One of my favorite German phrases is "Liebe geht durch den Magen". In English, we say "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach". Both phrases mean the same, but I like that the German phrase is not gender-specific. Ladies love good chow, too! We all hit the stove on our Italian vacation and mixed it up a bit by cooking in different pairs. Did I mention that the people who cooked also washed up??! Great idea, AK! Heaven on earth and every housewife's dream!

My brother-in-law and my sister Amy's dish.

The appetizer I made with my sister, Katie.

My mom and dad's desert.

The soup my folks made.

The main course my brother and sister-and-law made.

The appetizers they made. Bruschetta in its entirity was quite the thing!

Even my son whipped up a few delights, but my sister has the pics on her camera. The dinners were my favorite part of the day. I loved hearing the chefs laughing in the kitchen while they cooked and then seeing them walk out, after all was said and done, happily presenting the treats they made. If you ask me on a good day, meal preparation is one of the highlights of mommyhood, of life in general really. Granted it takes a solid chunk of time to put a meal on the table and possibly even a cocktail or two to get the ball rolling, but it's one of the best ways I can think of to show folks I love 'em...especially after I just threw a hissy fit because they used my verymostfavorite lipstick to draw pictures, gave me slack about blogging (addiction my foot!), decided to finger paint on.the.wall, or tested the durability of crayons on one of my favorite antiques. Slowly but surely my boys are starting to cook with and for me. Granted, some things they make are so not edible and the kitchen usually looks like a tornado swapped it upside tha head, but hey one day their partners will thank me for keeping my mouth shut and letting them get all crazy on the stove. I mean, I really do want them to grow up, fall in love, and be able to cook for themselves in their own apartment with their own groceries now, don't I? Don't I??!

In celebration of food, cooking, and togetherness...