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]

I found this one interesting because I solved LW's quandary in the opposite way. I like to cook and I often make dishes up. Especially when I'm pleased with the results, or going to share the food with others, I write down what I've done. Otherwise I risk never being able to make that perfect dish again and I can tell people what's in it and how I made it if they need or want to know. Doesn't LW ever want to make those Perfect Duck Fat Potatoes again? Or that Citron Raspbery Ripple Sorbet? I do, so I write it down.

(n.b. have not perfected the sorbet yet.)

[azurelunatic]

Me, I write my "recipes" down in the manner of extremely old "receipts", thus:

Fry some bacon. Pour most of the grease into a jar for later. Add the correct amount of water and dried instant hash browns. Cook for a while. Meanwhile, find the rest of everything in the freezer. Throw in a few vegetables. Season to taste. Five minutes before done, add a generous handful of cheddar cheese. Serve with pickles.

Which, some questions along the lines that my partner (who is not an intuitive cook) might ask:
What temperature are you using? (The correct one)
How much bacon grease do you leave? (enough)
how much water is "correct"? (you'll know)
I forgot to mention that the water needs to be boiling, but surely you know that based on the hash brown carton, and you need to add the Montreal steak seasoning at the hash brown step to remove the cardboard flavor.
How long is "a while"? (until you've found the rest of everything in the freezer, and then a while longer)
What is "the rest of everything" and why does it have to be frozen? (Because it is, not because it has to be.)
Which vegetables? (the correct ones, and you have to wait to add the snap peas until the last 5 minutes or so also)
Which seasonings? Eh, the ones that taste good.
How do you know when it's five minutes away from being done? (when the bubbling sound stops sounding watery and starts sounding crispy/oily)
What pickled vegetables (yes)

But none of those things go into the written recipe! Not unless I actually try to retrace my steps, which takes so much energy. And memory.

[ioplokon]

I'm in this letter and I don't like it!

For me, I don't really plan meals or shopping & just buy what is cheap. Then I make something based on whatever is in there... Even for savory baking, I tend to go by vibes & make a lot of substitutions.

I also made some spice blends and forgot what is in them, so even I am a victim of my disorganization (& obviously mainly use that for myself + people I know well enough to know they are okay with Mystery Seasoning)

[melannen]

You aren't obligated to use, have or offer recipes, I usually treat them as more guidelines, but please do your best to remember the ingredients (especially if you're cooking for people outside your usual household.) It could be very important to know that later!

[magid]

I riff based on what's around/what came in the farm share/ what looked good or was on sale at the supermarket. Sometimes I look for recipes, look at a handful of versions, then use that as the basis for a dish.

I'm happy to describe what I did, but I just don't measure (how big is that bunch of kale, or that glug of EVOO? who cares, as long as it tastes good!).