Dinner: It's More Than Just the Meal

Growing up, family dinners were on of the day’s few, unchanging constants. Regardless of where it had taken my brother or me, come 6:30 (never later than 7:00), it would always spit us out, right back where we had begun the day: around the dining room table. It was a place for sustenance, yes, but it was also where I learned about my family, conversation, and how to try everything that was on my plate, even if it was just one bite. (And even if it was, bless my mother’s sense of adventure, a homemade dolma with wild grape leaves sourced from the backyard.) Giuliano Hazan, best-selling author and award winning cooking teacher, considers the family meal this week for Zester Daily, writing about how there’s more to mealtime than simply the recipes on the table. The recipes play some role, but in his essay, Hazan arrives at a more substantial finishing thought. It’s one that makes slowing down for a family meal seem much more important, and one impervious to even the most inedible of grape leaves:“A family meal is at once a private moment of nourishment and a celebration of our closest and strongest relationships.” When Life Swallows the Family Meal from Zester Daily