Mother and daughter Alice Randall and Caroline Randall Williams tell us what studying the cooking of four generations of women in their family has taught them about the origins of soul food. Plus, we speak with international bagel consultant Beth George; Dan Pashman explores cold-weather cocktails; and we make pesto out of lemon zest, not basil.

Questions in this episode:

"The Milk Street pie crust recipe looks like my dream dough, but I have a couple of questions. Can you walk me through some aspects of the recipe?"

"I have an old cast iron pan that is flaking. Should I leave it as is, or is there a way to fix it without taking it down to the bare metal, the ultimate cast iron sin?"

"I want to try making my own vanilla extract. How many beans should I be using, what kind of alcohol should I be using and when can I start using it?"