So, last night was my best dinner-making experience to date! It exemplified everything I’ve been trying to teach my family & others about role modeling, improved family time, life lessons, etc. My son, who is 7 and my “fussy” one (although I am not a fan of that “f” word), decided that he will be cooking dinner for the family 1 night a week and last night was his first time.
Earlier in the week, he perused cookbooks looking for just the dinner idea. He came up with chicken brushetta from a school fundraising cookbook. (Who would have thought??) It was breaded chicken breasts that were baked with parmesan and butter on top. At the end of cooking, each chicken breast was topped with homemade brushetta. We served it over pasta and it was delicious!! He and I had so much fun in the kitchen. He was totally open to suggestions about techniques and spice adjustments. He made the brushetta totally by himself with my sharp Wustoff knives (under my close supervision). He chopped all the tomatoes & basil (we took a moment to savor how fantastic it smelled.) He touched the raw chicken and dipped it into the egg & flour. He put it in the hot oven and then he decided when it was browned enough for the brushetta topping. My kids have always helped in the kitchen, but this was the first time one of them took the lead. It was so fun and such a learning experience for him. When we sat down to dinner, he asked if tonight he could be the one to say the family prayer (he usually opts out of leading this). He picked the dinner music for the night (Eldar piano). We lingered over dinner and had such an enjoyable night. The recipe itself was delicious, but the overall experience —-divine!!
He’s already talking about next weeks dinner. (Grandma & Grandpa will be here; so, he’s excited to show his new skills)
I love this. He will never forget the power and freedom you have afforded him and his future college friends and wife will have you to thank when he is able to feed them all and feed them well