Winning the James Beard Award from  @beardfoundation was, undoubtedly, one of the proudest moments of my entire life. I remember sitting at a live podcast recording of a local chef who’d just published a memoir. She had won a James Beard Award and I was like, “Oh, I didn’t realize you could win a James Beard Award for books! Wouldn’t it be something if one day I wrote a book that won?” But that errant thought wasn’t believable enough to even be called a dream. In fact, years later, when my book came out, I didn’t even submit it for consideration to the James Beard Media Awards—my editor did that without telling me! Heading to the ceremony, I didn’t think for even ONE SECOND to prepare a speech, because I was absolutely certain I would NEVER WIN. It was thus surreal that I would be standing at the podium with a medal around my neck, thanking the Foundation, my team, my husband, all of you, and, of course, my parents. One of my favorite brand partners, @hexclad , is the official cookwar...