Bon Appetit - October 2017

LAST WINTER, MY WIFE INVITED AN OLD FRIEND OVER FOR SUNDAY DINNER.

Craving something simple and homey, I suggested spaghetti

and meatballs. Simone agreed, adding garlic bread and a big salad to our menu.•That was easy, I thought. Within a few hours, we

sat down to dinner with our nine-

year-old son and Simone’s friend. After crunching into the fragrant butter-saturated garlic bread, cutting into a plump meatbal

l laden with sauce, and taking a few

bites of iceberg coated in a bright acidic dressing, something else crossed my mind: Why don’t we do this every Sunday?•I can’t

remember a better home-cooked meal before

or since that has hit every pleasure point—rich, crisp, indulgent, nostalgic.•So often when we entertain, we’re intent on makin

g a statement. We want to impress our guests.

And we forget the most important element: Is it delicious?•If there were some way to send you a money-back guarantee on this me

al, I would. It’s that good and that foolproof.

Heck, email me on a Sunday night when it’s on the menu and I might even come over. Though, to be honest, I’ll probably already

be making it myself.

ADAM RAPOPORT