Last month we asked you who in your family embodies the traditions of food and family—offering up a CookServ 12-inch Sauté Pan to our judges’ 50 favorite entries—and we had hundreds and hundreds of amazing entries. We heard about your mothers and your husbands. We read about traditional family recipes and the ways you make them your own. There were stories about Christmases, Seder dinners and Friday night tapas parties.

Sharing a meal is how we connect. At Nambé we’re about elevating that special moment at the dinner table. Each day this week, we’ll post ten of the winning essays from our CookServ contest. All 50 winners have been notified by email (check those spam folders!), and have been invited to provide us with a video review of the new CookServ. We’ll share those with you in several weeks. Until then, enjoy reading the second set of winning essays.

My grandmother’s cooking embodies food and family traditions with her delicious German culinary skills. Every Sunday we would have a traditional meal of sauerkraut, dumplings and gravy, green beans, pork hocks with a savory center cut pork roast ending with her mouth watering apple kuchen. This tradition had been past down from her mother, my great-grandmother and now my daughter cooks this meal. It soon became the favorite meal of all my friends, their children, and my daughter’s friends. – Patricia A.

On you marks, get set, GO! As Mom to 16 year old twins with a full time job I am often pressed to get it all done. On the weekend we rush around to do shopping, laundry, catch up on homework, sports, scouting, Japanese language lessons, take the dog on a long walk and get the yard work done. It winds down each week with a sit-down Sunday dinner—required Sunday dinner is a chance to touch base, share some time together, fold friends into the family circle. Relax. Get ready for the next adventure. – Madelon H.

My great aunt, Margaretha, despite not loving to cook completely embraced food and all the traditions around it. Whenever we came to visit her, she always had nestle tollhouse cookies waiting for us. Every holiday meal was the same, year after year. It sounds monotonous, but the traditions around holiday meals are what create memories and strengthen family bonds. – Becky C.

My mom absolutely embodies food and family traditions. She learned her cooking skills from her mom while growing up on a farm. She can cook a hearty meal for any size of group! I am lucky that my husband and I live near my parents, so I am still given opportunities to learn from her. My mom’s favorite thing to do is gather the family and cook a big meal. Often, these meals include recipes that have been handed down for generations (like my great-grandma’s baked eggs). She inspires me to cook and entertain for family and friends! – Kimberly H.

My wife. She had an Italian grandmother who loved cooking and baking for her extended family in California. My wife carried that tradition on today, preparing some of the same delicious meals she enjoyed growing up for her own family. She also enjoys making meals a family event, often having oour children and even me help and assist in the kitchen. It is a good time to bond as a family, while doing something creative that we all enjoy. – Ray R.

Food embodies the spirit of home for me. In my family we share our love for one another through cooking for each other. My mom’s specialty chicken might not be cooked like Joel Robuchon’s but I sure crave her chicken a lot more! Nothing tastes better than a home cooked meal with the ones you love. – Thomas C.

My husband is the food and family tradition maker! We just started our family (the two of us) when we married in July. He has started fondue nights, pizza making nights, meatless Monday nights, etc. On days he is so tired, he will tell me he couldn’t sleep because he was thinking of a new recipe. He has even gotten into molecular gastronomy! He is amazing and I look forward to us having children we can share all the fun with!!! – Jules K.

My fiancé Ted cooked many of his family’s Serbian dishes for me when we first began dating, and it often felt as if I had been invited to share in an ancient and intimate tradition. Mealtime became an indulgence in a far-away land and foreign history, and made me feel closer to his family and heritage. We are getting married this summer, and in becoming a real part of his family, I might finally feel qualified to try my hand at his recipes. The first step: getting him to write them down for me! – Bridget M.

I was raised in New Mexico and Nambe was always on our table for Sunday family dinners! My mother was – and continues to be – the best cook I know. Her ability to use authentic and fresh ingredients in her food is what makes her cooking distinctive and tasty. She recently visited us in California and my son had the same look in his eye that I had at his age when he tasted the meals she prepared for us. Oh, if only I had the same creativity with food that she does!!! – Gabriella M.

My beautiful mother is the perfect example to embody food and family traditions. We have owned a restaurant since I was born 39 years ago exact (today is my birthday!) Coming from Greece, she passed onto me the most amazing recipes — Grapeleaves, Spinach pie, Pastitsio – You name the Greek food, she makes it! And, the most delicious rice pudding ever. She has passed so many traditions down to me and I am so thankful! We just celebrated Greek Easter with the most amazing lamb, and just like every year we sat at the table with my kids now and made Greek Easter cookies (koulourakia) and sang the song that accompanies it. Koulourakia, Koulourakia me ta dio mas ta herakia! It translates into a song which means Koulourakia, Koulourakia with our two little hands and rhymes! Beautiful tradition that I look forward to every year! – Maria V.

