What the heck? No Mother’s Day post on DALS this year? That’s because I posted on Bon App on Tuesday all about how we don’t really celebrate it. I know, not very helpful. If you are like most normal people and in the market for a kick-ass brunch main dish, check out this baked cinnamony French toast from the always-reliable Deb… Read more »
I was driving Phoebe to school on Wednesday morning – she had to be at her desk by 7:30 for a field trip to Ellis Island or else – when I told her that Shaun Tan had sent us a guest post about his formative books for kids. What do you want me to tell people about Shaun’s books, I asked her. What… Read more »
When I was growing up, my mom made the best Swedish meatballs. And chicken Milanese. And lasagna with locally made sweet Italian sausages and old-school red sauce. (None of that fancy béchamel stuff.) These days, when I drag my family for dinner at my parents’ house, I beg her to make one of these dishes for me. How could I… Read more »
And by free we mean, um, sort of free. Here’s the deal: We like dinner. We also like books. And while Jenny’s upcoming book, on its every (“masterful,” says her husband) page, honors the meals we’ve made together for the past fifteen years, there is not a single word in it devoted to books — our love for them, or… Read more »
We have a bowl on our counter. It’s a wooden salad bowl that we have turned into a fruit bowl. I’m not a chemist, so I can’t tell you why this is, but this bowl has a strange and unpleasant effect on the produce we (stupidly) put inside it: it accelerates the ripening process. It possesses mysterious transformative properties. It’s… Read more »
Notice something different about DALS today? In an attempt to make the site a little more navigable, we’ve added a menu on the upper right there. Try it out and be sure to click on the “About the Book” link to read some of the nice things people are saying about Dinner: A Love Story.
A What to Eat pad (from KnockKnock) has been sitting in my basement for over a year now, wedged in between a pile of cookbooks and other assorted items marked “Tag Sale.” Of course when I say “marked” I mean not with a Sharpie or a label or anything, but in the back of my own mind; and when I say… Read more »
I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t call up about a line that Lisa Belkin wrote in the New York Times two or three years ago. In an article about overparenting and the self-esteem generation used to getting praise at every turn, she asked Are we raising kids who are prepared for college, but not for life?… Read more »
Easter entertaining advice from Ruth Reichl, plus an easy blueberry crisp that I am making as soon as I hit “publish” on this post. I’m liking this trend! Especially when someone notes that Andy and I are part of the evidence that proves it’s a trend. I don’t know why I didn’t own happy vintage juice glasses before this week…. Read more »
Friday Night Spicy Chicken Sausages with Baked Beans and Kale Salad 1. Procure 6-8 good quality Italian-spiced chicken sausages. 2. Fry in a skillet for 10-12 minutes until brown and cooked through. 3. Pour wine. 4. While sausages are frying, chop up some kale into shreds. Toss with olive oil, tablespoon or two of chopped shallots, handful grated Pecorino, squeeze… Read more »
I’m pleased to announce that Amanda is the winner of last week’s Baked Better giveaway. Baked Better is a Brooklyn-based company that makes a line of delicious organic bread mixes — all you have to do is add water. (No long rising times or bread maker is necessary! How great is that?) A big thank-you to the folks at BBB for sponsoring… Read more »
You want to know what’s fun about being an editor? You get to live vicariously through people who are smarter, better traveled, and more interesting than you. Charles Duhigg is one of those people. Charles is an investigative reporter at The New York Times — if you haven’t been following his series on Apple, it’s really worth your time —… Read more »
God knows, it’s not that I don’t love the kid. I have pledged my undying devotion to her here — she’s our firstborn, is kind to animals, has the soul of a poet, and is generally an all-around solid performer at the table. But Phoebe does not eat pasta. Phoebe, in fact, actively dislikes pasta. She hasn’t touched the stuff… Read more »
There’s a photo we have, in our album from 2002, that captures the exact moment my parents and Jenny’s parents saw Phoebe for the first time. Jenny’s in the hospital bed, all wired up and groggy from surgery, head slightly elevated, and she’s holding Phoebe in her arms. Phoebe is swaddled, purple-faced, about thirty minutes old. Thirty minutes old. All… Read more »
Here’s mine for Super Bowl Sunday: Chili Nachos with Guacamole Hot Cheesy Artichoke Dip Sweet and Sticky Chicken pieces (I’m doing drumsticks and thighs — I made this last week and forgot how tasty it was!) or Chicken Pot Pie (shown above) Homemade Mac & Cheese (I might waive this if I go with Pot Pie) Greens with Apple and… Read more »
A DALS Gold Member… Follows the conversation on facebook with a likeminded community of dinner-makers. Follows me on twitter so finds out in real time what recipes, restaurants, and online multiplication worksheet generators we are excited about. Has pre-ordered Dinner: A Love Story, the book! (And will therefore, very soon, have access to recipes like my cure-any-cold chicken and orzo… Read more »
If I had a nickel for every email in my inbox saying I’m making Andy’s Pork Ragu this weekend for guests. What should I serve with it?…I would’ve shut down this site by now and built my dream house in Block Island overlooking Mohegan Bluffs. But since I seem to have mastered the art of working my tail off for… Read more »
O, haricot verts, how it pains me to say this, given all that you have given us (nay, done for us), but I have grown tired of you. For eight years, you — the basic steamed and salted version of you — were there for us, a rock in our rotation, a reliable side dish we could count on. You… Read more »
Welcome! I’m Jenny, author of Dinner: A Love Story and The Weekday Vegetarians More
