The Art of Dinner Preparation 101

Last evening as the fresh mushrooms were marinating in butter, my husband came up, put his arm around my waist and marveled out loud: "How did you become such a great cook? From the first meal you served me (it was raw chicken) to sauteing mushrooms...wow, Hon, you've come a long way". As I was basking in the glow of his praise, happy that he found the task of sauteing mushrooms the impressive, complicated feat that it is.

It lead me to consider sharing with my readers an abbreviated 'How-To' post of sorts. With my many years of successful dinner preparation, it feels almost a sin to keep my tips for flawless dinner prep all to my nearly perfect self. Consider it an early Christmas gift.

Without further adieu...

The Art of Dinner Preparation and Execution 101

1. Always start with a 'Yes! I can' attitude!

This time of the day is the culmination of all the fun activities that the day has encompassed thus far. Donning a darling apron and a drop of my favorite perfume behind the lobes always helps improve my spirits, in the rare case they are drooping with dread.

A little splash of Mr. J. Daniel's in my lemonade also makes this time even happier.

2. Involve ALL your children.

Oh what fun it is to witness the natural inclination of children of all ages to join you in the kitchen at the first stirrings of the dinner hour. No matter where they are in the home, they instinctively migrate to the surface of the kitchen.  Even though my children are young, my eyes shine with joy at their insistence on dragging multiple kitchen chairs across the floor to the counters and reaching for all and any sharp objects or bowls full of liquid in order to help me pierce, pulverize and peel ingredients for that evening's feast. Our three year old daughter will often fetch her Pitch Pipe, blow out the beginning note for any number of folk tunes and lead us all in a rip-roaring sing-a-long. Oh the belly laughs that have resulted in a mis-sung phrase or the thought of Little Miss Muffet falling off her Tuffet.

3. Make Many Uses of your Time 

I find that often, as I stand at the counter preparing side dishes, that God brings my husband to mind.

I then take pause to remember him in prayer as he drives home in a quiet car for 40+ minutes usually, ask for traveling mercies and marvel at this 'rock star' status that he enjoys with the children the moment he walks through the door. It's at this point, I remember to tidy up the bathroom, as he usually heads there first after setting down his briefcase. I am always happy for him that he is able to take reprieve and enjoy relief, right when he needs to, not having to wait until 2 hours later and even then, taking care of business at the speed of light with a thunderous pounding on the bathroom door. Indeed, I make sure the children are busily preoccupied folding the dinner napkins into the seasonally-appropriate silhouettes ( I will admit, however, the "Turkey Fold" has presented somewhat of a challenge to the younger of the twin boys).

4. Snacks Before Dinner and other "No-No's"

I have heard of an alarming trend among young mother's who, just to get their children out of the kitchen and out from under their heels, shamefully shove a cheese stick into their little hands and tell them (gasp!) "STOP following me around!". I nearly weep aloud when I read or hear of the poor souls who engage in such behavior. Dinner food should be anticipated and little belly's prepared with space to absorb all it's delicious offerings.

I also have heard of women who employ their small children to 'pre-feed' their even-smaller siblings. Again, the actual dinner hour should be set and strictly adhered to by all members of the family. Remember, if you are engaging all your children in all safe elements of meal preparation (not excluding table setting and centerpiece arranging), they should have no time to recognize any hunger or boredom pangs.

5. Turn that frown upside down! Preparation is key.

I once read a blog where the lady of the house referred to time traditionally allotted for dinner preparation as 'the full moon time of day'. If I stretch my imagination, I can understand frustration for the woman who:

a.}does not engage in monthly menu-planning {even though she may want to and even witnessed it's wondrous effects for two weeks, lacked the discipline to keep it up} and

b.} frequently abuses the 'Auto Defrost' setting on her microwave due to only considering dinner plans at 4:30pm the day of. Frozen meat is difficult to work with, and if one has something akin to a bacterial iceberg to manipulate into a platter in which to safely consume time and time again, one's failure in foresight could be a tad frustrating.

If she only had it all together, or read this posting, just think of all that she could be smiling about during that pre-dinner time of day!

This ends my helpful 5-Step tutorial.
 I do hope you walked away with a few helpful hints that will help you succeed in your imaginary world as they have in mine, and also that your eyes are keenly aware of the tongue-in-cheek style of writing.

There is one thing I have never taught my body how to do and that is to figure out at 6 A.M. what it wants to eat at 6 P.M.
~Erma Bombeck