Secret recipes

[briannesmom]

A lady I work with made an awesome chicken artichoke pasta dish for a work gathering. I asked for the recipe and she said she would bring me in a copy of it. A few days go by and she tells me no hard feelings but I don't feel comfortable sharing my recipe with you.
I have tried several other recipes but nothing has come close. If anyone has any chicken artichoke pasta recipes I would be happy to hear them.

Amy

 

[Pooh Crew]

Thanks for the answers. I just wondered if I was the abnormal one (still a chance of that, but at least not in this instance! ).

On the subject of sharing, my dear aunt--who is an incredible cook and caters for wedding, parties, etc.--told me she had a new cookbook for me. Imagine my surprise to find it was a handwritten cookbook of all her treasured recipes!!! She included my grandmother's recipes and other family favorites. What an incredible gift!

 

[Christine]

A co-worker of mine makes fabulous baked beans. She doesn't bring them to work, but she brings them to functions that we have on the weekend (which are about once every 5 years). I told her that her baked beans were phenomenal and how did she make them? She told me that it was "her secret" but she did say that one of the ingredients was pineapple (although I could not detect it). I've searched and searched for this recipe and cannot find it.

Anyway, I don't know why she won't give it out. We've only ever been to ONE party together, don't run in the same social circles or anything. It's not like I'd show up at an event with "her beans" and tick her off.

 

[Marseeya]

OHHH! I have to admit I'm really selfish when it comes to recipes- and NOPE none of mine are original - but I hate to share them! I guess it comes from not wanting someone to show up @ the same event with the exact same recipe as me - or the fact that I'd be "known" by something yummy I made & asked to bring it - if everyone made it then anyone could bring it-- does that make sense??? I do share some of the recipes I have, but there are quite a few that are so good/original that I just don't share...

See, I've never had that problem. I have this awesome deviled egg recipe (I'll share it if you want it ) and all of my friends and family just adore them when I make them. I give the recipe out freely, but people still ask ME to bring them to parties or dinners rather than someone else making them. But even if they didn't ask me, I'd just find something new to make. So, my whole family has that deviled egg recipe, but I'm still the deviled egg "guru." I guess I just don't see the problem.

 

[Stitchfans]

sure no doubt it was a look at me moment for her. some people love to be the center of attention.

 

[brerrabbit]

I have been cooking since I was 8 years old (and I'm 46 now) and I wish I could have gotten some of the recipes that my Grandmother and Greataunt used when I was growing up. After my Grandmother died and my Greataunt was really getting up in years I asked her about some of her recipes and she told me she really didn't have any. She just made things as she went. She did it the same way her mother had done it. WOW what a lesson I learned that day. So I now sometimes have a hard time because a lot of the things I make don't have a recipe. I just throw in things as I go. I have won several Chili cookoffs and have always been asked for the recipe and told people sure I'll tell you whats in it and you can make it. But they say no! I want the recipe, you know like how many cups of this and how many tablespoons of that etc. Well sorry I don't really know that. Here's everything I put in the pot and you have to figure out how much of each ingredient based on what kind of taste you like. As a result one of my favorite things to do after we have eaten out somewhere is to try and make the dish at home on my own. You can ask my wife, I've gotten pretty good at it and can now reproduce about 15 to 20 dishes that are served in resturants. I can't give anyone the recipe's, I just know how to make them. About the only things I will absolutly follow the recipe on is breads and cakes because I am not real confident in my knowledge of baking powder and baking soda and what the right amounts are.

 

[lucas]

Sounds like a pompous butt hole to me. Sorry if I shouldn't have said that!

Hi tink38! Sorry to be off topic but I got excited when I noticed you live in Metairie. I was brought up in Metairie and my parents still live there! Howdy!

 

[mtblujeans]

Sounds like a pompous butt hole to me. Sorry if I shouldn't have said that!

Oh, did I say that out loud??

