Urban family dinner

There aren’t many things I miss about living with my parents in LA. I do, however, miss family dinners. We had these every night. They weren’t mandated, but it was something we always did. Mom would cook, and we would eat. Sure, for most of the dinner we would switch stations between Chinese news and The Simpsons (our parents could never understand why we would watch a show that didn’t even have real people in it) but it was something we did together.

And I miss it. So, when Jon came by for dinner and he, Scott, and I sat down to eat together, it was like reliving those evenings. Except we didn’t eat rice with chopsticks and we didn’t watch Chinese news. Instead, we had baked chicken, roasted potatoes, and green beans. And, we talked about our worse vomit stories after I refused to spend another dinner together playing Kill, F***, Marry.

The chicken recipe was something that Jeanne had sent along and I thought I’d try it. Crush some cornflakes then add cayenne, salt, and pepper. Then, dip chicken parts into an egg wash, then into the cornflake mixture, and bake. Nothing to it. The red potatoes were scrubbed and cut into small chunks then tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper and put into the oven. And, the green beans were simply sautéed with a bit of onion and olive oil. An easy, low-maintenance dinner for a lazy Sunday evening.

When it was all done and we were plating up, it looked like a very all-American sort of meal. Scott even remarked that it appeared like nothing I’d make. And, as I eyed my plate, I realized that he was right. I had made Shake-n-Bake.

We ate around the round table in the kitchen, talking about things I’d usually be shy to talk about around the dinner table. I guess this is my urban family dinner.