Thursday, April 26, 2007

Pork Roll Sandwich

In our house dinner was a time that we would always sit together at the table and talk about our day. There was no TV, just family. As I've said before, my mom is an amazing cook and we always had hot meals on the table. I always had to drink at least one glass of milk (yuk!) before I could get a coveted glass of my dad's ice tea. I'm happy to say that this tradition continues in our house. In this day and age it's so easy to just grab something and go- but we will always sit together for dinner.
I could probably count on one hand how many times my mom wasn't home to cook for dinner. My father would be left to cook for us, and by cook I mean fried sandwiches.
He made the most amazing grilled ham and cheese. It would be soaked in butter and dripping with cheese. What I loved even more was having a pork roll sandwich. There is nothing more comforting than a piece of Taylor pork roll stuffed between a toasted english muffin.
On these nights we didn't have to sit at the table- much to my mom's chagrin I'm sure. We would curl up on the couch together and pick something we all wanted to watch.
I know that this goes against the first paragraph of this entry, but you have to think of being a kid. It takes years to realize the importance of a dinner surrounded only by family conversation. Half the time I was fending off my brother's evil remarks.
My dad, I don't think he ever truly grew up. So I assume that he was in the 'while the cat's away' frame of mind. We always cleaned up as best we could and put the dishes away.
I'm sure my mom knew about these dinners- but she never let on. We felt like we were getting away with something.
This morning for breakfast, I made Jack a pork roll sandwich- loaded with cheese and on a perfectly toasted english muffin. Instead of sitting at the table, we snuggled in our jammies on the couch and watched cartoons. His chubby little hands gripped the warm bread. He took mini bites and smiled while his jammie covered feet did a little dance. I know there are crumbs on the couch.
I'll vacum later.

1 comment:

Linda said...

I have a tear in my eye...I know the exact feeling your describing!