I have a list of dishes that are only available "on big occasions." I don't cook them just like that - that's the whole point. Let the salads and pies wait for their time, like your favorite dress that you don't wear to the store for bread.

It all starts with something simple: I wipe the countertop, put my favorite board, get out the knives, and turn on the music. The first thing I do is cut the vegetables - as if to dispel boredom. Onions, carrots, garlic - and the whole kitchen is immediately filled with the promise that it will be delicious.

My family has always had a rule: if you go to visit, take something edible with you. I continue this tradition myself. I think the ideal contribution is a warm pie or a large bowl of salad that still smells of fresh herbs and lemon.

I have a signature salad - it's not a contender for a culinary Oscar, but it always finishes first. Pear, blue cheese, arugula, walnuts and a little honey. Just five minutes - and you can put it in the middle of the table.

But if there are a lot of guests and you want something grand - you can't do without a hot dish. One of my favorite recipes is duck with apples and honey. It sounds complicated, but all you need is a marinade of salt, pepper, mustard and a spoonful of honey. The smell that fills the whole house when the duck is simmering in the oven is a special holiday.

I also love baking quiche. It saves when you want something elegant, but not too much trouble. An open pie with a shortbread base and a filling of cheese, spinach and salmon. Or mushrooms and caramelized onions. There is always a conversation with such a dish: everyone wants to know the recipe.

I also have some little culinary tricks that I don’t mind sharing. For example, I always add something crunchy to salads — nuts, croutons or pomegranate. In hot dishes — a drop of something sour, so that the taste plays. And in desserts — a whisper of alcohol: rum, amaretto, cognac.

By the way, about sweets. A festive table without dessert is like a Christmas tree without decorations. I don’t like complicated cakes with kilograms of cream. Something airy and light is better. My favorite is tiramisu. But not the classic one, but with orange layers and liqueur. Guests usually take it apart faster than I can make coffee.

If I were asked to name the most important ingredient, I wouldn’t say “butter” or “spices”. The main secret is to cook with the thought that someone will sit down opposite you and smile. The magic of food is not in what you cut and baked, but in what you invited to the table.

Once my friends and I decided to have a "celebration without a reason". Each brought her own dish, we moved all the chairs together, opened the wine and laughed until the night. Everything was on the table: a cheese plate, homemade cutlets, and a fruit salad in a huge bowl. No one was chasing the right presentation - the plates were different, and so were the spoons. But everything was tastier than in any restaurant.

Since then I realized a simple thing: recipes for a festive table do not live in cookbooks - they live in us. Each time I cook them a little differently. Because the holiday is not repeated. Because the people at the table are always different. Because the mood of the cook is half the taste.

So if you are sitting with a cup of tea and thinking about what to cook for your next holiday, start with what you love. Let it be simple, but with soul. Write down your version in the margins of a book, cross out an ingredient, add another. Let your table be alive, not a museum one.

And if something burns, it’s not a problem. The most delicious things are usually not ideal. The main thing is to feed everyone you love and leave a warm pause on the table: what if someone wants more?