Another option I am thinking of is to use a pendant light over the dining area and recessed lights alone for the kitchen if six isn't enough for this sq. footage

I don't know how big your space is but I had a similar layout in our last house. I like the idea of two over the table with a separate switch (I had a round table with one). I did have two over the island and five around the outside (L shaped area), even with undercabinet lighting. I had the two over the island on a separate switch. I left them on when we had guests in town. If they needed a drink/snack in the middle of the night, I wanted it easy for them to find.