Nina wrote:
> On Sat, 16 Aug 2008 11:01:12 -0400, "Mocassin Joe"
> > wrote:
>
>
>>Before my mother passed away I asked her for her landmark stuffed mushroom
>>recipe. She gave it to me on the condition, "you can never give my recipe
>>out". I agreed.
>>
>>Now my wife has decided, that she is in charge of making this recipe. She
>>looked it up in my personal cookbook. What she doesn't know is that I left
>>out a "secret" ingredient.
>>
>>Naturally the dish doesn't come out as expected.
>>
>>What should I do??
>
>
> Depends on how you want your mushrooms, I guess.
>
> I think I would take "don't give the recipe out" to mean "don't give
> it out randomly outside of the family." I mean, what is the point of
> family recipes (if there is one) if they die with the person?
>
> Nina


If your mother and you are Catholic or even Christian you have a
technicality. Technically you and your wife are one, when your mother
gave you the recipe she was, by default giving it to your wife also.

That you would keep such 'secrets' from your wife, especially at the
expense of letting her perpetuate a recipe that is less than as good as
what you have come to expect suggests to me deeper issues in the
marriage than a recipe for sauce duxelles.

Sauce duxelles

Place 1 cup white wine and 1 cup mushroom cooking liquor in a pan with 1
& 1/2 ounces of chopped shallots and reduce by 2/3. Add 2 & 1/4 cups
sauce demi - glace, half a cup tomato puree and 4 tbs. dry duxelles;
allow to simmer gently for 5 minutes and finish the sauce with 1/2 tbs.
chopped parsley.

Note: Sauce duxelles is sometimes confused with sauce Italienne which it
resembles but in reality there is a difference as sauce duxelles does
not contain chopped ham or salted ox tongue.
--
JL