Jessie James Decker says her go-to summer cocktail is a pi?a colada: 'It just puts you in the mood'

Because food connects us all, Yahoo Life is serving up a heaping plateful of table talk with people who are passionate about what's on their menu in Deglazed, a series about food.

Jessie James Decker's ideal menu is all about Cajun food. The 34-year-old singer and songwriter says she grew up in Louisiana and finds comfort in the foods she enjoyed as a kid.

"My favorite thing to cook at home is gumbo," she tells Yahoo Life. "I love making a roux — it's just very very therapeutic for me. I grew up with Cajun roots, my whole family is from Louisiana, so just the smell of that roux and the sound of the wooden spoon hitting the bottom of the pan brings me such peace."

When she travels back to Louisiana, Decker says she loves a good shrimp po'boy. And if she visits the city of Baton Rouge while on tour, there's a special family tradition she can always count on. "I am a Cajun girl at heart, and my uncle comes out every time I play in Baton Rouge and throws a crawfish boil for everybody," she says. "It's so good. And, for breakfast my aunt brings me Mary Lee Donuts — it's a Louisiana thing — a better version of Krispy Kreme, and it's my splurge."

"Louisiana always has my heart when it comes to food," she adds.

Decker spoke with Yahoo Life as part of her work with the Malibu Rum Secret Escapes campaign, where she created different pre-planned getaways to some of her favorite U.S. destinations with the help of Pack Up + Go travel. The winners of the contest will receive stress-free trips, curated by Decker and Malibu Rum.

"Malibu has always been my choice of rum so as soon as I was approached by them, I loved it so much," she shares. "The last few years have been tough for traveling and getting out ... it's really hard and sometimes we just don't take the breaks that we need. I feel like this gives people an opportunity to go somewhere in the U.S. and just enjoy themselves."

If Decker could have dinner tonight anywhere in the country, where would she go?

"Quality Eats in New York City," she says. "I'd have Eric, my husband, go with me. We would have literally every appetizer on the menu and I would have a big fat bone-in ribeye steak with mashed potatoes on the side. And I would have a really delicious glass of red wine."

In the meantime, Decker plans to spend her summer relaxing in her own backyard, with her favorite Malibu-based cocktail in hand. "I love pi?a coladas," she admits. "I don't know what it is — it just puts you in the mood. I will have a pi?a colada even when I'm not on vacation. I'll get the Malibu out and get into vacay mode after a long day. I'll just sit by the pool and unwind."

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