I’m very much a “what you see is what you get” kind of a person. So when I’m accused of deliberately leaving out a key ingredient in a dish that I’ve served and then shared the recipe for, I take it personally.

When I started questioning my accusers, I discovered invariably they’d changed my recipe.
Now, if someone makes you fabulous Indian food, and then shares those Indian recipes with you, why would you substitute Filipino or Vietnamese ingredients?

If you liked it the way it was presented to you, why would you think it would taste the same if you tweaked it?

So I look them in the eye and say, “I left it out, because if I told you, I’d have to kill you.” They usually back right down. I guess that gossip about Uncle Tony’s rumored “Family” connections did its job. They don’t know I started the gossip. I don’t even have an Uncle Tony.