Judy Harvell of Gloucester, treasures a handwritten family cookbook compiled by her great-aunt Ruth Cameron and given to her mother Miriam Ernest as a wedding present. It’s an ancient book; Judy’s mother died at age 95 in 2004.

Using its recipes is just one tradition in this family; today Judy holds to the same custom she and her husband, Jim, grew up with, "sitting down at the table for dinner, our evening meal. We brought our children up in this manner and since they are grown and moved away, Jim and I still have our evening meal at the table with no television."

Looking over the family cookbook, Judy recalls those special recipes her mother always served at certain times of the year just like her aunt Ruth, "who was quite a lady. She died at Miller & Rhoads Department Store when she went to buy a pair of pantyhose, which had just come on the market," she relates.

Judy talks about these recipes. "This wine jelly, Manischewitz was the o...