"CookingSecrets" news and stories

Last Friday, I used my lunch hour to get my haircut. I've been going to the same woman for cuts for the last year and a half, a personal best for me, as I tend to get antsy with stylists and move around. Sylvie is French and despite many years in the US, still speaks with a charmingly thick accent and often stops cutting to further articulate her stories with hand gestures.

We found ourselves on the topic of Thanksgiving and she started to tell me about the dishes she was planning on making. Bragging a little, she said that her sister-in-law always asks for her recipes. When she's ready to transcribe, pen in hand, Sylvie will start rattling off her dishes in French, never revealing her cooking secrets in a way that anyone, the sister-in-law included, can understand.

I've never understood the people who hold their recipes close to their chest, refusing to reveal their secrets with friends and family alike. I'm of the belief that food is something to be shared and that includes the tools used to prepare tasty creations. Are your recipes open source or state secrets?