An Old, Handwritten Recipe Keeps This Chef Inspired and FocusedHer mother's cookie recipe reminds Deborah VanTrece that she is strong and capable. (And yes, the cookie is on the menu at her restaurant.)

I keep a recipe in my bedside table. It's for chocolate chip cookies with black walnuts, and it's handwritten by mymom, who is deceased. She received the recipe from her mother and passed it to me long before I'd go on to become a professional chef. I keep it safe in a plastic bag, and I probably look at it three or four times a month, more often if things are rough.

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