{"id":1630,"date":"2018-06-11T05:44:13","date_gmt":"2018-06-11T05:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/merendarealestate.com\/?p=1630"},"modified":"2018-06-11T05:44:13","modified_gmt":"2018-06-11T05:44:13","slug":"the-sweet-simplicity-of-sunday-dinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/merendarealestate.com\/?p=1630","title":{"rendered":"The  sweet simplicity of Sunday dinner"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1632\" src=\"https:\/\/merendarealestate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IG_sunday-diner-678x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/merendarealestate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IG_sunday-diner-678x1024.jpeg 678w, https:\/\/merendarealestate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IG_sunday-diner-199x300.jpeg 199w, https:\/\/merendarealestate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IG_sunday-diner-768x1160.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>What is it about Sunday that makes it feel like the best day to entertain? Think about it: a long, lazy afternoon with loved ones, gathered together around the table. Uncomplicated dishes and sides \u2013 without the formality of a Saturday night dinner party.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Sundays often feel more like more of a community effort and a chance to decompress. And since it&#8217;s also often considered a \u201cschool night,\u201d an afternoon or early evening meal covers both lunch and dinner and lets everyone get home in time to prepare for the upcoming week. And those who don&#8217;t have to answer to a bedtime or boss are more than welcome to stay.<\/p>\n<p>What better way than to bring multiple generations of friends and family together around the table?\u00a0We&#8217;ve got a few great tips for starting your own Sunday ritual:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Keep the atmosphere casual, warm, and relaxing: You want the focus to be more on spending time with your guests than on an elaborate menu.<\/li>\n<li>Invite as many people as you can comfortably fit around your table.<\/li>\n<li>Be open to guests who ask if they can bring someone.<\/li>\n<li>Invite guests to arrive between one and four in the afternoon.<\/li>\n<li>Keep the menu simple and seasonal, but have plenty of everything.<\/li>\n<li>Say yes to help\u2014with the prep, the food, the cleanup, the works.<\/li>\n<li>Serve the food family style, buffet style, or a combination of both: You could sit everyone down to a plated first course, then serve family-style platters. or enlist helpers to plate each course. It\u2019s all about lingering.<\/li>\n<li>Have an activity available before or after the meal: Play board games, do Sunday crossword puzzles, take a walk, watch a movie, or just plain chat.<\/li>\n<li>Consider hosting Sunday dinners on a regular basis. You\u2019ll be surprised at how easily the idea catches on.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Sunday dinner has many benefits beyond a good meal. It provides \u00a0an opportunity for young people to hone social and table skills, encourages conversation and banishes electronic devices to the sidelines. Sounds like a win-win to us!<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>The <a href=\"https:\/\/merendarealestate.com\/about-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Merenda Real Estate Group<\/a> is founded by brothers who have strong ties to family and tradition. If you have a Sunday dinner customs or any recipes and menus we&#8217;d love to hear about them. Share in the comments below.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is it about Sunday that makes it feel like the best day to entertain? Think about it: a long, lazy afternoon with loved ones, gathered together around the table. Uncomplicated dishes and sides \u2013 without the formality of a Saturday night dinner party.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[9,78],"class_list":["post-1630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-things-to-see-and-do","tag-weekends"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/merendarealestate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/merendarealestate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/merendarealestate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/merendarealestate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/merendarealestate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/merendarealestate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1630\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/merendarealestate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/merendarealestate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/merendarealestate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/merendarealestate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}