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I have a new nightly ritual and it is not what I ever expected to add into my routine. It’s The Hot Toddy and I can’t think of a more relaxing bit of self-care this time of year.

Whether it is an old wives tale or the truth, a Hot Toddy is said to alleviate a cold because it is a decongestant. In “clinical” terms, the alcohol in whiskey dilates the blood vessels, making it easier for your body to deal with the infection. Spirits combined with hot water (or herbal tea) honey and lemon is a beverage that helps clear up your cold symptoms and makes you feel toasty and cozy. According to folklore, by the time you finish the drink you will be breathing better, and the alcohol will start to make you drowsy so you can rest easy.

When I was thinking of a recipe to start the new year off, I thought for a second about the basic trend of trying to restrict your diet after indulging, but I don’t know anyone who has had success with that plan and kept a happy disposition. My approach is to make delicious soups and stews and one-bowl meals. And that means that this time of year, I start making chili again. I love all kinds of chili with all kinds of ingredients but my favorite chili is a Texas-style Bowl of Red and that means no beans!

Many years ago, I decided to create a better candied pecan—or at least one that checked all the boxes for me. They were a common homemade Christmas gift in North Carolina, but most of them were too sticky or greasy for my liking. I longed for a crisp, crunchy, sweet and slightly spicy nut that was enrobed in a light crust similar to a dry praline.

December is here and that means that entertaining is in the air. And, it is my favorite month for entertaining because all three meal parts are fair game. It’s 5 o’clock all-day long, and you can eat sweet and savory foods any time of the day.

December 4th is National Cookie Day. Something that I didn’t know until a couple of weeks ago. I’m not sure that December needs a designated day to celebrate cookies since the whole month is about cookies.

Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking is a very special cookbook. The nearly 400 page hardback book published by Artisan is simply but beautifully styled by Haylie Waring and photographed by southern photographer, and baker in her own right, Angie Mosier. The book is encyclopedic in its information, but warm, friendly and accessible—just as you would imagine Cheryl Day to be.

November is Old-Fashioned Month and I have seen Old-Fashioned recipes made out of practically every spirit. But to me, this time of year is for bourbon, rye, whiskey or whisky—no matter how you spell it, Thanksgiving and pre-Christmas rituals go hand-in-hand with brown water.

I always think of November and December as smoked salmon season. The truth is that I eat it frequently—mostly for brunch—but during the holidays, I serve it as an appetizer.

When you cook and create recipes for a living, you are always making something new. But I have a collection of family recipes that I make over and over again.

As Halloween and the holidays approach, I tell myself that if I eat salads, that will balance out all the treats and goodies that the season brings. But the truth is that I don’t eat salads as much as I should and I envy those people who make a salad every day for lunch. My good friend and cookbook author Bob Blumer does just that. And every day, it’s a little different. I have often told him that I think he needs to write a book based on his salad days.

When Covid hit, the Theo Chocolate in Seattle, WA, had to shut down their factory visits just like so many companies across the world. But soon, Theo took to Zoom and started offering virtual chocolate tasting classes. This is how I became acquainted with Theo. I had seen the bars in my local grocery store, but I hadn’t tasted them and didn’t know much about Theo.

I was recently reminded of this mushroom salad that is so meaty that you can eat it with good bread and call it a meal.

It’s my take on a salad that I had in the south of France in the town of Les Baux de Provence. The one that I had at Restaurant L’Oustau de Baumaniere was made with sauteed local Cepe mushrooms and I fell in love with the simplicity of it. If you aren’t familiar with Cepes, they are the French Porcini mushroom

Anthony Underwood is my favorite kind of cook and one of my favorite friends.

He is also the best culinary producer that I have ever worked with, and “behind-the-scenes” famous. When I met him in New York City, he was the lifestyle producer at “Good Morning America.” He then went on to help create “The Chew” on ABC. Now he is a freelance culinary media consultant working on special projects in Los Angeles that include shows with Wolfgang Puck and major food and housewares companies.

In all my years of cooking, my favorite special event was a dinner that I hosted at the James Beard House in NYC with ten of my favorite girl “grill friends.” We made an elaborate six-course meal with North Carolina shrimp, Alaskan salmon, prime beef, bacon-wrapped dayboat scallops and more—all great ingredients to showcase the grill-centric menu that celebrated my website, GirlsattheGrill.com.

Barbecue chicken is universally loved and also not considered “serious BBQ” by grilling and barbecue aficionados. I think that is because the barbecue part has more to do with a sweet red [bottled] sauce than real barbecue.

This year, September 6 is both Labor Day Monday and is the beginning of Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish new year and culminates 10 days later with Yom Kippur. These are the two high holy days on the Jewish calendar. And, if you are Jewish or have Jewish friends, you know that the meals that punctuate these holidays are ripe with tradition and favorite family dishes.

If you’ve spent any time in restaurant kitchens, or with restaurant chefs, you soon realize that one of the reasons their food tastes so good is because they have a lot of flavor-packed pre-made ingredients at their fingertips and they can add a bit of this and a dab of that to any dish that they are preparing.

Do you ever order your main course based on the side that comes with it?

I know that I do. And this time of year, if I see a corn, butterbean and tomato side dish, a.k.a. succotash, I almost always order it. Better yet, I make it myself at home.

When you sit down to enjoy a cheese board with Ted Dennard, the founder of Savannah Bee Company, be prepared to become fascinated by bees.