Dinner in The Dining Room

January 19th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: food/recipes | No Comments Yet »

Doesn’t that sound like a novel idea? If I am being perfectly honest, Christopher and I eat dinner almost every night in our family room, at our giant coffee table, watching TV.  I’m not going to apologize for this, because, honestly, television is a natural buffer for us and after working together all day, we mostly don’t want to talk to one another by dinner time. Eat and be absorbed by Modern Family or Fringe. That is the key to a well-adjusted marriage.

On the other hand, we realize that we are overlooking the fun part of making and eating dinner together – the sense of community and pleasure in simply enjoying our food and having a conversation. We actually really love to cook and usually work together on a meal (However, no baked goods you see on here will ever be mine! Christopher holds the baker title in this household and that is perfectly fine by me.) several nights a week. One of our goals for the new year is to once a week, sit down at our dining room table, plate pretty meals, and have the experience of dinner. I think we are either too busy or too tired or too annoyed with each other to really enjoy a lot of our down time and we end up just going through the motions. Plus, I think if we bribe each other with a good meal after a long day, I will forget that he never remembers to write things down and therefore forgets anything I tell him, and he will forget that I nag him to death, reminding him to write everything down.

First up; last night we made Onion and Pancetta soup with a fresh basil garnish.

We opened a bottle of wine and actually sat at our table. I totally get extra points for lighting candles.

Here’s the recipe (basically from The Soup Bible, though we lightened it up a bit):

Serves 4

You need:

  • 2.5 – 3 ounces pancetta; chopped
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter (we used Brummel and Brown)
  • 5.5 cups onions; chopped or sliced
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 and 1/4 quarts chicken stock
  • 2.5 cups peeled and chopped plum tomatoes (you can use a can if you want it easy)
  • Fresh basil

 

  1. Put the pancetta in pan on low heat, until the fat starts to run. Increase heat to medium and add oil, butter, onions, and sugar. Stir well.
  2. Half-cover pan and cook onions slowly for 20 min. Stir often.
  3. Add stock, tomatoes, and salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Lower heat and half-cover the pan. Simmer for 30 min. Stir occasionally.
  4. If it is too thick, add more stock.
  5. Just before serving, stir in some chopped basil.
  6. Serve and garnish with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and more fresh basil.

Then, eat a ton and feel content.

 

 

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