I went to a neighbor's New Year's Eve party, once, and she served stuffed mushrooms that were a enjoyable - but nothing to send up fireworks about! I asked her for the recipe because I had never known anyone to make their own stuffed mushrooms. She said they were very easy to make but the recipe was a secret and she refused to share it with me. Later in the evening, I overheard her telling another guest they were a secret recipe and she wasn't going to share it but they were made with crushed Chex cereal and she had had the recipe for years. The other woman looked at her like she was crazy and just walked away. I have searched for that recipe (with Chex) for years and have never come up with it!

 

[HoneyPooh]

I've been asked for my recipe for a few different things that I make but always end up being asked to bring them to gatherings anyway. Probably because I hardly ever end up following my own recipe exactly. I have a tendancy to throw something I have on hand in there or a little extra of an ingrediant. A lot of times I do the Rachel Ray "handfull" measuring thing and everyone has a different size hand (mine are small).

I've made a cookbook for each of my sons with all their favorite recipes and I tried really hard to think about exactly how I make these things. My older son already has his girlfriend watching me make things and then the next time we have it, she makes it and I watch. He's afraid once I'm gone he'll never have those things again.

My husbands brother who passed away unexpectedly was a wonderful cook. Unfortunately his recipe for rolled potpie dough died with him. The whole family has tried to recreate it using some scribbled notes we found in one of his old cookbooks, but no luck. It's a shame he wouldn't give the recipe to anyone while he was alive, now it's pretty much gone forever.

 

[DisneyMim]

My SISTER does this all the time. Never could figure it out. I, on the other hand, will share any and all of my recipes with anyone. I am always flattered when someone asks me for a recipe. I think people who won't share are insecure and just want to "show-off", but they come across as being wierd!

 

[swanmom]

My MIL will share gladly share her recipes................except she always changes or leaves out one ingredient when she passes on her recipe. Why?
So no one will ever say that her upstart daughter-in-law can cook as well as she does!

 

[Pooh Crew]

See, I've never had that problem. I have this awesome deviled egg recipe (I'll share it if you want it ) and all of my friends and family just adore them when I make them. I give the recipe out freely, but people still ask ME to bring them to parties or dinners rather than someone else making them. But even if they didn't ask me, I'd just find something new to make. So, my whole family has that deviled egg recipe, but I'm still the deviled egg "guru." I guess I just don't see the problem.

That's exactly how it goes with us! Even though I have the exact measurements that my aunt wrote down, mine will never taste as good as hers does. I'm the lemon pie queen of the family even though everyone has the recipe!

My mom makes this incredible chicken and spaghetti (red gravy, not a casserole) that is my all time favorite meal in the world--this would be my last meal on death row--and I have made it with her several times, but am unable to duplicate it exactly. I use the same exact brands and have even bought all new spices and measured the before and after amounts to get her "handfulls, pinches, and dashes"--all without success. Dh says it tastes just like hers, but I don't think so.

 

[ktpool]

My MIL will share gladly share her recipes................except she always changes or leaves out one ingredient when she passes on her recipe. Why?
So no one will ever say that her upstart daughter-in-law can cook as well as she does!

Reminds me of the episode on Everybody Love Raymond where Marie (mil) gave Debra the recipe for Ray's favorite meal, but it never seemed quite right. Eventually, Debra tearfully gave up trying, saying the mother-in-law was right, she'll never be a good cook.

As she is packing up the cooking stuff, the tag falls off and lo and behold, Marie pasted an oregano label over the terragon!

It was a hilarious episode!

 

[Marseeya]

Reminds me of the episode on Everybody Love Raymond where Marie (mil) gave Debra the recipe for Ray's favorite meal, but it never seemed quite right. Eventually, Debra tearfully gave up trying, saying the mother-in-law was right, she'll never be a good cook.

As she is packing up the cooking stuff, the tag falls off and lo and behold, Marie pasted an oregano label over the terragon!

It was a hilarious episode!

I was just thinking of that episode! It was such a good one.

I can definitely see sharing recipes with my future daughter in law some day. Since I hate to cook, I'll be glad to pass that chore on to her.