Carson Daly is commemorating what would've been his late mother's 75th birthday with a special celebration featuring one of her signature recipes.
The TODAY anchor posted a sweet photo on Instagram Thursday of him and his sister, Quinn, with their mother, Pattie Daly Caruso, who died at age 73 on Sept. 17, 2017, of a heart attack.
"Mom would have been the big 75 today,'' he wrote. "As I told my sister this morning, I’m still in total denial & plan on calling her later. We’ll celebrate tonight w her classic fried chicken, tons of red vino & peanut butter cookies! And her grand babies of course. Love you mom! happy bday & Talk later."
Carson has often spoken about how his mother served as his inspiration, having previously opened up on TODAY about her influence. He also shared an essay about her as part of American Heart Month in February, writing that "the love that we had was so strong, and is so strong, that I'm 100 percent sure that we'll be reunited again."
Quinn and Carson have leaned on one another for support in the years since the death of Caruso and their stepfather, Richard Caruso, who died five weeks after their mother.
The siblings shared an emotional moment on TODAY in January when Carson thanked Quinn for moving to be closer to him.
Quinn, her husband, Joel, and their daughters, Jaden, 13, and Katherine, 9, moved from California, where they were living near the siblings' parents, to be near Carson, his wife, Siri, and their three children.
"It was a crippling time for our family,'' Carson said in January. "After that devastating event, Quinn and I sort of looked at each other and went, 'We're all we have left. Like, literally, you're my only family left.' Life is too short."