Welcome to my kitchen, and to my recipe box story……
Do you see that tattered recipe folder in the upper left corner of the photo I share here? It may be barely held together with packing tape, but I consider it a treasure. It’s where my mom turned countless times through her life—whether looking for her favorite recipes to cook or adding new ones to the mix. There are notes and clippings that reflect various places my family lived, maybe a friend’s name jotted in the corner to remind her who she got a recipe from, well-spattered cards that indicate some of the most loved among them. Diving into this folder allows me to spend some time with my mom and to connect with parts of my life that I hold dear.
My goal these days is to help others experience the joy and comfort that comes from having a collection of recipes that hold meaning for them. From any and all sources, be it family, friends, neighbors, colleagues—anyone who has cooked a dish with which you feel some sort of connection. Recipes that you’d be heartbroken to not have in your life.
One thing I sadly did not accomplish before we lost my mom over twenty years ago was spend time talking with her about these recipes. I wish with all my heart that I could go back and ask questions about them, what memories certain recipes held for her, what connection she felt to people and past experiences when she cooked them. So I want to be extra sure that others don’t miss out on the chance to do that.
It’s not just the details about ingredients and what to do with them that make these recipes so valuable. The stories they reflect, the memories they hold, the people, places and experiences they connect us to—that’s what makes them the treasure worth preserving. For today, and for years and generations to come.
Everyone’s version of this recipe treasure will be different, just as each of us is different based on the paths of our lives and the experiences we’ve had eating and cooking with family and friends. Whatever form the collection might take, I hope everyone has at least a handful of recipes that are meaningful to them. There’s no time like the present to build up that collection. Whether you’re starting with an old dusty recipe box with nearly indecipherable recipe cards, starting with a handful of miscellaneous recipes from here and there unsure what value they have, or perhaps you’re starting from scratch—it’s a starting point. My goal for this site is to be a resource for any and all such paths.
A large part of my career has involved work on cookbooks, over a dozen of which I have written myself and many others as a collaborator, contributor, editor, project manager, a wide range of various roles. Of my own books there are few that don’t include at least one recipe that is from my mom’s collection or otherwise inspired by a memory or favorite family dish. Without really planning it as such, those are examples of preserving my family’s recipes through the joy of sharing them with readers of my books. Here are a few examples.
These three are my most recent cookbooks—you get a sense I have a thing for seafood! Shellfish is my most recent book, in which Marinated Shrimp with Sweet Onions is a tribute to my mom, based on a recipe she shared with me years ago. In Oysters, re-released in paperback recently, I include a super-simple oyster stew akin to one I remember my mom made for my dad occasionally—we kids weren’t big fans of it back then.
These are a few other books of mine going back over the years, each with a bit of my family recipe collection included. The beef yakitori on the cover of Gourmet Game Night reflects time we lived in Japan. I did a spiced version of caramel corn in Salty Snacks that is a nod to caramel corn I made often as a kid. And my dad gets a mention in the Salmon cookbook, sharing his whole grilled salmon recipe. At least the way I remember him doing so, not a recipe he ever wrote down.