At 2 p.m. on Sunday we arrive, each carrying a bowl or platter. We gather around the table, excited to see Ann’s roasted chanterelles set alongside Rachel’s sweet potatoes with lime and cojita, Laura’s braised pork next to Lillian’s smoky eggplant pureé. Nazila stashes two fruit cobblers in the kitchen; they join Kairu’s chocolate cake…

[Photographs: J. Kenji López-Alt] You don’t ever really need an excuse to want to feel comforted, so go ahead and indulge in these cheesy, creamy, carb-filled, fat-packed comfort classics, and take a break from the real world for a little while. Ultra-Gooey Stovetop Mac and Cheese It’s just as fast as the blue-box stuff, but…

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