Celebrate Everything!
No surprise, I adore celebrations and any reason to create a celebration, from crafting the perfect menu to choosing just the right restaurant. Over time, my tables have become canvases, adorned with hints that something magical is about to happen, alongside the imminent culinary delights curated for each occasion. I remember someone once asking my daughter Anna about her favorite food experiences while growing up. Her reply still makes me smile: the "fancy foods”, she said, “were always made at home, and restaurants were where we went for burgers and a slice of chocolate silk pie.” With overwhelming approval from my family, I do not bake, so any dessert was always the highlight of a night out at the nearby diner when the girls were little.
Transforming the mundane into a more memorable occasion is quite simple really as celebrations are remarkably adaptable. Sure you’ve got your birthdays and holidays, which offer the perfect backdrop to all sorts of fun in the kitchen, but you’ve also got Wednesday or Monday or a beautiful Saturday night that could just as easily be the inspiration to bring an otherwise sleepy weekday kitchen to life.
From the beginning, I have strived to impart to my girls an appreciation for that little bit of extra effort that goes into making moments special or memorable. I am very happy to report that this particular parenting initiative has been a fabulous success. From food prepared campside at a music festivals, to birthdays and holidays to “it’s Friday, what should we make for dinner,” each of them takes great pleasure in turning the ordinary into something just a tad extraordinary.
Spending time with your favorite people is what it is really all about. Staying connected is so important and sharing a meal together, from conception, to preparation to sitting down to the table, is one of the best ways to do that. While it seems obvious that sharing culinary adventures with your best people is a good thing, there is real science that shows that when a meal is centered around our favorite foods, wine and laughter, it sends a big dose of feel-good responses and our happiness hormones are triggered and our stress levels drop. Love it! When you plan, keep it simple. Cook the foods you love. Perhaps go al fresco. Set a happy table with things that make you smile and maybe some flowers.
Even though I live in the same town as only one of my three daughters, we are all inextricably connected to each other in so many ways. I take it as a huge win that my grown children want to spend time with me and actually have fun doing it. Yay me!
A few of the recipes that have inspired our time in the kitchen together, cooking, laughing, drinking wine and then sitting across the table from each other, that have turned the ordinary into the extraordinary, are Wine Braised Short Ribs, Crispy Roast Chicken with Red Grapes, Root Vegetable Tart Tatin, Slow Roasted Fresh Ham with Maple Glaze, French Apple Cake with Orange Scented Whipped Cream, Classic Carbonara, Whole Leaf Cesar Salad with Homemade Dressing, Savory Ciabatta Croutons and Provincial French Lentil Soup. Of course there are so many more and I will continue to add to the list.
So pick a day, any day, invite your favorite people, make your best dish, open that bottle of wine and celebrate anything at all.
As Julia Child once said- “People who love to eat are always the best people.”
Cheers!