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Friday Round-Up

By March 15, 2013October 2nd, 2013219 Comments

Whatโ€™s happening in Family Dinner-Ville this week:

*Have you readย Lean Inย yet? What do you think? I found myself skimming over all the studies reminding me of what I already know (women make less money than men; women do more housework even when they work full-time; leaving your kids to go to work is harder for moms than kids, etc.) and absolutely devouring the (somewhat measured) glimpses into her high-power life โ€” like how she forgets to put her kid in green on St. Patrickโ€™s Day and how her kids came down with lice while flying on the private jet of eBayโ€™s CEO. Also: I donโ€™t know if this is just a case of me wearing my family dinner goggles, but there are countless references to getting home in time to eat with her kids and how good it makes her feel. Howย centered.

*Due to popular demand โ€”ย Deconstructed Dinnerย on DALS now has itโ€™s own category. If you click on it (right over there in the right margin under โ€œCategoriesโ€) you can get a list of dinners that are more conducive to separating into individual components (for kids) while not messing with the integrity of the whole (for parents).

*Every time I head to Stone Barns I think a) How lucky am I that this farm is right here in my neighborhood? then b) What can I buy at their gift shop? Locals know what Iโ€™m talking about โ€” the mix of cookware, cookbooks (youโ€™ll recognize at least one), tableware, kids toys, canning jars, and way more is one of the most beautifully curated gift collections anywhere. Some good news for non-locals: I had no idea until a few weeks ago that they have an online store as well. Head over there and check out my current obsessions: Lidded โ€œworking glasses,โ€ aย classic market tote, and a table runnerย thatย I bought for my momโ€™s birthday last year and liked so much I went back to pick one up for myself.

*I know, at this point you probably think that Iโ€™m a publicist for โ€œHereโ€™s the Thing,โ€ but Alec Baldwinโ€™s interview with NBC Nightly News host Brian Williamsย made me run a mile longer than I wanted to so I could hear the entire thing. (Ask Andy, this was an unprecedented event.) Favorite moment: Williams recallling his mother showing young Brian a photograph of a famous broadcast journalist, then telling Brian, โ€œYou can do better than him.โ€)

*Apropos of nothing, I just bought this fabric to cover a bulletin board in my home office.

*Apropos of all niece and nephew and โ€œspecialโ€ birthdays coming up this year, hereโ€™s my new favorite gift. (I love my childrensโ€™ friends, but I ainโ€™t spending $40 on them.)

*Iโ€™ve loved every essay Iโ€™ve read so far inย The Cassoulet Saved My Marriage: True Tales of Food, Family, and How We Learn to Eat,ย and based on the luminaries that editors Caroline Grant and Lisa Catherine Harper lined up for the anthology, Iโ€™m guessing this will continue. The last paragraph ofย Catherine Newmanโ€˜s essay โ€œTalk With Your Mouth Full,โ€ about the evolution of her familyโ€™s dinner table conversations, has been haunting me for days โ€” even if the entire essay leading up to it had me in stitches. Here it is:

There are doubtless measurable benefits to dinner-table conversation. Itโ€™s a natural check on overeating, for example. Even if youโ€™re talking and eating at the same time, you simply canโ€™t generate the same food-shoveling velocity that you could if you were eating silently. Plus, Iโ€™m sure itโ€™s good for mental health, for social health, for learning how to become a good date โ€” although, my god, Iโ€™ll miss them when thereโ€™s someone theyโ€™re dating besides us. Bust mostly the benefits are immeasurable. What dinner table conversation gives us is time to stop and appreciate how much we have, right now, even as we imagine, deliriously, that it could go on forever.

To celebrate this quote specifically and the bookโ€™s publication generally, Iโ€™m giving away one copy of Cassoulet to a random commenter below. Good luck and have a great weekend. Update: Chris (#194) is the winner. Congrats!

PS: Credit for illustration way up top: Pixarโ€™s hand-drawn storyboard illo from the family dinner scene inย The Incredibles. (Is there a better movie in the world?)

219 Comments

  • Avatar Wendy says:

    Iโ€™d love to read this book!

