When Jordan Miller moved to Washington, DC, in 2012, she knew she’d found her new home. “I never wanted to leave.” Growing up on the North Shore of Massachusetts, she hoped to one day be a diplomat. It wasn’t until she moved off campus in her sophomore year that she arrived at a new calling.

“I had to figure out how to cook for myself,” she says. Miller started an Instagram account, DCEatings, and began writing about food, perfecting the dishes she’d watched her parents make.

“I come from a big, half-Italian, half-Jewish family, so food was a central part of any gathering.” She especially loved the red sauce of meat and pork that her grandmother served over penne pasta. “Definitely a standout meal.”

Today, Miller works as a personal chef, preparing dishes tailored to her clients’ tastes. One of her favorite jobs was cooking for an artist retreat in Temecula, California—a trying assignment, “but also the most fun.”

Miller, who didn’t go to culinary school, learned the most from observing others. She has an abiding “curiosity about food, about where it comes from.” It’s a kind of entry point, “a great way to learn about a place’s history and culture.”

Warm up this winter with Miller’s 10 cold-weather comfort foods:

• Sesame butter noodles When I first started to cook, this was my sick food: Something easy, comforting, and gentle on the stomach. 
• Rocky mountain toast My dad made Rocky Mountain toast, or egg in a hole, for my sister and me nearly every day growing up. You toast a piece of bread, cut a hole in it, crack an egg over the hole, and fry it. To this day, it feels nostalgic to me. 
• Shakshuka This is one of the first meals I learned to cook. It’s easy to make—basically eggs in a spicy tomato sauce. You can add whatever you want, and it’ll taste great. 
• Yemeni lentil soup Known as adas, this is a Yemeni soup of blended lentils, carrots, potatoes, onions, and a lot of lemon. It’s something that you can cook together in one pot and freeze for later.
• Mexican spiced hot chocolate I love anything chocolate-based. This is a fun way to zhuzh up a hot chocolate: You throw in a little cayenne and cinnamon. It’s one of my favorite nighttime desserts when I don’t want something heavy but still want a sweet treat.
• Bison chili I started making this when I met my boyfriend, who grew up in Appalachia. I’d never tried bison, which is a leaner form of red meat. We make this all the time in the fall and winter. It’s a nourishing, easy meal.
• Creamy dill salmon This is another dish I learned to make on my own. It felt like a more elevated meal in college and has since become a delicious comfort food.
• Rigatoni alla vodka I’m a huge pasta person, and this is my favorite pasta dish. It’s a simple sauce with a lot of depth and flavor and tastes fancier than it is.
• Vietnamese chicken curry My boyfriend, whose aunt is Vietnamese, introduced me to this curry. It’s now a staple in our house. It’s a turmeric broth with chicken, potatoes, and carrots.
• Golden latte This is a latte of steamed milk, turmeric, ginger, clove, cardamom, and cinnamon. Its spices have great nutritional benefits, so I like to drink it when I’m under the weather.