The Daily Meal's Family Dinners
Sunday supper, family meals, dinner — these are all ways we choose to describe breaking bread. Whether sitting down with family, friends, or new acquaintances, sharing a meal with others is always a fulfilling experience well beyond the food that is enjoyed. When we sit down together and share a meal, we're not just feeding our mouths but we feed our souls, through conversations, stories, and memories. Whatever you call it, and whether it's your weekly ritual or something you only enjoy once in a while, eating together is something that holds a special place in many of our hearts.
This sentiment resonates greatly with the editors at The Daily Meal, which is why we're going to start to create a way for all of us — from our readers to contributors and staff — to sit down and eat together. OK, maybe not literally, but we do hope to encourage you to start cooking and enjoying meals with your fellow companions, whether it is daily, weekly, or just once a month.
For those who do the cooking, sometimes the planning is the hardest part. From deciding what cuisine and type of protein you're going to make to figuring out how you're going to make it, it can be quite an anxiety-ridden task (trust us, we know). To help you overcome these obstacles, we're excited to announce that along with our Recipe of the Day Newsletter, we'll be offering you a weekly menu for you to make or to be inspired by for family dinners.
Some weeks will be a three-course meal; others will be a main entrée with recommended sides. No matter what, we'll provide you with delicious suggestions and tips for each that will make your dinner planning a snap, and make it easy for all of us to #eattogether. Check back to see what we're serving at our family meal each week, and share what you've made with us through Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #eattogether. We're excited to start sharing a meal with you once a week and we hope you are, too.
For this week's menu, we went a healthy route with tilapia and gazpacho salsa and a fresh quinoa salad, because hey, we're all trying to eat more grains, right? For dessert, we're keeping with the healthy theme with a low-fat frozen yogurt recipe from Sam Talbot.
Tilapia and Gazpacho Salsa Fish is a great source of protein, and benefits your health in a variety of ways. We could go on and on about why you should eat fish, but we want you to make this recipe because we love the salsa that goes along with it. It's easy to make but makes the dish elegant by pairing the fish with a sauce. Don't be scared of making fish, it's easy.
Quinoa has the reputation of being this exotic dish that no one has heard about, but (sorry quinoa), it's really not that bizarre of a grain, and it's a great alternative to rice. While there are many quinoa recipes with bold flavors and loud vinaigrettes, we chose this one because we thought it was subtle enough to go with the salsa in the tilapia dish.
Frozen Coconut Yogurt with Cinnamon
We loved this recipe because of the cinnamon — it's the perfect wintertime spice. Sure, it's frozen yogurt and it's cold, so just cozy up to the fire when you eat it.
Anne Dolce is the Cook Editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @anniecdolce