Savor the memories

You can mine culinary gold at summer potluck dinners with Valerie McKeehan’s wire-bound Keepsake Kitchen Diary, where family cooks can log in nearly 200 of their favorite recipes, as well as their memories of each dish.

Write in when you first tried the dish, the occasions when it has been enjoyed, and the name of the person who likes it the best.

The recipes are conveniently sorted under tabs designating type (starters, soups and salads, main courses, side dishes, desserts, and miscellaneous).

And finally, the pretty 9-by-10-inch cookbook includes 12 tear-out recipe cards, so you can share your beloved recipes with the next generation, too. Grandma would approve.

The Keepsake Kitchen Diary by Lily & Val, $45.99, www.lilyandval.com.