Process Essay - Preparing Dinner for the In-laws

To begin with, I chose this project because I distinctly remember that my older brother did the same cooking option. I remembered how good that meal was from 3 years ago. He cooked pork shish kabobs as an entree and they were outstanding. I wanted to create a similar effect on my family and their tastebuds. Looking back, I was unaware that I was capable of producing a meal this tasty and coordinated.

The best place to begin the discussion regarding the family meal and how it has changed is to discuss where the idea of dinner originated. A fairly new concept, dinner came about roughly 150 years ago. While many people consider family mealtime to be a “natural phenomenon; it is a social construction.” (Carroll, xvi) During colonial times the family functioned as one unit, with everyone in the family having a

partake not only of the meal prepared, but also in each others company. Any stress

     Breakfast was usually eaten around 10 A.M. It might have consisted of cornbread with butter, cold meat, cider or beer, or maybe coffee or tea. The main meal was eaten around 4:00 P.M. This would be the lavish meal. When it was time to eat the man and his older sons would take their places at the table. The wife would sit next to her husband while the oldest daughter would serve the meal. Any young children would stand, not sit at a separate table and were not allowed to speak. (John F. Warner – pg.50-54)

The cause of the lackluster options at the dinner table is the absence of a few family members. The collective spirit that resides within the family during the holiday cooking was not at its full potential this year. This brings up questions about the quality of future dinners and how the family can be brought closer

(Even the “ex’s” and the people who are not quite in the picture anymore.) As we gather around the table we share things we are thankful for. Whether we are thankful for the sweet banana pudding waiting for us after supper, or whether it is something heart felt, we always come together and share things as a family. But most importantly, we share food. Each separate family brings something they cooked and my aunt sets it out as a buffet line along her kitchen counters and we join hands and say the blessing, and start fixing our plates. Us ladies get to go first. As I make my way around the counter tops each year, I fill my plate with tender turkey and juicy ham, potato casserole, green beans, macaroni and cheese, rolls, corn on the cob, and other things

Have family dinner time. For dinner, everyone sit at a table together, no cell phones and no TV; just conversation. Use this time to find out what is all going on in your children lives, the name of their friends and their likes and dislikes.

“A Family Supper” by Kazuo Ishiguro has an interesting twist on love and family, albeit grotesque to some, the literature is meaningful. The characters played a major role in how the family dynamics played against one another. The family home sets the reader up to understand the isolation the father felt. The conflicts the characters experience have shaped them into the people they are presently. The lack of an ending also plays a major role in the way love and family is portrayed by the author and will conclude how love and family relate to this piece of literature.

The next step in meal planning is planning the side dishes. Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Stuffing, Yams, Green Bean Casserole, Chili Casserole, Ambrosia, Dinner Rolls, Cranberry Sauce, Deviled Eggs and an olive tray are our traditional dishes. Many of these dishes can be prepared in advance so you have time to enjoy your guests.

Bridesmaids would wear matching blue jean cut-offs and halter tops – with more skin showing than not.

One such tradition is not socializing with neighbors but only talking to her sisters or other family members. Both of my great-grandparents came from a large family and so the Sunday was always considered family day. It was nothing to see a yard off of kids playing or see the men playing a game of horseshoes as the women would set out the dinner. However, it was the winter time that holds the most memories for my mother. It was then that the families would all gather at the family pond and go ice skating and the men would build a big fire and everyone would stand around and drink hot chocolate. One such tradition in the winter time was right after the first snow fall of the season. We would take a big mixing bowl and go out and fill that bowl as full as we could. Then she would go in and make a big bowl of snow ice cream (Food in Every County). One bright sunny day, our family was going to Lake Pomme De Terre for a family picnic. Like Shteyngart, I was all set for some grilled hamburgers or hot dogs or even some fried chicken. However, that was not meant to be. Like Shteyngart, is aw food being set out that was I saw food that was familiar to my great-grandmother’s culture. Instead of grilling hamburgers, she set out chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, green beans and for dessert a shoofly pie, sugar cookies, and schnitz pie, which is made with dried apples (Food in Every County). My mother laughed when she saw my face because later my

The essential part to a good family meal in my family is my mom grossing my brother out by talking about bugs at the dinner table or my sister and I fighting. If that does not happen at the dinner table it is a dinner not well spent. While it is a different story in Pride and Prejudice written by Jane Austen, there are severally meals I could have chosen from for this assignment but one that particularly stood out me was, when Elizabeth the main protagonist character has an uncomfortable dinner at Lady Catherine’s

Currently I live with my mom in her new 4 bedroom house, which is much larger than the house we lived in before. She still has the same large wooden table that seats 6, but she has learned to have more stylish centerpieces and matching salt and pepper shakers. There are no tacky table cloths or plate mats to protect the kitchen table anymore because we are adults and can eat properly of course. We occasionally get together at the dinner table if one of my sisters, my mom, or myself find time to cook, or we would just pick up some fast food and eat it at the table. We still discuss our daily experiences at the table, but not so often as before. Now we use the table to study most of the time and it is covered with back packs, college books, papers, snacks, our laptops, and rarely with a traditional planned dinner.

I have discovered that people don’t share the same Thanksgiving traditions as me. Chicken, Duck, Turkey, and Turdunkin are all enjoyed as main course meals! Vegetables, mashed potatoes, rolls, cookies, ice cream, lemon pie, and blueberry pie bars are also enjoyed on Thanksgiving. Cookies, assorted pies, and blueberry pie bars are commonly enjoyed, and they actually sound pretty tasty! The favorite part of some people’s Thanksgiving feast would be the pie and rolls. Meals aren’t always eaten with family at the table. Some families sit on the couch, while they watch tv, or they eat at a fancy restaurant. Everyone has their own customs when it comes to the holidays.

After a few minutes we are announced that the dinner is served. Everyone takes a seat at the large oak table, waiting anxious for the delicious dishes to be brought. But, what I think that everyone is really waiting for is the delightful desert. No one can picture the Christmas table without the delicious Christmas Chocolate Cake, which is brought by my grandma herself. Everything is so magical that you don't even dare to breathe.