The gastronomy of marriage

by Michelle Maisto

"On our first date, Rich ordered a chocolate souffle at the beginning of the meal, noting an asterisk on the menu warning diners of the wait involved. At the time, I imagined he did it partly to impress me, which it did, though today I know well that he's simply the type of man who knows better than to turn down a hot-from-the-oven souffle when one is offered to him."When Michelle Maisto meets Rich--like her, a closet writer with a fierce love of books and good food--their single-mindedness at the table draws them together, and meals become a stage for their long courtship. Finally engaged, they move in together, but sitting down to shared meals each night--while working at careers, trying to write, and falling into the routines that come to define a home--soon feels like something far different from their first dinner together.Who cooks, who shops, who does the dishes? Rich craves the light fare his mother learned to prepare as a girl in China, but Michelle leans toward the hearty dis