Miss Manners: i have no recipe to give

[minoanmiss]

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Cooking is one of my passions, and I love to share my food with others. And while I love positive feedback, I am sometimes taken aback by the automatic request for a recipe as soon as someone compliments something I've made.

Unfortunately, I do not use recipes. I am an intuitive cook, who many times throws things together. I have explained several times to these people that I do not use recipes, but continue to get asked.

I am not a curmudgeon, and not trying to keep my creations' ingredients secret; I just don't have the time, energy or memory to remember everything that went into a dish. What would be a good response to the constant, "This is delicious. Recipe, please!"?

GENTLE READER: "I made it up and don't have one. But I'm flattered that you liked it so much. You'll just have to come over again and I'll try to re-create it."

Comments

[conuly]

This comment is tangentially reminding me of the comments to an article I once read on the phenomenon of gravestone recipes.

The cited recipe in the article is a cake recipe, and one line runs "Alternate flour cream". Well, every letter costs $$$$ on a headstone, so every word has to count.

One dude in the comments said something about old fashioned recipes that only make sense if you already know how to cook the particular dish in question and boy was he pissed when several people popped up to say that if you've ever baked anything ever then this is a standard line and perfectly clear - put the flour and cream into the batter in little bits, alternating between the two and starting and ending with the flour. It's no mystery, and even if all you have to go on are basic recipes for beginners it isn't too hard to work out if you've ever baked cookies or cake.

[minoanmiss]

Why did he make the effort to be pissed? He was half right, but overspecified, and was corrected. It's not like he belongs to a societal group which can Never Be Publicly Wrong or they lose status.

Foolish dude.

(I have definitely noticed as I get better at cooking I get better at interpreting elliptically written recipes, but it's the general experience that helps.)

(also I am contemplating putting a recipe on my cenotaph, hahahah)

[conuly]

also I am contemplating putting a recipe on my cenotaph, hahahah

Better start saving! I'm not kidding when I say it's spendy.

[minoanmiss]

Hahahah maybe I can have someone laminate some cardboard then.

[conuly]

Perhaps a QR code to a website?