Open Maker Tour

Who: Brandi Shelton of Just Add Honey Tea Company
What: Custom-blended loose-leaf teas, cold-brewed teas, and accessories
Where: Atlanta, Georgia

While studying fashion design and marketing in London, Brandi Shelton fell in love with the daily ritual of a cup of tea, but was less enamored of the traditional flavors. “I thought I could add a spice here or a fruit there to make a more flavorful cup,” she tells us. And that’s how Just Add Honey, her custom tea line, began. Now back in Atlanta, Brandi remains fascinated by tea. Read on for a look at her business and her advice on buying and tasting tea — great for tea newbies and enthusiasts alike!

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Open the Tutorial

For the Thanksgiving dinner I’m sharing with you this week, I wanted a really lush centerpiece, one that celebrated the beauty of the fall harvest but didn’t cost me hundreds of dollars. So I turned to my favorite eco-friendly florist to help me create a beautiful, all-natural vegetable centerpiece that a real human (you know, homo sapiens, as opposed to marta stewartensis) could make with some seasonal vegetables, basic tools, and a little imagination.

But I didn’t want to let all that beauty go to waste, after the meal. Since nothing is glued down or otherwise rendered inedible, you can eat nearly every piece of this arrangement — and I give you recipes to help you do just that.

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Mashed potatoes are one of my favorite comfort foods, and it’s not hard to make them taste amazing. The easy way, my friends, is fat. A lot of it. I used to work at a restaurant where the cooks dropped a brick of cream cheese, a long swig of cream, and unmentionable amounts of butter into the joint’s famous smashed potatoes. So there’s that approach.

But I like to taste the potatoes themselves, and to pump them up in fresh ways, so this year on Thanksgiving I am turning to this recipe — golden mashed potatoes with a secret ingredient to give them flavor and unexpected color.

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When we were kids, a day of winter romping was always — always! — followed by mugs of cocoa and a plate of buttered toast. This was a given. It was inconceivable that one would not be followed by the other.

In the spirit of all things cozy and warm, I give to you this bread pudding. It takes the best of cocoa and the best of toast, and puts it in a single, custardy, marshmallow-topped dish. You can make it ahead in anticipation of a special winter breakfast or serve it for an post-dinner (and post-romping) treat. Just like a mug of cocoa, it’s a pudding works equally well for either occasion.

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Open Slideshow

We’re getting into the Thanksgiving mood this week, bringing you a small, swanky Thanksgiving party that I hosted in my home. So far I’ve shown you the make-ahead menu, a schedule for getting it all done, and 10 things you can be doing now to make Thanksgiving a little smoother.

Now that we have all the prep out of the way, let’s party! Come into my home and see how we cooked Thanksgiving dinner, doing most of it ahead to keep it low-stress, and enjoyed a swanky afternoon of good food, good wine, and Thanksgiving cheer with friends. Are you ready for some turkey action?

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