Friday Family Dinner

This is what I had for dinner tonight, followed by chocolate gelato of course (did I mention 1 more pound is gone? Seriously!) To continue with the obsession I've had with really good food, I tried a recipe from a book that Little Sister bought for me, "The Family Dinner" by Laurie David, you can check it out here. I don't know about you, but I am always a bit leery of a recipes from cookbooks that have an alternate agenda; but so far the recipes I have tried, especially the one I made tonight have been suprisingly tres delicieux. And by that, I mean it is a little bit of spring breeze on your tongue!
Tonight's meal came from  page 75 and is called Tasty, Tangy Shrimp Tostadas. The shrimp are marinaded in lemon, lime and orange juice mixed with jalapenos, red onions, red pepper and celery then spooned on top of a warm, crispy corn tortilla layered with a bed of cold, marinated cabbage salad and topped off with sweet, creamy guacamole. We all loved it, including Bella, my 4 year old. Little Sister, I even think the vegetarian in you would like this without the shrimp. I'll make it for you next time we're together! I love the idea of the book and it is a fun read with all sorts of interesting games and conversation starters for families to make the dinner experience more exciting and meaningful.



Bella ate all of hers!

So following Laurie's lead, for tonight's dinner I asked my family to come to the table ready to share a poem they love. Believe me when I say I was anxious to know what they'd choose (if anything at all!) But, Bella immediately started spouting off "Little Boy Blue" and dancing around when she heard the challenge (I love her spirit!). Later, at dinner, she recited "Jack and Jill" and proceeded to run to get her nursery rhyme book so I could read a few more of her favorites!

Now, you're probably thinking, "O.K., but my husband would never go for that idea!," and truth be told, I was a bit nervous about springing silly dinner games on my husbster who prides himself in being the Anti-Metro/John Wayne type, but to my surprise, he joined in wholeheartedly(with the help of his iPhone) and I actually had to ask him to save some poems/quotes for tomorrow's culinary convergence! Really!!

Try it yourself at your next dinner and see how much fun it is!