“Mangia, mangia!”
My Italian grandmother heaped a massive slice of lasagna onto my little brother’s plate chiding him all the while to eat. “I made this just for you!” she said sternly, shaking a wooden spatula at him. Thirty years later, I can still see her barely contained fury.
MiMa had discovered a dark secret about my brother and she was alarmed. He’d developed a taste for SpaghettiO’s which was an affront to all that she held dear, especially her reverence for traditional homemade pasta. Short of sending him away to a camp for wayward grandchildren, she was furiously cooking up a storm in an effort to halt this dangerous new development.
I couldn’t revel too much in my brother’s plight because I, too, was being scrutinized and found lacking at the dinner table. “Water, Jason, not milk,” my grandfather admonished me. “Milk will fill you up and then you won’t eat your macaroni.”
That makes sense to me now. Easter dinner was ten or more courses at my grandparents’ house. Chugging milk might dent my adolescent appetite. Now that I have three boys, I realize that wasn’t likely but my grandmother’s table was groaning under the weight of the food every Easter. (And Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthdays, and every Sunday …)
First came the appetizers: stuffed mushrooms, fried artichoke hearts, homemade pepper biscuits and more. The first main course included lasagna with meats and gravy. Then came the ham with followed by salad and a spread of fruits and nuts. To top it off some years, she’d serve an angel food cake.
Holidays were big events for my family. The Burgundy Vino Rossi wine was uncorked and a vinyl table cloth covered the dining table. Now, as the pace of vaccinations increases and the pandemic nears an end, many families are making plans to celebrate the holidays with a multi-generational feast.
It’s time to celebrate! At FCG, we are here to help you prepare for a spring and summer of reunions with family and friends. Our three showrooms are chock-full of dining sets in every size, style and brand name imaginable: Dessin Fournier, Baker, and Eldred Wheeler, to name a few. We’ve also got loads of cool, funky, rustic, industrial and contemporary choices, too.
Mangia! After a long and lonely year of Covid, enjoy the delicious joy of spending time with loved ones.
