dinner parties | most hopeful

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and
endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded. + R. W. Emerson

I remember distinctly being 17 years old, sitting in a Wendy’s with a buddy. The comment went like this: “You know how sometimes you start laughing so hard you can’t even breathe?” He replied that he couldn’t remember laughing that hard.

“That’s the only time it counts. It only counts when you laugh until you can’t breathe,” i informed him.

I think since then, unlike most seventeen-year old know-all conversations, that has become one of my lines to live by.

And I can think over and over again of times I have laughed until I couldn’t breathe.

Last night was one of those nights.

Laughter and breathless tears.
The kind that leaves you sweating.

After incredible appetizers where the comment heard over and over was, “This is delicious? Who would ever think of it together, but it’s delicious” down to the cinnamon dulce dessert with cream cheese ice cream that had me craving the entire container hidden in the freezer, the meal set the artful stage in an already artful atmosphere for the holy kind of dinner and after dinner conversations that end, over and over again, in tears.

Now added to the stayed seventeen-year-old proverb will be the value of landing in a place where you laugh so hard you cannot breathe with people you don’t really know. It speaks to a letting go of circumstance and pomp, letting go of first impressions, and acting as you act with good friends. Perhaps in the acting, something actually changes.

My stomach this morning hurts from laughing till I was breathless and teary-eyed, and it reminds me that while the world goes not well, the kingdom is coming.

djordan
Napa Valley

favorite food blogs | weekly mash | 5.26.2012

In honor of my mom, my granddad, friends who feed me, people who dare to let me cook for them, and yet another holiday tomorrow that is celebrated by eating while sitting around something––the beach, the river, the dinner table, the backyard––I’ve collected my favorite food blogs for this edition of the weekly mash. There’s no question why a meal and a dinner table are seen as a kind of sacred space, a thin space, the space where we remember clearly after long walks down roads to important places we can finally see the truth about who it is that we are actually with.

So, in celebration, here are the food and drink blogs that have become regular stops for me. Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Food Republic

Food Republic is founded on the idea that guys everywhere are putting food at the center of their lives like never before. This is the site for men who want to eat and drink well, and to live smart.

http://www.foodrepublic.com

Food52

Food52 Before we knew it, we had a community on our hands. A community of talented, well-informed food people who loved to contribute. That’s when our identity crystallized: we weren’t just a social hub, but a constructive community. A place where, together, we create cookbooks, take on food projects, debate food news, help others with our real-time food Q&A — the Food52 Hotline — and band together to support local food producers.

http://www.food52.com

Smitten Kitchen

Smitten Kitchen Fearless cooking from a tiny kitchen in New York City. A lot of comfort foods stepped up a bit, things like bread and birthday cakes made entirely from scratch and tutorials on everything from how to poach an egg to how to make tart doughs that don’t shrink up on you, but also a favorite side dish (zucchini and almonds) that takes less than five minutes to make.

http://www.smittenkitchen.com

Tasting Table

Tasting Table Think of Tasting Table as the friend you call to ask, “Where should I eat tonight?” We’re the friend who knows the best spot for $2 tacos, and which $200 tasting menu is worth the splurge. We’re serious eaters who don’t take ourselves too seriously–like you.

http://www.tastingtable.com

The Kitchn

theKitchn This is a site for people who like to get their hands dirty while they cook. It is for those who care about the quality of their food, and how it affects the health of themselves and the planet. It is also for those who want to cook more, but are shy in the kitchen. It’s a place to dive in deep, and embrace the joy of one of our basic needs: Food, cooked at home, nourishing ourselves and our households.

http://www.thekitchn.com