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All families have a few gifted cooks with collections of tried and true, deliciously legendary recipes. Whether it’s your uncle’s southern style pork ribs or grandma’s famous apple pie, everyone always looks forward to eating the titillating treats these family chefs create. Unfortunately, most of the instructions for cooking up tasty delights aren’t in a cookbook.
Some family foodie secrets may even have been lost to history, remembered only by your mother-in-law when she evaluates your ability, or possible inability, to feed her son.
It’s time to get in touch with your relatives, gather those ideas, and create a family cookbook. Not only is it a great way to preserve all those traditional recipes, but you’ll no longer have to call your mom every time you need to whip up the perfect chocolate pie, either.
Here’s how you can put together the perfect family cookbook that your relatives will love to receive as a gift.
Get the Goods from the Greats
The hardest part of this exercise is getting the great family chefs to share their secrets. You might have to email, call, and send several WhatsApp’s before they finally relent and give up the goods.
If no one responds to your pestering, threaten to fill the entire tome with anchovy recipes.
There are a few things you need to write a top-notch recipe. When making your request, remember to ask everyone to include information like:
Get all the essential details, but don’t overdo it. After all, the goal is to make it easy for everyone to enjoy the family’s most special recipes.
Dazzling Designs, Layouts, and Formats
Do you want a simple layout, to add illustrations, or fill your book with photos?
Don’t be afraid to get creative during this step. Try to find a way to capture your family’s personality, making it as serious or as fun as you like.
If you’re a health-conscious family, you can do a little extra research and add nutritional information charts to every recipe.
Not all of us have creative abilities, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a great design. There are several templates available online that’ll help you put together a fun and beautiful layout.
According to EverPresent, you can use an online creator to compile your entire family recipes heirloom cookbook with no design skills required.
You can also divide the cookbook into sections, including chapters for snacks, vegan recipes, main meals, desserts, and more.
Print and Bind
There are a few ways to print and bind your family cookbook.
The most affordable way is probably to print everything yourself if you have the means. However, you could get a bulk discount from a professional shop.
The same goes for binding your new chef’s manual. You can do it yourself using three-ring binders, string, and glue, or plastic filing sleeves. The latter can also protect your pages, especially since they’ll often be used in a messy kitchen environment.
If you’re feeling a little splurgy, find out if the print shop can print, laminate, and bind your cookbook.
The Gift of Good Food
Give a person a fish, and they’ll eat for a day. Teach them to cook, and you won’t have to eat charcoal for dinner at the next reunion.
A family cookbook is a creative and affordable gift that’ll preserve both the delicious recipes of your forebears and the well-being of your stomach.
Remember to include all the crucial details with every recipe, from ingredients to thorough instructions, nutritional information, and helpful tips.
Spice things up by taking a few photos as you try them out or have your family members send a few snaps along with their notes.
Don’t be afraid to get creative with your design, but keep in mind that the cookbook will see a lot of action in the kitchen. Select materials that’ll keep those family secrets safe.
Krystle Cook – the creator of Home Jobs by MOM – put her psychology degree on a shelf and dived into a pile of diapers and dishes instead. She is a wife and mother to two rambunctious boys, sweating it out in her Texas hometown. She loves cooking, DIY home projects, and family fun activities.
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