Last month we asked you who in your family embodies the traditions of food and family—offering up a CookServ 12-inch Sauté Pan to our judges’ 50 favorite entries—and we had hundreds and hundreds of amazing entries. We heard about your mothers and your husbands. We read about traditional family recipes and the ways you make them your own. There were stories about Christmases, Seder dinners and Friday night tapas parties.

Sharing a meal is how we connect. At Nambé we’re about elevating that special moment at the dinner table. Each day this week, we’ll post ten of the winning essays from our CookServ contest. All 50 winners have been notified by email (check those spam folders!), and have been invited to provide us with a video review of the new CookServ. We’ll share those with you in several weeks. Until then, enjoy reading the first set of winning essays.

My grandma is a second-generation Czech-American and the matriarch of our small family. Most of the year, we eat like Americans in every way. But each year when Christmas rolls around, my grandma single-handedly prepares the same massive feast of traditional food. For every year that I’ve been alive, we’ve had the same foods with the exact same recipes. No changes to the fillings. Always made with shortening instead of butter because her family couldn’t afford butter when she was younger (even though she can now). Thanks to her stubbornness, we have a beautiful family tradition. – Shannon C.

My Italian grandmother. of course! Everything involved food, as kids, we would play at the kitchen table while she cooked. As soon as we arrived at her house, she’d lead us to the kitchen for a snack or meal. You always knew you were loved when she placed a plate in front of you. – Lori S.

Cooking has been out family tradition for generations. My father has passed this tradition over to me. He was trained as a fish chef. Living in Africa, we would buy fish from the Mocambique shores and markets. We would watch my father clean and then marinade the fish in lemon, garlic and spices. Then the grill would come on with charcoal and my father would grill the fish. Meanwhile the rest of the family is cleaning up the mess in the kitchen, preparing side dishes. We then would all sit down together for the feast. We value every evening dinners at the dining table. This is a time for our family to connect, share and enjoy the delicious foods that have been prepared. Food and family sharing time is the most special and unforgettable moment! – Ravelle S.

My family loves my cooking. Whenever I suggest going out to eat they would rather I cooked. Holiday’s are a busy time around my house. Latke’s and brisket are big family favorites around Hanukkah time. With 2 new babies in the family I am lucky to have my family close by and they love to spend time with us. – Judy B.

My wife and I both do in our own familiar ways. My wife cooks lamb stew and Shepherd’s pie like her grandmother did on the Isle of Man. I do by making waffles—the 5 heart shaped kind—according to a recipe that has come down from my mom (born and raised in Norway) with some modifications based on improved materials and technology. – Dan S.

My dad, amazingly since he never cooked for us as children, had become the embodiment of food in our family. With his skill in the kitchen he’s preserved traditions and created a love of food for his children and grandchildren. – Sara H.

My Cuban mother. She beautifully cooks classic Cuban recipes passed down from her own Mother. I fondly remember cooking empanadas with both my Mother and Grandmother, a memory I will cherish forever. These meals are filling both for the body and soul, and really brings the family together to talk and reminisce about past experiences. She has now passed the recipes on to me, and I greatly enjoy cooking them for my own friends, many of which have never had the pleasure to try Cuban food. – Jessica

I do! Being from Kansas, my family had many “Midwest” recipes that were staples. Although living in Las Vegas now, I still pull out the old traditions to remind us of home. Food brings back great memories and Nambe makes those memories beautiful! – Linda B.

My mom! She’s 73 years old and spent the morning tilling up her garden plot and planting potatoes. She’s planted a garden every year that I can remember and fed her family with what she grew and “put up” from that garden. We enjoyed so many wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables and then the excess was always canned, frozen, dried, or stored away to enjoy later. She always cooked three full meals a day for our family, never using convenience foods. Everything was from scratch and delicious! I learned to cook by watching her and then cooking along side. She would absolutely love this beautiful saute pan. Thank you! – Sharon O.

My grandmother made scrambled eggs for her father every morning, but she always overcooked them, according to his daily complaints. Finally, one morning she swirled them around in the pan for a few seconds and poured them, raw, onto his plate—after which he calmly looked up and said, “Perfect, just the way I like them.” He ate them all, and never complained about his eggs again. This memory is one of my favorite family cooking stories, and though her eggs aren’t always perfect, my grandmother is a perfect role model for me in the kitchen. She embodies tradition. – Melissa N.