  • Avatar Angie says:

    Iโ€™ve been trying to get a copy of this book and there is only 1 library in all of Colorado that has it!

  • Avatar Andrea says:

    Thanks to you, we had burrito bowls for dinner last night!! Love your blog!

  • Avatar Susan says:

    The Incredible, possibly the ultimate in aspirational families?!

  • Avatar Lindsay says:

    Sounds like something I need to read!

    And p.s. I love The Incredibles! Canโ€™t wait until my girls are a little older and ready to watch it!

  • Avatar stacy says:

    Glad to hear you read/liked Lean In. Iโ€™ve been debating reading it, so itโ€™s nice to get a recommendation from someone I โ€œknow.โ€ ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Avatar Leslie says:

    And Then The Doorbell Rang

    Iโ€™d love to read this book!

  • Avatar Rachel says:

    I found air terrariums this Xmas and snapped up one for my incredibly difficult to shop for mother in law. For the first time in a decade, she actually seemed to like her gift. Holiday miracle! They are amazing gifts for anyone. Thanks for the round up, Jenny!

  • Avatar Aliso says:

    Here is my not-so-random comment: thank you, DALS for making meal planning (why are some weeks SO much harder than others?) easier. I come here when I am out of ideas, stuck in a rut, trying a new diet craze and out of my mind, etc. And yes, the book sounds great, too.

  • Avatar Joanna says:

    L0oks like a great book! Iโ€™d love to read it!

  • Avatar Catherine says:

    I love all your recommendations!

  • Avatar Kathryn says:

    Iโ€™m dying to read this.

  • Avatar M says:

    Would love the book.

    Have not read Lean In. I canโ€™t decide if I want to. We are in that stage of life where we just have so much on our plates (work, home, young kids, activities), that Iโ€™m concerned the book will just lecture to me rather than providing me either with a pleasure-reading-escape, or concrete information on how to keep our lives running smoothly. Interestingly โ€“ your DALS book was the perfect combination of both of those. Pleasure reading + practicalities, thatโ€™s a hard balance to strike. Interested to hear more about what you think of Lean In.

  • Avatar Lindsay mancuso says:

    I have devoured ur book. It has changed our world and table! Outlawed are all frozen nuggets and fish sticks and by god we bread and โ€œfryโ€ our own now! My kid ate lamb ! LAMB! Currently, our favorite recipe has been a tie between the flounder with the black bean salad and the play date cookies which I am asked to make weekly! Hope to win this book too! We r on a roll, and hope to continue!

  • Avatar Christina says:

    Thank you for the chance to win. Happy Friday! ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Avatar Marie says:

    I would love this book. Thank you for giving me both dinner inspiration and great book recommendations for me and my daughter!

  • Avatar Maggie says:

    If Cassoulet is as great as your cookbook, Iโ€™ll be thrilled. I also have high hopes that Cassoulet offers tips on how to keep a six-year-old boy from running laps around the dinner table after heโ€™s finished eating.

  • Sarah says:

    what a beautiful quote.

    I just wrote it down to add to my collection of lovely quotes on the inside of my cupboard. seeing those words when I open a cupboard door to get out a spice or jar reminds me why I love to cook for others and what joy it brings to me.

  • Avatar Kris says:

    I searched every airport bodega for this book on my 3hr layover last night. I would love to win a copy!

  • Demetria Friberg says:

    If it is as good as your book, than I will love it!!

  • Avatar bentley waters says:

    you packed so much great stuff in this post. i feel like i kind of just one the jackpot. thank you for sharing. im dying to read this book.

  • Avatar Kay Lynn says:

    I was already putting this book on my library wish list when I saw the giveaway part! Sign me up!

  • Avatar Laura says:

    I would love a copy!

  • Avatar Jennifer P says:

    I LOVE โ€œLean Inโ€ after 20 years in a high pressure career, 3 kids and a dedication to homemade dinners (almost) every night. Itโ€™s good to know that Iโ€™m not aloneโ€

  • Avatar Christine says:

    Catherine Newman is a fabulous writer! Love her blog! I would love to read this book ๐Ÿ™‚

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