Intensive: The Family Recipe Project with Cynthia Nims

NOTE: iphone and ipad users, CLICK HERE to register for class.

We know you have one: A battered tin box, a manila folder held together with a rubber band, a notebook with stained pages and handwriting you'd recognize anywhere. Inside: a recipe for your grandmother's pierogi, your neighbor's famous lemon bars, a soup that carried your family through every winter. These recipes are more than instructions. They're time capsules, connections to people and places and chapters of your life that no algorithm or Google search can replicate.

In this three-part livestream series, Seattle-based food writer and cooking teacher Cynthia Nims will guide you through the deeply rewarding work of gathering, preserving and sharing the recipes that matter most to you. Whether you're starting from scratch or making sense of a sprawling inherited collection, Cynthia brings warmth, practicality and hard-won personal insight to every session.

This Intensive takes place over the course of three sessions spaced two weeks apart. The dates of the sessions are Wednesday, September 23; Wednesday, September 30; and Wednesday, October 7, all from 6-7:30 pm Eastern Time. Can’t make it to all the sessions in real time? You should still sign up! We record all livestream events and send the recording to registered attendees immediately after each session.

In the first 90-minute session, Cynthia will use her own mother's tattered recipe folder as a touchpoint for exploring what makes a recipe collection truly valuable—and how to approach one that feels overwhelming. You'll learn how to identify the gems hiding in plain sight, how to gather recipes that have never been written down and, crucially, how to capture the stories behind them before it's too late. Cynthia will share one of her greatest personal regrets and give you the tools and questions you need to make sure you don't face the same loss.

In the second session, Cynthia shifts focus to the recipes themselves. What do you do when a beloved dish calls for a "moderate oven" or "a good handful" of flour? What about a recipe that calls for an ingredient that you can’t find—or would prefer not to use? She'll walk you through how to identify the gaps in older recipes, fill them in thoughtfully and update dishes so they're more likely to actually get cooked, all while honoring the spirit of the original. (Spoiler: you should always keep the original!)

The third and final session opens up the question of what to do with all this beautiful material once you have it. From handmade booklets or recipe cards to potluck dinners and personalized journals for people you love, all the way to the ambitious undertaking of putting together a cookbook, Cynthia will help you think about how to share your collection in ways that spread the joy and keep these recipes alive for the next generation. In addition to plenty of inspiration, you can expect a whole suite of deeply practical tools. Come ready to dig through your drawers, call your loved ones and fall back in love with the recipes that made you who you are.

About Cynthia: Cynthia Nims is a writer and culinary consultant who has authored 11 cookbooks of her own, including “Shellfish,” “Oysters” and “Salty Snacks,” and has co-authored or contributed to many others. Cynthia’s first job after returning home from La Varenne cooking school in France—where she worked on a number of book projects with the school’s founder, Anne Willan—was as food editor, and later managing editor, of Simply Seafood magazine. She also served as food editor of Seattle magazine, and has contributed to other magazines including Alaska Airline’s Alaska Beyond, Coastal Living and Cooking Light. Seafood expertise, adventures and stories are the focus of her bi-weekly newsletter Seafood Savvy. Cynthia and her husband live in Seattle.

Thank you to the 2026 Sponsors of the Cooking School: Wulf’s Fish and Savenor’s Market. Together, Wulf’s and Savenor’s provide premium seafood and gourmet meat to chefs and home cooks across the country. Use code MILKSTMAY15 for 15% off orders from Wulf’s (t.ly/REVSO) and Savenor’s (t.ly/CRwjA).

Our multi-session Intensives are capped at just 25 attendees and are distinct from our livestream Classes. As such, they are NOT included with Insider membership.

Want to give this class as a gift? You can purchase gift cards here.

Immediately after registering, you will get a confirmation email that contains the Zoom meeting log-in information. One week prior to the class (or within 48 hours, if you register less than one week in advance), you will receive instructions on how to prepare ingredients and equipment in order to cook along with us.

After class, you will receive a recording of the event, as well as a packet with recipes and resources that we discuss during the event. If you have any questions about this class, please don't hesitate to get in touch via cookingschool@177milkstreet.com.

This event has limited spots, and you must register in advance via Eventbrite. One sign-up covers one device. Closed Captioning is available for this event.

Payments for Milk Street livestream workshops are non-refundable. If you find yourself unable to attend, you may transfer the ticket to someone else, but we are unable to refund fees and all payments are final.

Bonus: All attendees of this class will receive a one-time 20% off coupon to the Milk Street Store after class.