Food has a way of keeping people close long after they are gone, but only if someone bothers to follow the recipe.

When a woman’s mom took over her late stepdad’s signature Easter dish and quietly started changing everything about it, what was supposed to feel like a tribute started feeling like an insult to his memory.

Keep reading for the full predicament.

WIBTAH if i asked my mom not to make my stepdads recipe anymore

My stepdad passed away 2 years ago.

For Easter dinner, he always made his Italian family’s “secret” recipe for Swiss steak.

This had become a cherished tradition for her.

It’s always been a special dinner for me because he would make a big production about acting like he didn’t want to make it and making me ask for it several times.

It just became a way for us to have a small, close connection.

He also always made it a little sweet, because he knows I like sugar.

So when someone else started making the recipe, she wasn’t a fan.

My mom made it last year and this year, and it’s not the same.

She changes the recipe.

She hates sugar and thinks it’s bad, so she either uses stevia or puts less sugar in it.

Then her mom really strayed from the recipe.

And this year, she put bell peppers in it — she knows I don’t like bell peppers, and I know they aren’t part of his recipe.

She said she used the peppers because she didn’t have anything else, but I know she was at the store Thursday buying everything for the dinner — so why not get the right vegetables?

But that’s not all she despises about her mom’s recipe.

Finally, whatever she’s doing, the sauce is more thick like tomato paste instead of sauce that can be poured over the mashed potatoes.

I just don’t want to eat her version again next year.

Somehow, this unfaithful adaption of the recipe just makes her loss feel even more pronounced.

It makes me sad that he’s gone, and that this is the last thing we have left — and she just won’t follow the recipe.

She knows how much it meant to both of us.

So, WIBTAH if I ask for something else for next year’s Easter dinner?

She can’t stomach even one more botched Swiss steak recipe.

What did Reddit think?

This commenter suggests she should just start making it herself.

It’s time for a little heart-to-heart with her mom.

Practice makes perfect — especially with something like cooking.

There’s a way to go about this delicately.

Maybe it’s time to accept that, with her stepdad gone, this dish may never be exactly the same again.

A different dish could save a lot of grief at the next Easter gathering.

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