The Family Dinner, a review
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Early in November, a little gem of a book arrived at our house. It’s title is The Family Dinner with a subtitle of ‘Great ways to connect with your kids, one meal at a time.”
Written by Laurie David with recipes by Kirstin Uhrenholdt (her friend after years of employing her to cook meals for their family), this book goes way beyond your ordinary cookbook.
Disclaimer ~ The Family Dinner was provided to my family for the purpose of completing this review. No other compensation was given and the opinions expressed here are my own. Amazon affiliate links are present for your shopping convenience.
About The Family Dinner
No, instead, this book is more about reclaiming something that used to be the norm in our society. In our house, we still eat almost all of our dinners together. To eat in shifts or in different locations is a rarity for our family. However, that is not the case for the multitude of families running in multiple directions.
Ms. David shares how she started the tradition of family dinnertime when her children were young. Even when going through a divorce, she kept their family dinners a priority. They often had a theme for each night of the week (as in Taco Tuesday) which made it a little easier to plan out the meals.
Reading her descriptions of their family’s experience, I am longing to keep my guys at the table longer. Sadly, we eat together and then the boys are chomping at the bit to grab a little time on the computer or watch a show. Now I am starting to rethink that a little more. After all, I have many fond memories (from the past to present) of fantastic conversations over a leisurely meal. Matter of fact, I just had a few of those while in Louisiana with other family members that were in town for my sister’s wedding reception.
As I mentioned, The Family Dinner goes beyond providing recipes to serve the family. (Although there are some great ones in the book!) There’s an abundance of conversations starters, quotes to share with the kids, and even a few games for after dinner. I also loved the chapter dedicated to grace with a cross-sectional representation of prayers for the table.
The Family Dinner: Great Ways to Connect with Your Kids, One Meal at a Time
Our
Our Experience with The Family Dinner
Just the other day, we tried the Mac ‘n’ Cheese Please recipe from her fast recipes chapter. I’ve shared our quest for super yummy versions of this classic dish. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one as it calls for eggs in the sauce. Hubby confessed afterwards that it was THE BEST homemade macaroni and cheese I’ve made that he can remember. I will share that I tweaked it a little (omitting sautéed onion as dh said he wouldn’t even try it if I put it in the dish and I cooked the sauce separate from the pasta.)
Bread Crumbs Ready for Placement
Mac’N’Cheese in the Pot 
Sausage Slices and Peas Round out the Meal 
I’ve now got the boys going through the book making a list of all the other recipes to try in our house. I suspect this gem will not be collecting dust alongside other cookbooks we own. And, I hope to add in some more fun to our family dinnertime through the suggestions it contains.
The Family Dinner retails for $29.99 US/ $33.99 Canada.