Heirloom dishes and family food traditions are rich sources of nostalgia and provide vivid ways to learn about our families past, yet they can be problematic. Many family recipes and food traditions are never documented in written or photographic form, existing only as unwritten know-how and lore that vanishes when a cook dies. Even when recipes are written down, they often fail to give the tricks and tips that would allow another cook to accurately replicate the dish. Unfortunately, recipes are also often damaged as we plunk Grandma s handwritten cards on the countertop next to a steaming...