serene wrote on 09 Aug 2005 in rec.food.cooking

> Alexis > wrote:
>
> > Nope, those are mine. None of them
> > are overly difficult to make, but they're signature dishes. I
> > have them written down, and if I die suddenly, they'll go to a
> > friend of mine as part of my personal cookbook, but until then,
> > I'd rather not have everyone and their brother-in-law making them.
> > Most of the casual cooks I know have at least one, if not
> > several, of these recipes that they don't share, and it's never
> > once bothered me when I've asked for a recipe and they've said,
> > "sorry, not that one."
>
> Stuff that's my "signature" stuff is sufficiently time-consuming
> that most of my friends would rather wait for me to make it (my
> toffee, my wheatberry salad) than make it themselves, but even if
> that were not so, I have never understood the keeping it to oneself
> thing. I mean, if my friend makes it, it's no longer my toffee --
> hell, they're likely to improve it (or make it worse, or whatever)
> anyway -- no one does it exactly like I do it, even with the recipe.
> And even if they did, my toffee brings joy, and the world can use
> all the joy it can get. :-)
>
> serene
>

I think if you share food with others it is a sharing of each other as
well. And if you won't share the recipe it makes you appear to be
superior. Now if you appear superior you aren't sharing you're offering
charity. There is nothing wrong with charity. But sharing is more fun.
And sharing doesn't promote the "there goes whathisname that SOB won't
share his recipe, what a pompass ass" sendiment.

--
The eyes are the mirrors....
But the ears...Ah the ears.
The ears keep the hat up.