rmg
I have some recipes that I won't share, at least not now. We have frequent potluck luncheons at work, and I have developed several 'signature' dishes that I like to bring -- a few desserts, a few entrees, and a special salad dressing. Additionally, I do small catering jobs during the summer and holidays to make ends meet. The *vast* majority of what I cook I'll happily share, in fact, I've organized staff cookbook projects since we have *so* many excellent cooks in our building. But those dishes that are the, "oh, Alex is bringing her ? Yay!" dishes? 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."
Alexis.
Nylon or wooden utensilsWhile there's no catch-all set of rules, and in fact in some situations it really won't matter what you use, there are specific cases where there's a definite right tool for the job. Good...
(I had a friend, Amy, who was a wonderful seamstress, and over the years she developed several patterns for gift items, including one perfect baby blanket-towel-hoodie combination set. They were beautiful, and, I'm told, ideal for one-handed wet-baby drying and swaddling. For years these were known around town, and her pregnant friends looked forward to having one of the few around. Then Amy shared the pattern with someone from work who "wanted one for her sister down in the states" and Amy didn't have time to make one then. Two months later, Amy was at the Saturday Market (a big outdoor vendor market that takes place here every weekend during the summer) and there in a stall was this other woman, surrounded by a big selection of Amy's blanket sets. The woman had taken her pattern, duplicated it on her own, and was selling the blankets *and* a copy of the pattern. No, it wasn't the end of the world, but Amy was understandably upset by it.)
