Sampling Doc April's Delicious Dishes

In July I went on a whirlwind weekend visit to Arlington, Virginia/DC to celebrate Rachel's birthday and engagement. While I can never see everyone when I return I try to maximize my time. This trip managed to fit in watching the first two episodes Mad Men Season 1 (Matthew - hurry up and finish so I can borrow them!), Rocket Bar, wine tasting, the pool and the culinary highlight - tasting some of Doc April's Delicious Dishes.

I hadn't seen April since meeting her at our mutual very good friend Vika's Bahamian wedding celebration last year. I was excited to see her again and experience her adventurous cooking firsthand as she's a daredevil in the kitchen always improvising and creating something new. My big request was that we make spaetzle as I fell in love with it at B Bar and knew she had experience. I was shocked by its simplicity and hopefully will make its slightly salty dough goodness again soon.

In addition to parsley-tinged spaetzle, she concocted a wonderful barbeque sauce that her boyfriend Mike used on a slow cooked brisket and used his beef drippings to make another sauce based on Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon. Oh and there was perfectly caramelized grilled corn, which always hits the spot for me, followed by a simple satisfying dessert of fresh cherries and amaretto. The flavorful meal was an excellent end to an exciting weekend.

Many thanks to her, Mike, Rachel, Peter and Laura for hosting me over the weekend. May our paths cross again sooner rather than later. Same goes for the new friends that were made!

Matt, Laura, Peter and Rachel

From 2010_07_24