You mentioned that your family has holiday food traditions. What are some of the recipes that you cook every Christmas?

Pecan pie; sweet potato pie, but made with white sweet potatoes, real vanilla beans, and real homemade whipped cream; and pralines. They are so hard to make and it’s so easy to burn them, but when you get a perfect batch, you feel so accomplished. I'm from the South and my dad is from Louisiana—he’s Cajun French—so on Christmas Day we usually have gumbo and potato salad—just delicious Cajun food.

Is your family still in the South?

Yeah, everyone lives in Texas now. There are a lot of differences in the food and culture between Texas and Louisiana but, at the same time, I feel like—especially around the holidays—there's such a focus on family and being with the ones you love, whether that's friends or family. I think those are definitely the same in both places.

You grew up in Purvis, Mississippi, near your grandmother. Were there any holiday traditions you two shared?

We lived next door to my grandmother and we'd walk over her house constantly. One of my favorite childhood memories is baking with my grandmother in her kitchen. She passed away this year. She was one of my very best friends and my biggest cheerleader, so her passing was heartbreaking but I love that I have those memories with her of cooking in her kitchen. She had such a precise way of doing things—you had to do everything exactly the way it was planned. She was very much into following the recipe and she was a bit of a perfectionist. No one had more beautifully wrapped Christmas gifts than her, so we try and do her proud. That means taking the time to fold the corners perfectly and taping it on the inside of the paper so you can’t see the Scotch tape. She also made all of her own Christmas bows. She taught me how, so I know how to make a pretty good Christmas bow too.

And did you have Christmas recipes that you would make together?

Coconut cake was the really special one at Christmas. [There was also a] candy, which was made out of peanut butter, marshmallows, peanuts, and white chocolate. It was delicious, but you weren't allowed to eat it before it dried. We would stand there just waiting, counting the minutes until we were allowed to dive in.

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