From The Dining Table We sit around the table, young and old, in our squeaky chairs, chatting against the lovely howl of Sinatra music in the background. The dishes clang around, forming piles at the sink and stove top, embodying the loud but loving familial chaos that goes on in the kitchen when preparing a meal. A hearty red table cloth covers the dimples of my grandparents’ well-loved wooden dining table. The smooth fabric sits carefully underneath my Nonna’s fine white china, which gleams bright, welcoming, and empty, as if inviting a colorful feast to fill its blank canvas with saucey smears and diverse textures. The table is set precisely by my Nonna and enhanced with her signature decor: vintage candlesticks and an elegant vase with flowers to match. Savory smells from the kitchen sift to the table, heightening everyone’s excitement. Our anticipation finally eases as the seemingly never-ending dishes arrive; our table becomes covered with trays of pillowy, ricotta-layered lasagna, gritty polenta, creamy risotto, and fragrant meatballs covered in a sea of rich, red tomato sauce, as bright in flavor as it is in appearance. My Nonno’s signature minestrone soup and fresh salad, both crafted with a medley of vegetables straight from his backyard garden, come out alongside one of my aunt’s new and surely exquisite recipes. The sight is picturesque and grand, yet homey and familiar, with mix-matched bowls and pans littering every corner of space so that you can barely reach your fork. Each dish gets passed around. Everyone tries a taste of everything and leaves no culinary creation untouched. Eventually, all plates are covered as the dining table, leaving a delicious, abstract mosaic in front of each hungry guest. And when it’s time for seconds, the unsaid rule is to dig in, meaning my brother and I comically reach for the same spoon simultaneously. This is family-style dining. “What does family-style dining mean to you?”
Words By: Maya Floreani Graphics By: Meegan Minahan
My mom fondly recalls holidays in Guatemala, where she would enjoy a traditional feast of Lechón, stuffed Pierna, or tamales with her big extended family. Not only is the meal an experience, but the preparation is a show
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