The recipes for many foods call for nothing more than: flour, sugar, salt, eggs and cream. Not so good to eat yet is it? That's because basic ingredients are nothing without the proper amounts and preparation techniques. In reality many of the same ingredients occur over and over in different recipes.

People attending parties of all kinds are preoccupied with the foods which have been prepared for the occasion. When they are duly impressed with a particular sampling they are naturally curious about the recipes. Most people can guess the main ingredients but for special occasions there is invariably a secret ingredient that takes the dish a step above the ho-hum of everyday foods.

Be kind and share the recipes. Some are too shy to ask but they probably want to know how to bake that walnut/chocolate chip pie. It may just be one of the many recipes that can be found in many women's magazines throughout the holiday season. Still not every guest reads those. Stacking recipes up on cards next to the dishes on a buffet table is one good way to offer them freely.

Recipes for the main dish or a chef's specialty can be printed up as invitation inserts or just enclosed with the annual Christmas letter. The recipes for old family favorites can even be used for the art on the Christmas letter when printed in script. Recipes found in the cookbooks of departed relatives are especially treasured and should be shared. Maybe an old recipe using birch sugar or something equally unusual would be a nice choice for this purpose.

A collection of these favorite recipes is an inexpensive but memorable gift idea. In the hands of the right recipient it can be a gift that keeps on giving for future generations to enjoy.