Around the Table with Hillary Dixler Canavan

Featuring her family's Friday night tradition that we both want to steal, adult (only) dinners, and the art of fancy sandwich-making

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Welcome to this month’s Around the Table interview—grab a seat and join us. Our hope with this interview is to open up a tiny little window into someone else’s kitchen. We want to see the way food shapes who they are and how they move around the world. We want to learn about their favorite recipe, and why it means so much. We want to read about their favorite memory in the kitchen. If they’re parents, we want to hear how they feed their family and what sorts of memories they’re making present day with their little ones.

Most of all, we want to be reminded that no matter where we are in the world, what our beliefs are, or where we’re going, there’s something magical about the way food can bring us together. The way it can heal us. The way it says, “I love you.” The way a warm bowl of soup can sometimes say more than a hug.

If that sounds good to you, keep reading. We think you’ll like what you find. And remember to check back every other Wednesday for a new one.

I (Meredith) first came across Hillary Dixler Canvan’s Substack, The New Family Table, when she published the Adult Dinner Manifesto (more on that below!). I love her recommendations, whether it’s a list of must-have ingredients, a way of doing things (like using a tablecloth every night), or a truly excellent gift guide. The recipes she shares are a goldmine of delicious and approachable meals. Now that we’re back in the US for the summer, I’m finally able to add one of her Trader Joe’s recipes to my meal plan!

Prior to starting The New Family Table, Hillary spent over a decade as a senior member of Eater’s national editorial team. She scouted restaurants for the annual Best New Restaurant list and authored Eater’s first cookbook, Eater: 100 Essential Restaurant Recipes from the Authority on Where to Eat and Why It Matters (Abrams, 2023). We are so lucky to have a glimpse into Hillary’s kitchen this month and to learn why she started her newsletter, her favorite family food tradition, and what book cracks her daughter up at bedtime.

In the kitchen

Describe your kitchen for us. Tell us your favorite part about it.
My kitchen is a pretty typical American big-city rental-apartment kitchen, with too little counter and storage space. My favorite part about it is our fridge’s magnet-and-kid-art display. My 5-year-old daughter loves magnets, and we love turning the fridge into her art gallery.

Can you tell us about some of your favorite cookbooks, and what it is that brings you back to them time and time again?
When I think about which cookbooks I cook from the most, there are two clear frontrunners:

I Dream of Dinner by Ali Slagle
I have made the harissa chickpeas in this book approximately 1 million times, and I also very much appreciate the one-pot broccoli pasta and the salumi butter rigatoni. Truly one of the best weeknight cookbooks on the market. (Katie: I am obsessed with this cookbook! I turn to it time and time again!)

Dining In by Alison Roman
Not quite as overtly weeknighty, but there are so many recipes in this book I love and make regularly. The paprika-rubbed chicken is a go-to for company, the crispy chickpeas with lamb is one of my personal MVPs, the swordfish is one of my husband’s favorites, and I especially like the chocolate chip shortbread cookies for potlucks.

How do you organize your favorite recipes?
For internet recipes I use the Paprika app. When I am really on the ball (or really the need for productive procrastination), I also upload cookbook recipes into Paprika.

We love recipes here. Will you share one that means something to you?
Pickle Chip Salmon
One of the things that I’ve loved about launching my newsletter is that it’s given me a huge burst of creativity in the kitchen. And knowing that a good new recipe can go into the newsletter has been so motivating. Of all the recipes I’ve developed for the newsletter to date, I think I’m the most proud of this one. It’s everything I want my newsletter recipes to be: Actually easy, definitely works, and has clever a-pro-would-think-of-this shortcuts and flavor hacks. In this case, the hack is using pickle potato chips as a crust for salmon, and the shortcut is cooking the salmon and veg at the same time on the same sheet pan. Plus this pickle chip salmon has a high-low vibe that is very true to my own voice. Side note but this recipe is also extremely good with Everything But the Bagel Chips.

Can you tell us about Adult Dinner?
Adult Dinner is when I cook a meal that is only about pleasing myself, usually after my daughter has gone to bed. While I generally agree with the parenting wisdom of serving only one family meal, sometimes I just want to eat what I want to eat. Without modifications. I also realized that I want the pleasure of cooking something I want to eat. And then I want to enjoy eating what I cooked without hearing complaints about it. And so, Adult Dinner.

Writing the Adult Dinner manifesto was a no-brainer (I was routinely referencing Adult Dinner in my monthly-ish Cook, Read, Buy roundups and getting curious). But given how important Adult Dinner is in my life, I decided to also start publishing Adult Dinner recipes. The first Adult Dinner recipe I shared was for wings-style chicken thighs (Saucy and spicy! My preschooler would never!). I have more up my sleeve and would love to hear from everyone reading what their own version of Adult Dinner looks like! (Katie: My husband and I do Adult Dinner every night, and zero regrets!)

What’s your go-to breakfast? And when you’re feeling fancy/have more time?
A slice of toasted sourdough with good butter is a pretty standard breakfast for me. Often with a good jam and a sprinkle of Maldon. And if I have oodles of time? Still buttered, toasted sourdough with my coffee. I happen to live very close to a Tartine location, so I often have a sliced loaf on my counter or in my freezer.

