Bringing Food to the Table

Sometimes cliches can actually bear some truth, perhaps that is precisely why they are cliches, because they have happened so often and have shed light continuosly on those that experience it. One of my favorites is, "If you want to win a man's heart fill his stomach." I have learned that it isn't only a man though, it is those that matter whose stomach you must fill. There is something magical about cooking a delicious meal and putting it on the table and watching those around you take pleasure in it, share mimosas or wine, desert, a good conversation and lots of laughter. Nothing fills me more than watching my favorite people fill their mouths and grunt out how delicious it all is. I believe it comes from watching my grandmother, my mother, my aunts, and even my father put on an apron, no matter how bad their day was and start to whistle as they created a scrumptious meal out of the most basic ingredients. And I continue to repeat that tradition with the greatest pleasure in the world. I have made some of the greatest friends by inviting them over for dinner and sharing those precious hours over a stove and later a table and this week I accomplished that once again. On Sunday I invited my girls and Sergi, Susanna's boyfriend (who's practically one of us) to a typical American brunch. All of us gathered in the kitchen, mimosas at hand at the sparkling hour of noon, to whip up pancakes with real maple syrup! scrambled eggs, bacon and chocolate cookies. None of them had ever eaten such a large breakfast and none of them had ever had pancakes and I couldn't have been more delighted to see them spread butter and syrup all over the golden cakes that are so part of home. It was like bringing a piece of home home.

Then last night it happened again. I had the fortune of having a weeknight off and decided to gather my roommates to cook up a bolognese and sit together to share some rioja and good conversation. Again, it was magic. We flowed from English to Catalan, no Spanish allowed and celebrated a Tuesday, candles and all. Below you see the happy family. From left to right: Jordi, Patricia, his girlfriend, Manu, and Alex. They even took it seriously enough to buy a typical desert, a rosca, made with a flaky croissant like dough filled with air whipped cream, a true dream finished with cortados and baileys. This is life, beautiful faces adorned with the pleasure of having eaten well and spent some time doing nothing more than getting to know each other. I advice this to all, especially when there is no special reason other than simply gathering together and starting up a tradition that has existed for centuries, eating together at the table.