Southern Living December 2022

THREE YEARS AGO, when the world seemed simpler, we ran a story called “Loretta Lynn’s Holidays in the Holler” by Senior News Writer Meghan Overdeep. The music icon reminisced about the flour-sack dresses her mother sewed for special occasions, the rag dolls Santa brought her, and the homemade tinsel her family crafted out of wrappers from Prince Albert tobacco tins. I reread the article the day I heard that Loretta had died at the age of 90, and it reminded me how remarkable she was as an artist and a person. Even as a hugely successful singer who’d sold millions of albums, won more awards than just about any woman in country music history, and bought a 300-acre ranch outside Nashville, she never forgot where she came from. I went back…

Jenna Bush Hager EDITOR AT LARGE Jenna Bush Hager is the cohost of NBC’s Today with Hoda & Jenna. She founded Today’s popular book club, #ReadWithJenna, which highlights debut and diverse authors. This year, Hager started her own production company, where she will bring books and stories to the screen by developing and producing projects for television and movies. She teamed up with #ReadWithJenna author Jamie Ford to executive produce and adapt his novel The Many Daughters of Afong Moy. Vallery Lomas COOKBOOK AUTHOR Vallery Lomas traded a career in law for blogging and baking and won The Great American Baking Show in 2017. The Baton Rouge native is the author of Life Is What You Bake It and the creator of this year’s December cover cake (“Layers of Love,” page 126). TOP: DAVID A. LAND;…

WHAT WE’RE LOVING, SHARING, AND CELEBRATING Pomegranate Margarita Mix ¼ cup each margarita salt and granulated sugar on a small plate. Lightly coat rims of 2 margarita glasses evenly with 1 tsp. simple syrup; dip glasses in salt mixture to coat rims. In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine 3 oz. pomegranate juice; 2 oz. silver tequila; 1 oz. each lime juice, orange liqueur, and pomegranate liqueur; and 4 tsp. simple syrup. Shake until very cold and cocktail shaker is frosty. Fill margarita glasses with ice, and strain mixture into glasses. Garnish each with pomegranate arils and a lime wheel. ACTIVE 5 MIN. - TOTAL 5 MIN. - MAKES 2 Baked Brie with Pomegranate and Pistachios ACTIVE 20 MIN. - TOTAL 25 MIN. - SERVES 8 Preheat oven to 375°F. In a small saucepan, bring…

THEY SAY EVERYTHING is bigger in the Lone Star State, but when it comes to New Year’s Eve, the Houston-based duo behind the lifestyle brand Mirth play it more low-key. “I’m embarrassed to admit that the party doesn’t always make it till midnight,” confesses Katie McClure, who hosts a fondue dinner with her sister, Erin Breen, every December. But that’s just the way they like it. “It’s not a huge shindig,” says McClure of the gathering. “We’re casual people. This isn’t a formal, overly planned event but still feels special because it’s something different and fun.” McClure lived in Switzerland for a couple of years and fell in love with the country’s fondue tradition. “It’s a very interactive way of eating and makes the meal last awhile,” she says. “Dinner isn’t over…

ACCENT THE TABLE Brighten up each place setting with an individual pomander STEP ONE Use a toothpick to poke holes into each orange in the shape of your design (you can either draw it on or freehand it); then push in the whole cloves. STEP TWO Add a whole star anise for a geometric flourish. Once they’re complete, set them aside to dry. Place one at every setting for a festive embellishment. TRIM A MINI TREE Watch the sideboard get attention with an accessory that smells as good as it looks STEP ONE Glue the base of a plastic foam cone (you can find these at a local crafts store or on Amazon) to a card-board circle that’s 2 inches wider than the cone. STEP TWO Slide each pomander halfway onto a toothpick; then insert the pick into the tree, starting…

LACEY CHABERT has made her family’s cornbread dressing for so many years that she can bake it from memory. Finally getting it down on paper (recipe at right) was a joint effort with her sister, even though it may not be exactly the same—they now use Jiffy mix instead of making the cornbread from scratch like her great-grandmother did. The recipe, which once existed solely in the minds of the women in her family, originated with her great-grandmother. “It was passed down from her to my grandmother, to my mom, to me,” explains the Hallmark Channel actress. Chabert lived next door to her mother’s mother, “Nanny,” until she was 7 years old, and it was in Nanny’s house in Purvis, Mississippi, where she first learned how to prepare the dish. “I have…