Look back at the memories you have created, and I bet somewhere within those moments lies a recipe.

I find nothing more authentic than looking back in my paternal great-grandmother's handwritten cookbook and knowing I am one of the small handful who has her secret pie crust recipe or learning that my maternal grandmother's enigmatic chile verde recipe has no measurements, only memorized ingredients that have been handed down from generation to generation. These recipes are a direct thread to our ancestors and cultural identity. Ceramic recipes and the legacy that parallels them are similar to our family heirloom recipes. What’s more rewarding than discovering that sought-after clay or glaze recipe? This is, of course, rhetorical. I know there are plenty of rewarding life experiences that beat out a good glaze recipe. But, man, oh man, for us nerds, ceramic material calculation is a direct path to innovation and creativity. I remember hoarding every recipe I could gather for my lexicon of all things clay and glaze, spending hours at a copy machine duplicating every glaze I would never use, but desperate for the knowledge and fearful of losing it.

In our December issue, four authors contribute both culinary and ceramic recipes. Hamish Jackson treks to the Devil’s Playground in northern Utah to research a particular granite for his wild glazes. Chef Tamie Cook and ceramist Stephanie A. Rozene document their delicious collaboration of taste and place. Jack Troy reflects on the life of David Shaner and shares a few recipes from David's personal notebooks. Our fourth author, Nathalie Roysten, speaks on the value of handmade ceramics and how functional objects can transcend the ordinary and become companions for shared moments. As an early holiday gift to all our readers, this month's entire issue will be open access and free to all.

Just as a culinary and ceramic recipe are the guidelines for achieving a desired outcome, so too can a recipe be a path for a life well lived. As you read this month's articles, please enjoy the bonus recipes, but each article also offers a metaphor for life's recipe – one that calls for a deep sense of commitment, equal parts profound love for our craft and connections, then flavor to taste with compassion and comfort.

Randi O'Brien, editor