It's no mistake that Katie and Billy bonded over a good meal. She says food has been an integral part of her life since her childhood in small-town West Virginia. "We always were in the kitchen," she says. "I pretty much grew up with my grandma. She would pull a stool over to the kitchen, and I would climb up at the kitchen counter, and I'd help her make biscuits. My fondest memories are around that dining room table."

Now Katie puts that experience to use with her cookbook, The Comfort Table, and in her own kitchen. "I always say [Billy's] my guinea pig when I'm writing recipes," she says. "He tries everything, and he's always very honest."

Get Katie's recipe for Billy's favorite meat loaf.