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

[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?