Food has mystical properties. It feeds the spirit as well as the body. Think about a food that conjures a memory for you. I remember the hot chocolate my mother made when I was little. She would make up a batch on cold winter nights, especially when a snowstorm was moving in. She never used a prepared mix. Her recipe contained bitter cocoa powder, lots of sugar, and creamy white milk, all whipped together in a heavy aluminum saucepan. My siblings and I would watch the snowflakes float by the big window in our living room, holding steaming cups of that sweet brew in our small hands and planning the snowmen we would build the next day.
If it is true that you are what you eat, then it is also true that you feel what you eat. What you eat contains those mystical properties infused by the emotions of the cooking process. Food you prepare together with people you love has associations with the laughter, the sharing, and the feeling of family and friends. My recipe for joy contains the ingredients of the food we have prepared together: the spice blend my husband loves, the amount of sugar my sister puts in her gravy, the secret strategy for my good friend’s perfect grilled burgers.
The food we prepare together in our kitchen doesn’t just taste better — it feels better. I think of it as nourishment for your heart.
Even if you don’t know your way around a kitchen, getting started with “togetherness cooking” is easy. You can ask your mother to show you how she makes your favorite meal. You can also get together with your grandmother for a baking session that includes those fancy Christmas cookies she has made every year for decades. Consider a “cooking date” with your honey. Popsugar lists several benefits of making a date out of cooking a meal. You can save money over restaurants or movie theater prices, save calories by cooking something healthy, and save your relationship by spending some good quality face-to-face time in the kitchen.
When you feel like you’ve gotten a good handle on all of the pots and pans in your kitchen, consider moving on to the big show: the dinner party. Picture your best friends sitting around your table, sharing a laugh and your soon-to-be-famous Spaghetti Bolognese. Maxine Builder at Bustle reviewed seven great tips for planning and hosting your first big dinner party from Charles MacPherson, a professional butler. In his book, The Pocket Butler, MacPherson offers lots of great advice for planning an event to remember.
MacPherson’s first recommendation is to think about the goal of the evening. MacPherson states that understanding your goal will help you plan the specifics of the evening. Do you want lots of laughs with friends? Plan a sit down meal at a small, inviting table. Are you catching up with family? Plan a potluck where your sister can help out by bringing her crispy, creamy Tater Tot casserole. Are you hosting business colleagues for networking? Plan to serve buffet-style to allow for one-to-one conversation.
My favorite of MacPherson’s seven tips is to “keep the main meal simple.” For first time hosts, a recipe for something tried and true will cut down on the stress. Your friends want the evening to be fun for everyone, including you. Consider something you can make ahead of time so you have more time to sit with your guests. My favorite meal for this type of dinner is lasagna. I make it the day before the party and pop it in the oven before my friends arrive. My kitchen is clean, and I am relaxed when the doorbell rings. Or, you might consider getting some help with the chopping and stirring from your guests. A shish kabob menu will require your friends to grab a knife and dig into that mound of veggies. Together, you’ll create an evening full of that mystical food mojo with a meal that fills the heart as well as the belly.