enough to switch seats with me and I was much more comfortable on the chair across the table. I watched another table of older women discover the loveseats and ask for them to be exchanged for chairs. Smart ladies.

 We started off with cocktails and the cheese plate. 

All of the cheeses were nice, especially the blue.

 Bread basket with Irish butter ($3)

I liked the olive bread and rosemary bread the best. 

 Mussels with tomato, basil and beer. ($9.50)

I ordered the steamed mussels from the appetizers list with a side of chips (fries) for my dinner. However, the server made a mistake and sent out  the mussels on their own and a long time before my husband's fish. The server was occupied with the other tables of older patrons, and ignored us until after the fish was delivered, a looong time later.

 Crispy whole red snapper with orange gremolata ($22)

The fish was very nicely cooked, but it is not served with anything, so make sure to order some side dishes.

He's very hungry and anxious for me to snap my picture so he can start eating the fish.

Green beans with garlic and chips. The chips were thick cut and would have been a little crisper, and arriving with the mussels.

A lot of the menu is a little on the heavier side, which I prefer to eat during the fall and winter, not during the heat of August. I guess we'll have to try again another time, perhaps at lunchtime or for brunch instead.

Vegetable Masaman Curry

Another cooking adventure at home. We have a number of Thai curry spice mixes in the cupboard, usually one of every color. I particularly enjoy green curry, but I've been trying to branch out and try other variations. Sometimes I add in some frozen seafood, but often it is a medley of leftover vegetables.

 Green pepper, red pepper, carrot, snow peas.

 Coconut milk, Masaman curry paste, jalapeno, ginger, garlic and onion.

 Masaman curry is sweeter than other varietions. I can see how it would pair well with chicken thighs and potatoes.

Topped with fresh cilantro.