Part memoir and part cookbook, the story of a couple who have cooked family dinner almost every night for years, and how anyone can do it
A dinner diary that became a book
In 1998, a young New Yorker named Jenny Rosenstrach started writing down what she and her future husband, Andy, ate for dinner every night. Years later, that diary became a popular blog and then this book, which tells the story of their life through the meals they cooked. It follows them from newlyweds experimenting in a tiny kitchen to busy working parents trying to feed two small children, and finally to a family that sits down together almost every night.
Who will enjoy it
Busy parents, couples who want to cook more at home and anyone who believes that sharing a meal matters.
What you will get
A warm, funny and practical blend of memoir and cookbook about making family dinner happen, even on the busiest weeknights.
Dinner: A Love Story Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Nonfiction · Family dinner · Cooking memoir · Weeknight recipes
Length
336 pages · ≈ 10 h
More about this book
The recipes are the kind real families actually cook: quick pastas, simple chicken and fish dishes, salads and dependable weeknight meals. Rosenstrach also shares the strategies that kept her family's dinners going through busy years, from planning the week's meals in advance and keeping a well-stocked pantry to building a rotation of reliable recipes and coaxing picky children to try new things.
What sets the book apart is the voice. Rosenstrach is funny, honest and never preachy; she admits to bad nights, takeout and failed experiments, and she believes that the point of dinner is connection rather than perfection. Her essays about marriage, work and parenting will feel familiar to many readers, and the book is as enjoyable to read in bed as to cook from.
Experienced cooks will find many recipes simple, and some readers wish there were more photos. But as encouragement to bring the family to the table, it is hard to beat. It also makes a thoughtful gift for new parents or newlyweds setting up their first kitchen together, and its spirit outlasts any single recipe. About 336 pages in the Ecco hardcover.
Where Cooking Begins
The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
Dinner in French
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
The Moosewood Cookbook
Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book
The Great Scandinavian Baking Book
How to Eat
Flour
Snacking Cakes
Barefoot Contessa Foolproof
All Things Bright and Beautiful