Dinner Diaries with Gina Bruno

Some of the best dinners don’t have a reason. No birthday, no promotion, nobody in from out of town. Just a Sunday, a pot of something on the stove, and the people you’d call first.

Dinner Diaries is our new series about people who gather well, whether that’s a dinner party for twelve or a weeknight with family, and how they make the table their own. For our first entry, Gina Bruno set hers for her parents, her husband Garry, and their daughter Mars. Her mom took the stove next to her (and, by Gina’s account, took charge of it too). Her dad arrived with his own bottle, as he always does. And by the end of the night, there wasn’t a clean plate in sight

So, what was the occasion?

Honestly, nothing at all, and that’s my favorite kind of dinner. It was just a Sunday. My parents, my husband, and my daughter around one table. Cozy company. No occasion, no reason, just family and a big pot of sauce!!

Walk us through the menu, and the drinks too.

It was very Italian-forward, the kind of food I grew up on and that is now my comfort food. Pasta with a slow-simmered tomato sauce, crispy chicken cutlets, and a big fresh fennel salad to cut through it all. My mom was cooking with me, which is half the magic, even though she likes to boss me around. And there’s always wine on the table, nothing fussy, just a good bottle of red that goes with red sauce. Garry and I love a lighter red, and my father loves a big bold red, so naturally he will always bring his own bottle.

Tell us about everyone around the table. What did each guest bring?

My mom brought the know-how. She’s the reason I cook the way I do, and she was in the kitchen with me from the start. My dad brought the stories and the appetite. My husband brought the calm, loving behavior, and somehow always ends up with the last cutlet. And my daughter brought the chaos and the giggles, which honestly make every dinner better and more entertaining. There were plenty of cheers and loving toasts and comments, along with jokes and jabs.

Set the scene. What was the hour before like?

The sauce was already going, and the whole apartment smelled like garlic and tomatoes. Mars was helping me prep, music was on, and there was a bottle of wine open on the counter. I barely sip it while I cook because I’m too distracted, but just knowing it’s there makes me happy. It’s the calm before everyone walks in hungry.

Which PORTA pieces made it to the table, and what role did each play?

The Enza Fasano dishes were the stars. They’re handmade and a little imperfect in the best way, which felt so right for a family table like ours. I pull them out for special, intimate occasions. They have a little reveal and surprise at the end of the meal. The Birds Eye was serving our bread, which is very crucial for any Italian dinner, and the Ichendorf Milano glasses made a simple Sunday feel a little special without trying too hard. And a few of PORTA’s fabulous large serving platters. The whole table felt like mine, like it had always been there.

What’s your one hosting rule?

Snacks when people arrive and wine popped open.

And when the last guest leaves?

Sauce on every plate, crumbs everywhere, a few crusts of bread nobody admitted to leaving, and wine glasses with the last little sips in them. Mars’ spot looked like a crime scene. It’s the best kind of mess, because it means everyone stayed, ate, and didn’t want to get up!

What do you want to remember about this one, a year from now?

Cooking next to my mom. Watching my daughter at the same kind of table I grew up at. Those Sundays go by so fast, and I want to remember how simple it was, and how full it felt.

Is there a dinner you’d relive if you could?

The simpler dinners are better. The four-person or six-person table. Where the dinner started at 6 and everyone left at 1. Those are dinners I cherish the most and I will be tired for the next day, any day.

The holidays are coming. How does your table change?

Everything slows down and gets cozier. The light goes golden earlier, the candles come out sooner, and the food gets heartier: braises, baked pastas, anything that sits in the oven for hours. People linger longer too. Nobody’s rushing to the next thing when it’s dark at five.

Is there a dish that only shows up this time of year? What’s the story?

Pasta Milanese. It’s a very traditional Sicilian pasta with anchovies, and in my family it only shows up for the holidays, specifically Christmas Day. It’s super briny yet in a red sauce, and always served with spaghetti.
Last one. 

What do you bring when you’re the guest?

Really fabulous special olive oil that you cannot buy in a store… or a very sexy bottle of wine!