Foodie Favorites

"My mother’s pralines, the sweet pecan candy with a buttery, brown-sugar smell, remind me of the winter as much as the scent of pine does. But I had never thought of the dessert as more than a simple delight until I learned how to make it myself. Once I had stood over the pot full of caramelized sugar and pecans, tracing the surface of a Dutch oven with my wooden spoon and constantly checking the candy thermometer that hung just above the pot’s metallic floor, I wondered why pralines were so beloved among southern families—namely black families in New Orleans."