What’s your go-to meal when you don’t have time to cook?
Fancy sandwiches: I lay out a platter or cutting board with cheeses, meats, sliced tomatoes, and a choice of condiments, and let each family member build their own sandwich. Often, it’s tomatoes/mozzarella/prosciutto/basil drizzled with balsamic. Other times it’s turkey, cheddar cheese, apple slices, dijon, honey. But fancy sandwiches are my favorite way to make not having time to cook still feel like a special, fun dinner.

If I don’t even have time to assemble that, then we’re in air-fryer territory. Air-fried chicken tenders + tater tots + baby carrots = a complete meal.

On motherhood

Has becoming a mom changed the way you approach cooking or food in any way?
Becoming a mom was a huge turning point for me. When I got pregnant in the fall of 2019, I was Eater’s restaurant editor and travelling the country scouting restaurants was part of my job. The pandemic hit in March of 2020, so I spent my pregnancy and then basically the entire first year of parenthood at home/not going to restaurants.

And when my daughter started eating solids, I was floored by the demands of feeding someone else when it meant so much to me. And also like… kids eat SO MANY times a day!?! (Meredith: I was shocked when I learned that babies eat every 3 hours… forever!)

As I started to shift what I was cooking to make more sense for feeding all three of us, I found myself frequently frustrated. The “family-friendly” recipes I was coming across were either too weighted to pleasing little kids or they were not realistic for feeding to a little kid. (Or, you know, cooking in the half hour you have before you cross into hangry around 5:30.)

My constant quest for recipes that would please everyone at the table is a big reason why I started my newsletter. Now, I get to put the chefs and recipe developers I admire most on the job of creating recipes that are genuinely craveable, actually work, and can work for little kids. Most, but not all, of my contributors so far have been parents. Parents get it.

Is there anything you’re excited to make for your little one as she gets older?
It’s not so much something I’m excited to make, but I am excited to do more cooking together as she gets older. I’ve been on the cautious end when it comes to things like using real knives, letting her help at the stove (I do sometimes, but I have to be in a very calm headspace!!). I am excited for the time of being the kitchen helper as she tries a recipe she picked out and takes the lead. A couple years ago, I bought vintage copies of the same Klutz kids cookbook I LOVED as a kid ready to gift to her and to her cousins. I think maybe for Hanukkah this year.

Are there any food traditions you’re establishing now with your own family?
We have a lot actually! But one of our newer traditions is quickly becoming a favorite. We do a Friday dinner + movie night. We as a family figure out what movie we want to watch, and we eat dinner on the couch. Sometimes we match the menu to the movie, like when I made these (extremely loosely interpreted) ham and cheese “croissants” for Ratatouille. Other times, we just snuggle up with delivery Chinese food. It’s really fun. I hope my daughter keeps wanting to do this for many years to come.

What’s a kitchen shortcut you’ve learned since becoming a mom?
Did you know you can freeze turkey and cheese sandwiches?? I saw it on some Instagram reel right around the time my daughter started going to nursery school and it changed my life. You can put the frozen sandwich into a Stasher bag in the lunchbox and by the time lunch rolls around, the sandwich will be thawed and ready to eat. Having a bunch of sandwiches in the freezer makes getting out the door for school so much easier.

On family

Does your daughter like to cook and help out in the kitchen?
Yes, but not for long stretches of time. [She] loves coming into the kitchen, asking to help, doing a task or two, nibbling a little, and then getting back into her Legos or Magnatiles.

On weeknights, I really enjoy putting my headphones on and listening to an audiobook while I cook dinner. It helps me decompress after work and just feel like I had some time to myself that day. Since I often prefer cooking solo during the week, I do try to plan dedicated cooking-together projects, where I know the recipe makes sense to include her and we make it an afternoon activity.

Does anyone else in your family enjoy cooking like you do? Is that where you got it from?
When we were growing up, my older brother and I both got really interested in cooking from watching old school Food Network. I had this three-ring binder with recipes I’d print out and hole punch from the Two Hot Tamales and Two Fat Ladies. We loved Emeril, and I’ll never forget the first time we made the mashed potatoes from Emeril’s cookbook. They were so creamy, so garlicky, and my 12 year-old-self was absolutely gobsmacked that you could have mashed potatoes with actual potato skin in them and that it would be so freaking good.

But I wouldn’t say my mom or either grandma loved cooking. And that’s okay! I ate well growing up. And once my brother and I started getting really into food, my parents were very accommodating and enthusiastic about bringing us to restaurants in the city, and letting restaurants be a big part of our family life.

Do you have any infamous dishes in your family? Ones that simply can’t be skipped each year or that somehow make it onto every holiday spread?
When my mom hosts Rosh Hashanah, it’s become something of a tradition for me to bring Deb Perelman’s tangy braised chickpeas. Having a vegan option is really great if you’re serving anyone who keeps kosher, or, you know, vegan. And these chickpeas really do deliver the brisket vibes Deb promises. The first time I brought these, they were such a hit it’s become a tradition.

Just for fun

What are you loving reading/ listening to / watching right now?
My book club’s June book is Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson. I found the book a bit slow to start, but by the end I was pretty into it. Into it enough to start the second book, The Well of Ascension. I don’t read much straight fantasy (i.e., not romantasy), but there is a lot to enjoy in this series including a pretty complex magic system and a very fun spy plot (once it gets going).

Apart from your wonderful newsletter, where else can we find you on the internet?
Instagram

What’s something sparking joy for you at the moment?
The Book With No Pictures. My daughter thinks this book is HYSTERICAL, and hearing her crack up Every. Single. Time. we read it just makes my heart burst.