Innehållsförteckning för September 2024 från Bon Appetit

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 (page 50). We visit three communal homes to…

BAIJIU This strong—like up to 120 proof strong—primarily sorghum-based spirit is widely consumed in China and making major inroads Stateside. At Seattle’s Paper Fan Cocktail Bar, it’s the fruity backbone in the Game of Ming, combined with passion fruit and jasmine green tea. RHUM AGRICOLE While rum is made using molasses, rhum agricole—often shortened to just “rhum”—is a Caribbean-born spirit distilled from fermented sugarcane juice. Its verdant flavor shines at Bar Kaiju in Miami, mixed with bergamot-scented Italicus and tropical fruits in a sunny drink called the La Djablesse. SHOCHU This Japanese spirit can be made with rice, sweet potato, or the aromatic herb shiso. It is fermented using koji, the same culture in sake and soy sauce, and offers a strong, earthy flavor. Those undertones are a welcome foil…

About five years ago I ate a version of chili con carne that was astonishingly complex. Its color was a decadent mahogany, and it tasted as if it were seasoned with dried mushrooms or the darkest soy sauce imaginable. To create this arresting flavor, it turns out the restaurant used a secret ingredient: cocoa powder. Since then I’ve come to discover how versatile this pantry item is, well beyond its uses in confections. If you’ve ever had Mexican mole, you’re already familiar with cocoa’s savory allure. Cocoa powder on its own is not sweet. More precisely, it bears a bitter edge that complements whatever is in its company. When paired with saltier elements, it adds a distinct, earthy depth and tames the natural sweetness present in vegetables. That means adding…

THE QUEER BAR BOOM Just a few years ago it seemed like queer bars—which had been closing at an alarming rate—were not long for this world. But spots like Mother in San Francisco, Honey’s in Los Angeles, and Upstairs Cocktail Bar in New York are reimagining the genre. Though the safe spaces of yore weren’t always focused on building out a cocktail list, these new community spaces offer the best of both worlds: a warm welcome and seriously impressive drinks. GOING SAVORY If your ideal cocktail is more bright and briny than sappily sweet, you’re in luck: Bartenders are going big on savory cocktails. At New York’s Superbueno, the combination of smoky-sweet corn whiskey and a dusting of charred corn in the Roasted Corn Sour veers toward the savory. If…

8 SERVINGS DOUGH 1½ tsp. sugar¾ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt1⅓ cups (167 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for surface¾ cup (1½ sticks) chilled unsalted butter FILLING AND ASSEMBLY All-purpose flour (for surface)2 tsp. fennel seeds (optional)1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt⅓ cup (67 g) sugar, plus more for sprinkling2 lb. apples (such as Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, or Granny Smith), scrubbed, cored, thinly sliced1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar1 tsp. vanilla extract1 Tbsp. heavy creamSoftly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (for serving; optional) SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: A spice mill or mortar and pestle DOUGH Whisk sugar, salt, and 1¹⁄₃ cups (167 g) flour in a medium bowl. Cut butter into 6 rectangular pieces (if using ½-cup sticks, cut them in half crosswise, then…

CHOCOFLAN 6–8 SERVINGS In our version of this Mexican dessert (often called pastel imposible), cream cheese and condensed milk give the flan extra richness, and oil rather than butter in the chocolate cake keeps it soft even when it’s fridge-cold. No one part of this dessert is particularly complicated to make, but a careful reading of all the steps involved will aid in your success. FLAN ⅔ cup (133 g) sugar3 oz. cream cheese, cut into pieces1¼ cups whole milk3 large eggs2 large egg yolks1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract CAKE AND ASSEMBLY ½ cup (63 g) all-purpose flour½ cup (100 g) sugar¼ cup (21 g) Dutch-process cocoa powder1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½…

LITTLE ITALY A Manhattan is a textbook nightcap. The combination of whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters is rich and silky but sometimes can feel a little predictable. The smallest tweak—say, a splash of Cynar, the Italian amaro made with artichokes—is enough to make it more exciting. That’s the genius behind the Little Italy, a riff on a Manhattan developed by bartender Audrey Saunders at the Pegu Club in New York (and chronicled in Cocktails With a Twist by Kara Newman). Cynar offers a bitter, herbaceous back-bone and caramelized sweetness—and a little goes a long way. Just a half ounce turns the classic cocktail into a bolder, more complex drink. A Manhattan with better posture, if you will. Now this cocktail has become my go-to after-dinner drink. It’s an elegant middle…

As partners in life and work, comedian Stephen Colbert and his wife of 30 years, Evie McGee Colbert, are in the funny business. So it makes sense that their kitchen escapades are bound by humor as well. The two grew up blocks from each other in Charleston, South Carolina, but didn’t meet until they were adults. During the pandemic they discovered the kitchen was a place where they could collaborate. Confined to their South Carolina home with their three full-grown children, homemade meals turned into a big source of entertainment. The result is Does This Taste Funny?, their September-release cookbook that is as much recipe Rolodex—it’s full of both family hand-me-downs and new discoveries—as it is a master class in couples therapy. We caught up with the duo just ahead…

The most refreshing cocktail we’ve sipped all year starts with a healthy glug of milk. To make milk punch, bartenders combine a thick, cloudy concoction of dairy, acid, and liquor, which, after some straining, yields a nearly crystal clear drink. The technique dates back to the 18th century when the original brandy-based version became one of the first shelf-stable cocktails, prized for its utility, tart flavor, and velvety texture. The alchemical process has gained a renewed following in recent years, as bartenders treat milk punch as a canvas for their boundless creativity. The salted plum and tamarind version at New York’s Superbueno dances between sweet and salty. Co-owner Ignacio “Nacho” Jimenez swaps the traditional brandy for sugarcane-based charanda and the smoky-fruity spirit ayuuk. “It’s a very complex cocktail,” Jimenez says.…