n l LETTER

Janet Gibson Uffinger, Editor of NEXT!

It all started with a stack of pancakes.

Rachael Santillan, who has a passion for food photography, presented her image of those flapjacks — spiked with chocolate chips and banana slices and dripping maple syrup ... enough to feed a small army or a big family.

And that’s all it took to spark one of our impromptu brainstorming sessions here at NEXT! Magazine. With the holidays approaching, we wondered what local folks might be serving for breakfast to their families and houseguests. I told the team that I always keep in mind two words: Haymont Grill.

(OK, OK, I have finally mastered fluffy scrambled eggs with cheese, but my husband still complains that I burn the pan.)

Anyway, we thought of a Fayetteville couple who love to cook and entertain, and frankly, are more likely to serve up an egg and sausage breakfast casserole — and healthy fresh fruit — but they agreed to open up their home to us and pose with/sample the yummy pancakes. Thanks, Diane and Hank Parfitt.

Cooking and inspiration. It’s a common thread throughout this issue. Some locals share their breakfast favorites. Read on ... to Melissa Clement’s latest adventure in cooking school. “M” says anyone who knows her, especially her children and grandchildren, will be shocked that she can now prepare a delicious vegetable lasagna and rum cake — just in time for the holidays. You can, too. Find the recipes on here.

CH-CH-CH-CH-CHANGES ...

To steal a line from one of my favorite baby boomers, David Bowie (who, incidentally, turns the big 6-0 in January), it’s time for some “ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.”

Change 1: The nameplate on our cover. While the distinctive NEXT! logo remains the same, the treatment is a lot bolder now, nearly stretching across the page. Longtime readers may remember that the NEXT! logo previously was featured in a colored box in the upper right-hand corner. Call it a “minifacelift.” The magazine turns 3 on Dec. 1, and one of our goals is to always keep it fresh. I have two fears: boring our readers and becoming too predictable. The editorial in NEXT! is largely focused on having fun and living life to its fullest, which brings me to ...

Change 2: A new feature called “at home with ...” coming in December. Here’s the deal: Our “at lunch with ...” feature has been popular since launching several months ago. The aim is to capture people, their passions, what makes them tick, their idiosyncrasies and what we can learn from their experiences. Much of the same holds true for the new feature, which will focus on how people create this place they call “home,” their collections, lifestyles and what’s truly important to them.

Change 3: Another new monthly feature titled “book corner,” also coming in December. Do you enjoy reading real-life spy thrillers? Our first mini-review will be on “Capturing Jonathan Pollard: How One of the Most Notorious Spies in American History Was Brought to Justice,” by Ronald J. Olive. The author worked for 22 years with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), primarily in foreign counterintelligence. Pollard, by the way, is serving a life sentence in Butner.