Meal time can bring many together — family, friends and even strangers. Working in the food business has shown me that anything is possible when it comes to food.
The time has come. Plates are clanking as they are being gathered, hot food makes its way past hungry diners, their noses following its scent. The line appears, plates in hand, napkins being passed behind to the next. You’ve prepped all day long, have already been on your feet for a minimum of seven hours, went through two aprons and cant bare to look at another onion.
The family meal. The time that you forget to look forward to and the moment that passes by the fastest. Everyone sits. A hot hearty meal accompanied by an amount of bread that could feed an army but only lasts long enough for the last guy in line to possibly have a piece. The chatter begins and the jokes start.
In this moment you’ve lost all memory of what’s happening in the pots that sit on the other side of the wall. All that seems to be relevant is the laughs that are being had, the food that’s being eaten and the thought that you’ve only got four more hours to go.
When I was a kid, my parents always made it a point that we eat dinner together at the table. It wasn’t always an easy feat to get everyone together around the table for the family meal, but they did it. Each of us had our own place at the table, marked by our favorite cup.
It was a time that felt important and gave food a bigger purpose. It also gave me the ability to learn how to bring people together. Cooking up a hot meal, placing out the silverware, folding the napkins correctly. But the food on the table was always the focal point of our coming together.
Here’s a favorite recipe sure to please at a family meal during any season.
Spinach, Chicken, Garlic and Pasta with Pink Sauce
Yield: 8 + servings
Ingredients:
1 Tbl olice oil
2 Tbl unsalted butter
4 large chicken breasts, butterflied and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 lb spinach, rough chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 lb rolletini pasta
32 oz can, tomato sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1 pint heavy cream
pinch of dried oregano and thyme
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Chopped basil for garnish
Salt and pepper
Heat the oil and the butter in a large skillet. Season the chicken with salt and peeper. Add the garlic, dried oregano, and thyme to the pan. Cook for thirty seconds. Add the chicken pieces and cook until three quarters of the way done.
Set a large pot of water on high and leave until boils.
Add the chopped spinach and sautee until all of the spinach has wilted. Stir in the can of tomato sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Let cook for 8-10 minutes on low heat.
Add the pasta to the boiling water. After the sauce has cooked, turn off and remove from the heat. Stir in the heavy cream and the grated cheese.
Drain the cooked pasta and mix with the sauce. Stir in the chopped basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with garlic bread and extra grated cheese.
