3 Rules for Eating on The Weekend

Photo: Thinkstock
Photo: Thinkstock

By Lynn Andriani

Even if your Saturday or Sunday schedule bears a shocking resemblance to Monday's-the only difference being birthday parties and apple-picking outings take the place of conference calls and meetings-weekend dinners still feel a little more special than Monday-night meals. Maybe you sit down to the table a little later, and linger a half-hour longer. You eat dessert. You let the pots soak in the sink overnight.

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Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift, co-creators of the public radio program The Splendid Table, live by Colette's words, "If you aren't up for a little magic now and then, you shouldn't waste your time cooking." They also live by these rules for eating weekends:

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1. Enjoy the luxury of having time to make something from scratch, whether it's chicken stock or homemade pasta.

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2. Spend a lazy afternoon in a new neighborhood where maybe you don't speak the language, but can find new markets and restaurants. Try Vietnamese, Indian, Ethiopian or one of these other global cuisines.

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3. Share the work. Four or six hands at the stove and sink makes you feel less of an imprisoned kitchen wretch.

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See Kasper and Swift's new book, The Splendid Table's How to Eat Weekends, for 100 recipes for Saturdays and Sundays, plus ways to incorporate leftovers into "Work Night Encores."

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