Invitation #54: Share the Recipe
One of my favorite things about gathering around the table is that the meal doesn't always end when everyone goes home.
Sometimes it continues in another family's kitchen.
A recipe has a wonderful way of carrying memories with it. Long after the dishes have been washed, someone else is stirring the same soup, baking the same cake, or making the same spaghetti sauce because you were willing to pass it along.
I've always believed that recipes are meant to be shared. They connect generations, preserve family traditions, and often become part of someone else's story. One handwritten recipe card can become a treasured keepsake that is pulled from the recipe box for decades.
This month's invitation is one of my favorites because it reminds us that hospitality isn't only about inviting people to our own tables. Sometimes it's about equipping them to create beautiful moments around theirs.
I hope you'll enjoy this excerpt from Simple Hospitality.
We treasure our moments on vacation, particularly in the mountains of Highlands, North Carolina. Gregory Wherry said, “Truly it may be said that the outside of a mountain is good for the inside of a man.” The mountains refresh us. A good meal refreshes us, too. It became my tradition to prepare spaghetti sauce in advance. Spaghetti is "everyone friendly" with gluten free options galore; it's a go-to meal for me. I freeze it, and it travels well. Sometimes, it is part of our first meal in the mountains. But my spaghetti sauce recipe wasn’t always so highly requested.
Years ago, I read of an older lady who was famous for her spaghetti sauce. Funny thing is, she would never share the recipe. After she passed away, people were sad, knowing they would never be able to enjoy her delicious spaghetti sauce again. Weeks later, as her children were going through her home to prepare it for sale, they discovered jars and jars and more jars of Welch’s grape jam. Her secret was out! All those years, she was simply adding a tablespoon of the jam to her sauce.
After reading the article, I wanted to give it a try for myself. It wasn’t long and my family started requesting my spaghetti for dinner, often boasting that their mom made the best spaghetti sauce!
My secret? Whatever jar of spaghetti sauce happened to be on sale that week and a tablespoon of Welch’s grape jam! That’s it! I love sharing my recipes. To me, the greatest compliment you can receive is when someone asks for your recipe.
We loved when our kids would have a friend join us for dinner. I frequently got requests for “spaghetti and chocolate cake night” at our house. Two of our daughter's friends, Katie and Bethany, especially loved that dinner. Occasionally I would get a text asking if Mrs. Boyd would make spaghetti and chocolate cake for them. I loved those little girls, who are now mamas of their own children. I shared the secret with them, and they now make the famous spaghetti for their families. The joy continues!
As far as the chocolate cake goes, I’ll share that one, too. It's not quite as easy as the jam in the sauce, but it’s not difficult, either. If you love chocolate cake with homemade frosting, here’s the recipe:
Fast Fudge Frosting Recipe Card
This recipe was given to me in 1980, the year we married. The giver's name was Mary Ellen, and although I have lost touch with her, I have never forgotten her recipe. I get requests for it often, and I hope you will, too. I use a Betty Crocker brand box cake mix. Having grown up in Minneapolis, I have a special affinity to the General Mills brand.
I have taught many of our friends how to make this cake, and it’s always special to pass it along.
Sharing a recipe or teaching a friend how to cook a family favorite spreads the joy to new generations!
“Sharing a recipe or teaching a friend how to cook a family favorite spreads the joy to new generations!”
An Invitation
As you read today, I hope someone comes to mind.
Maybe it's a neighbor who always compliments your chocolate chip cookies. A newly married couple just beginning to cook together. A daughter, granddaughter, or friend who has asked, "Can I have that recipe?"
Don't wait.
Write it on a recipe card. Email it. Text it. Better yet, invite them into your kitchen and make it together.
The recipe may seem ordinary to you, but to someone else, it might become part of a new family tradition.
After all, some of the sweetest things we pass along aren't just ingredients—they're memories.
