Writing Recipes in a Personal Style

“I was taught to start with raw white fish.”

So begins one of the more cherished among so many cherished recipes in the beat-up recipe folder of my mom’s.

That she chose to write that recipe as if speaking to me, talking me through the steps, it touches my heart every time I read those words. I can hear her, and see her in the kitchen, and remember the many times we had curry when I was a kid. It was particularly joyful to make this around the holidays a couple of years ago, reminiscing with my brother and sister who of course share those memories. (I’d love to know more about how this recipe became part of Mom’s repertoire. Though on a cookie recipe in her collection, she wrote that the “wife of Smitty taught me curry 1952 Falls Church VA”. Who Smitty and his wife were and their story behind the recipe? Among things I wish I’d asked my mom about.)

Traditionally-written recipes, with the familiar format of ingredient list followed by preparation steps, are traditional for a reason: they’re familiar and easy to follow. But it’s nice now and then to break with tradition.

Writing a recipe out in a more conversational way, as my mom did there, conveys a more personal connection with the person on the receiving end. It’s the beginning of a dialogue, a conversation continued every time that recipe is cooked. And these recipes can be a truer reflection of how the recipe is cooked by the person sharing it—so familiar and natural that no ingredient list is needed, no recipe card referenced for reminders.

This approach is more “this is how I make xxxx” than “here’s a recipe for xxxx.”

As a food writer who has written hundreds of recipes for cookbooks and other projects, I pretty much always go with the traditional style. It’s what best suits the work I typically do. But in a newsletter, I’ll gladly dispense with that formality on occasion. Especially when I want to convey the ease or freedom with which a dish came together—carrying someone else along on my cooking-off-the-cuff journey. A less formal recipe style reflects that well, rather than transcribing a natural flow of cooking into a formalized recipe structure.