Amazing Dinner Research Paper

When the assignment was first presented to me, I was really excited because I love to cook even though I am not the best at it. Some dishes I am planning to make for my family are based on Vietnamese dishes my father and relatives have cooked for my family in the past. The stir fried noodles would be my dad’s recipe that he would always make for a party when he needs something quick and easy. The dessert would be this colorful jelly cake that my aunt would always make for my birthday whenever I am in Florida. This connects to my faith journey by giving back to my family for all they have done for me and through that, I am giving back to God, making my relationship with Him and my family stronger.

This year Thanksgiving is on November 23,2017. Every year my family Thanksgiving is the best, to me at least. So we always have Thanksgiving at my Grandmas and Grandpas, but not this year we are having it at my house. Which I mean could be good and bad. Good is it is at my house so it’s cool and bad, the house has to be completely spotless or my mom will freak out. Normally what we do every year is we get my family together and have dinner, mess around, and watch football. This year my dad's brother is coming with his three daughters and his wife and my grandpa and grandma. I really can’t wait to see them all because I don't really see them that much as I would like to. When we have a family dinner like this we always have a lot of food for everyone.

No matter how busy or hectic the day, the final meal is not optional. Just like David and Reuven Malter, we use it to catch up on the day’s events and to look ahead for the rest of the week. Fast food or takeout never suffices; my dad cooks each and every night. My family and I never stop talking, often ignoring all other responsibilities and commitments. I worked at a grocery store and closed up for the night several times a week, but dinner would wait to begin until I pulled into the driveway, no matter how late. Compared to my house, Abby’s mimics an abandoned ghost town. Weeks would pass without all of the Darmofal clan sitting together. We took dinners at each other’s houses as learning experiments: at mine, Abby would learn why sometimes, family dinner became too much for every night, with my parents’ incessant questioning. At her house, I learned the magic of microwavable meals and becoming self-sufficient, a skill I call upon most days here at USD. Everyone needs to eat, so why not use it as a learning experience?

Thanksgiving Holiday means so much to me. I love to celebrate that extended weekend with my family. On the eve of the big day, my cousins and I meet at an elder’s house and then the festivities began. This shared feast started in 1621 with the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians sharing a harvest feast ("Thanksgiving," 2016). A portion of the food can be prepared the day before. We decide who would handle what task and when it time clean up the second generation, always try to make the third generation do it. We then continue to cook and clean and reminisce of our past year. Sometimes we would bring up our childhood pranks and stories of family members that passed and present. On the day of Thanksgiving we finish cooking,

Thanksgiving weekend is a time for family. My sister just moved into the house she just built. My sisters and a few of her really close cousins came over for appetizers and desserts.

What does Thanksgiving mean to me? It would be dishonest of me to say that it is a time where I get to express what or who I am thankful for in my life. I do not think of it as a holiday where I am allowed to eat until I pass out either. In reality, Thanksgiving means time with my family. I do not just mean my parents and my siblings, I mean my whole family. I absolutely adore the fact that I have such an enormous family. Everyone comes home to my grandmother’s house on both sides of the family. Luckily, both of my grandmothers live within a five mile radius of each other. This means, after I spend time with my father’s side of the family, I can drive a couple of minutes to spend a bit of time with my mother’s side of the family. This is the

The cause of the lackluster options at the dinner table is the absence of a few family members. The collective spirit that resides within the family during the holiday cooking was not at its full potential this year. This brings up questions about the quality of future dinners and how the family can be brought closer

We greatly appreciate your bringing us Olive Garden dinner. It was a huge hit in our house.

At the dinner, I spent most of my time preparing and serving dinner in the kitchen. I also helped with the cleanup at the end. There are many benefits of working to serve others. A few of them are: connecting to other people, strengthening the community, and setting a good example for others to see. There are some difficulties while working

A home cooked meal was purchased and prepared by the Amice and Zeta, Youth other family members set up and cleanup. It was rewarding to talk with the families and the crisis’s they were going through and to be able to encourage them. They were very grateful of a home cooked meal and begged us to come back the next week.

This meal is important to me because of this the food I ate before mom deports or went to America which for 5 years and it’s the food I ate when we got back together after 5 years in America. There was a bunch of people who came to the party when we came to America to say congratulation to my mom because she had waited 5 years to see us back and the last and first time she ate with us was wetter until that time. Why I remember this food is, because this the food is the one I ate with my mom to declare our happiness. And at a special time like this, you have to eat something especial and it was more

I would have to try at least. So I woke up early Thursday morning and got to work. One of the first things that I needed to do was make the jello for green stuff, so it could set. Soon as that was finished I got the turkey prepared. It was a little difficult stuffing the turkey but I got past that. Next I started peeling and cutting the potatoes. My sister helped me with that using a potato peeler instead of a knife. After I cut the potatoes in half we cooked them and mashed the all up with butter, salt and pepper. Lastly was one of my favorite part, making kringla. I love making kringla because it’s kinda complicated to make. What made this time really special was that I was teaching my little sister. My sister and I were mixing ingredients when she asked “Malea, why do you love cooking so much?”. Why is my sister asking me this. “Well Catrina, why do you love singing?” “I like it because it makes me happy and reminds me of you and mom.” Did that just come from my nine year old sister’s mouth. Wow, didn’t see that coming. If there is one that my sister and I have in common it’s our love for singing.

The open table isn’t always potluck but we do always share a meal together. Just before the meal I spoke with Alex Treaster the Director of Communication for our church, but he is attending as a member this evening. We discussed my summer away in Colorado, and I asked what I might have missed in the community since this is my first time back. As it turns out he had been traveling all summer as well a part of it with the youth group who went to Thailand. He was able to introduce me to Abhi Dutt who began working for the church over the summer as the Assistant Building Manager.

Eating brings people closer together everyday, and for everyone, there are important memories that have been created because of food. Whether it’s a formal dinner, or an informal picnic, there will always be special bonds between people because food was involved. We need to have traditions with food because they form and strengthen the bonds between us.

I have spent approximately 5,735 hours sitting at a dinner table with my family. Some of those hours dragged by and some of them ran out in the blink of an eye. Many hours took place around a huge mahogany table that seemed to extend for miles, while others occurred around a tiny folding table, barely big enough to contain the food and conversations being passed above it. However, one of the things that has always stayed that same, no matter the table or the topic of discussion, was the people that sat around it. Family dinner is such a profound time of the day; a time when everyone can come together as one. Throughout all of these years and all of these dinner tables, I have come to learn that relationships are sacred.