Recipe Cook up Writing Ideas

I like to use recipes as prompts.  Start by choosing a sentimental recipe, one in a much-loved file, one you know by heart.  Write it down.  Analyze the ingredients.  Then, jot down who used to make it, why you liked it, or didn't like it, how you concocted or gathered ingredients.  What occasions it was served, etc.  For inspiration, read the letters of Juia Child, Cookbooks by Partricia Cornwell, The original Joy of Cooking, and "A Christmas Memory" by Truman Capote, the story of his aunt, The Fruitcake Lady.