Winter is a down time for Marcia Wright’s Alexandria law firm, by design. During the colder months, Wright crafts her popular stew pots and delivers them throughout Northern Virginia through her company Sweet Mossie’s, lovingly named after her father, a well-known NoVA-area cook in his time. The lawyer with a very delicious side hustle helps spread winter warmth with her home-cooked stews.
What does cooking offer you?
Cooking gives me a break from law. Cooking gives me a chance to be creative in a space where I’m also helping people. With my day-to-day work, I help people. I’m an advocate. But even when I’m in the kitchen and I’m stewing a pot I’m still advocating because I’m advocating for flavor, I’m advocating for good health, I’m advocating for the benefits of warming food and nutritious food, and so I still get to be of service to others by doing that. It’s a way to kind of merge all of that without getting burnt out.
How are cooking and practicing law similar?
Thinking on your feet, because sometimes a pot or a dish may not come out exactly how you planned, especially if you’re not working with a recipe. So you have to really be able to find a solution on your feet when you have people waiting on your food. You have to be able to employ the ability to not crash in moments when things aren’t working.
What are some things you learned about cooking from your father?
Using unique things in dishes. My father did a lot of combining of things that you wouldn’t normally think would go together, and I do that too. I will put just about anything together. I primarily shop the rainbow when I’m in the store. So I will do very interesting combinations so that I’m able to curate whatever it is I’m cooking.
What goes with a stew pot?
Grill some fish or shrimp and pour the stew pot like a sauce or gravy, then pair with a really great wine.
First dish you cooked?
My father’s crab crepes: crepes stuffed with crab meat, mushroom and shrimp, with a white wine butter sauce over top.
Favorite NoVA restaurant?
Vaso’s Kitchen in Alexandria.
What tools do you suggest for an aspiring cook?
Vitamix and a good pan.
