Posts Categorized: Uncategorized

Ham for the Holidays

Do you have certain meals that you make rarely, on special occasions, and then, as soon as you’re done eating them, you say to yourself, Damn, that was good. Why don’t we eat this once a week? I do. Roast turkey with stuffing and gravy is one of those meals — so deeply satisfying, and come on, would it be… Read more »

Advanced Recipe Search Debuts!

I’m so happy to tell you that the Advanced Recipe Search is finally up and running. It’s not all there yet, but it’s definitely an improvement over what you were working with before. (Which would be nothing.) You’ll see that it’s exactly what you’ve been asking for — a straight list of every recipe to appear on DALS since March 2010,… Read more »

8 Questions For: David Sedaris

For a bunch of years when I worked in magazines, I was lucky enough to have the chance to work with David Sedaris. For an editor, this was like being a baseball-loving kid and having had the chance to be the bat boy for Lou Gehrig. (Or maybe that’s not the best example here, but you get the idea. It… Read more »

Controlling the Controllable

Do you know this phrase? Controlling the Controllable. Or should I say, have you heard of this condition? Symptoms include: -Adding tasks to your to-do list even after you’ve completed them, just so you can experience the satisfaction of crossing that task off the list. -Having a sudden irrepressible urge to rearrange your sock drawer or color-code your bookshelf or… Read more »

Anatomy of a Monday Night Dinner

We begin in the morning… 6:45 Phoebe’s alarm goes off 6:46 Abby’s alarm goes off 7:00 Mom showers, Dad gets breakfast (pomegranate seeds and cereal) for girls 7:15 Get-Your-Shoes-On Battle begins 7:22 Shoes finally secure, Mom starts freaking out about missing bus. Dad and Girls laugh at her. “Mom have we ever missed the bus?” 7:30 Bus Arrives. (No kisses,… Read more »

Perfectly Good

Every spring, growing up, my elementary school would put on a fifth grade Science Fair. They’d clear out the gym, bring in a bunch of those long cafeteria tables, and the fifth graders would file in early, groggy and grumpy, to set up their exhibits. Later that day, we’d take our places behind our posters and dioramas and baking-soda-and-vinegar volcanoes, as… Read more »

Reading List: John Jeremiah Sullivan

When Jenny launched Dinner: a Love Story eighteen months ago, I sent out a group email to all nine of my friends to let them know what was up, and to spread the word. She called me at work a couple of hours later, excited. “John Sullivan just registered on the site,” she said. Our first victim! John Sullivan, aka… Read more »

What’s Your Secret Ingredient?

I love the idea of a recipe having a secret ingredient. When the girls were little, I would steal away to the corner of the kitchen to add a secret ingredient (sugar) to my magic hiccup potion (water). My friend Andras puts a shot of bourbon in his scrambled eggs. My old co-worker Myles adds a spoonful of peanut butter… Read more »

Winner

Many thanks to this month’s newsletter sponsor, Inmod, an online retailer of modern furniture, lighting and decor. The winner of the Inmod teak bowl (upper left) is DALS reader Merie. To be eligible to win newsletter giveaways, you must be a subscriber. Thanks to everyone who played!

First Place Loser

There’s this thing Abby and I do, before every soccer game. She’s usually sitting on the wooden bench by our door, in her too-big uniform, and even though she’s in third grade, I’m enabling…I mean, tying her cleats. When I’m done, I give her a pat on the knee and look into her eyes. “You ready?” I ask. “Yeah,” she says. The… Read more »

Reminder

Just a reminder that in order to be eligible for giveaways (not to mention the trademark DALS bumper sticker), you need to register for the DALS newsletter. We have a couple fun giveaways coming up this week, so do it sooner rather than later! Photo courtesy of Raising Foodies.

Extremely Graphic Content

It’s hard to know who was more excited when the Amazon box landed with a thunk on our doorstep last week, Phoebe or her parents. We knew from the heft what was inside: All 640 pages of Brian Selznick’s new book, Wonderstruck. We’ve spent many dinners and car rides and bedtimes discussing Brian Selznick. His last book, The Invention of Hugo… Read more »

Attention Advertisers

Hi there. You might have noticed that DALS is now accepting advertisers. If you are interested in reaching a sizeable segment of smart, dinner-making, lunch-packing, book-reading, birthday-party-throwing really really nice readers, please get in touch so I can share rate details with you. Remember, we’re a small business, too, so together, maybe we can help each other: jenny AT dinneralovestory DOT com.

Winner

Congratulations to Anna Harris from California! She wins the Summer Picnic Pack from The Wine Cellarage, a fine wine company dedicated to getting you great wines at great values. DALS would like to raise a glass to the kind people at The Wine Cellarage for making this delicious giveaway possible. Readers: remember to be eligible to win future DALS giveaways please register for our newsletter… Read more »

Finger Food For Grown-Ups

Let me put your minds at ease, right here at the top: No, our kids do not love clams. They’re kids, first of all, and clams are kind of freaky. The most I can say, while maintaining journalistic integrity, is that our kids and clams are in the process of learning to coexist. They’re getting to know one another. They’ll… Read more »