If I want to get to know someone better, I invite them for coffee. A dinner at a restaurant is often where they will get to know me better. If I call you a friend, I’ll host you for brunch at my house. When I’m making pies, it’s an act of love.
Social science research has shown that intimacy, power, and wellness can come from sharing a meal with others. The joyful act of cooking together or touching hands as your beau serves their third-date specialty are among the moments we explore in our first-ever issue devoted to relationships.
Our editor Amiel Stanek takes us to Asheville, North Carolina, as restaurateurs Silver and Cherry Iocovozzi celebrate their anniversary with a dinner party. We visit three communal homes to learn how housemates cook and eat together across generations. We raise a glass at our picks for the 11 Best New Bars in America.
This month Bon Appétit staff share the dishes that brought them closer to their significant others. Staffer Emily Farris tells the story about the end of her marriage and her recipe for Divorce Salad, a dish that brought her back to herself.
What we cook with our families and friends also can build stronger relationships with ingredients, and simultaneously make memories.
My nephew Edison, six, is particular about pancakes. He’s at that picky stage and wants them the same way every day, with ricotta and lemon zest, and the blueberries must be cooked inside. During our last visit I told him every day we had to make a different kind of blueberry pancake, and I’d teach him to use a different kitchen tool. One morning we made crepes. The next I made classic buttermilk pancakes. Our final morning together I made him a Dutch baby pancake topped with ricotta whipped with vanilla beans and fresh berry sauce, similar to this recipe.
He loved the Dutch baby and told me it reminded him of pie.